Gold Coast has real bling

The claim never quite rang true. Until now.

Enter Gold Coast United – the A-League outfit with its own private jet and a billionaire boss on board – to provide a genuine frosting of glitz for Season Five of the national competition in 2009-2010.

The club won’t kick a ball in anger for a year or so – but with colourful billionaire talisman Clive Palmer at the helm, they were officially born Friday when Palmer touched down outside Skilled Stadium in a silver chopper brandishing an offer from FFA CEO Ben Buckley to join the A-League party.

His first target? – to bring the A-League crown to the Glitter Strip in the Gold Coast United’s debut season.

From there, according to the edicts of the $2.5billion man, it will be an upward trajectory towards the Asian Champions League.

It’s an obvious destination for an entrepreneur who spends much of the year in China peddling his iron ore wares to an economy with an unquenchable hunger for Australian minerals.

The former real estate spruiker turned minerals overlord from Surfers Paradise, signed the communiqué from the FFA in front of a throng of media, then declared: ‘’We have a licence to participate in the competition. We accept the invitation and we aim to make a huge impact."

‘’People who know me and know what I do, will tell you I don’t get involved in many things that aren’t successful. The Gold Coast is the best place to live in Australia – and we aim to have the best club in Australia.’’

In a scene reminiscent of Caesar's colosseum, Palmer was ferried by motorised chariot from his green landing strip to the staged signing of the FFA document.

And so was born the club destined to become one of the most extravagantly backed enterprises in Australian sport.

Official ratification will come at a meeting of the other eight A-League clubs on June 17 after a relationship which began just eight days ago saw Queensland’s richest man make the FFA swoon.

Of the invitation to be part of a 10-team format in season five of the national competition, Palmer, 54, added: ‘’When you have people of the stature of Frank Lowy endorsing your visions, it’s a great complement."

‘’I’m here for the long haul. I’ve been on the Coast for 41 of my 45 years and I want to win the A-League in year one and then the Asian Champions League."

‘’I don’t say those things lightly. Our structure and funding will be set up to achieve those objectives.’’

Palmer’s ambitions will be hampered only by the A-League’s $2.65 million salary ceiling and the confines of his own imagination – but he can pay a marquee player and/or guest players anything he wants outside those constraints.

Discussions are already under way with several potential marquee signings: the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka and Josh Kennedy are on the shopping list.

‘’We’re talking to four of five, and we’ll see where that takes us,’’ added Palmer.

His head coach, Miron Bleiberg, also flagged the possibility of, bringing in guest stars for four game stints – and paying them $1 million as an inducement.

At least two of the team's four visa spots will be filled by Chinese imports - Palmer’s has massive business interests there - with South Americans earmarked for the other spots by former Queensland Roar coach Bleiberg.

‘’We think we’ll be a team players all over the country will want to join – and players from overseas too,’’ added Palmer. ‘’It’s said people come to the Gold Coast to retire - I say to players why come here to retire, come here to live and prosper.’’

Though his players will travel with the trappings of royalty and have the best support staff money can buy - already five backroom staff have jumped ship from the Queensland Roar – Palmer said it’s not all about the money.

‘’I want to give this club every opportunity I can,’’ he added. ‘’But money isn’t a substitute for strength of character, discipline and hunger – and that’s what I’ll be looking for from our players."

‘’It’s not a question of getting a lot of prima-donnas on the field. We want a club that has grit.’’

A one-time park-soccer flop, who excelled as a rugby league winger for the Southport Tigers, Palmer explained his ardour for football like this: ‘’It’s important we have sports that don’t concentrate on full violence and body contact and don’t promote a tougher world to live in. Soccer provides skill, agility and ability.’’

Palmer said of his move to fly his team to games in one of his three private jets: ‘’We want to make sure our players have the best and are well prepared. We’ll try and give them every advantage we can.’’

Palmer, with his money-no-object aspirations, makes Sydney FC look more like a fake Cartier than 24-carot bling.
It’s time to fasten the seat belts and get set for a high altitude ride with Chairman Clive.