The local paper  reported last week that the buyout of the club by a Singaporean business has hit a new hurdle. However the Asians aren't running for the hills, instead they have opted for plan B in the form of a two part attack. According to the report part 1 would be to sponsor the club for $500,000.00 for this season, before part 2 of taking ownership on the last day of the season.
                                     
Malaysian football identity Subramaniam Rasamanickam has said that the concern from his syndicate is the request of FFA to increase the required guarentee from $2M to $7.5M for 3 years (they didn't say whether they would need to guarentee for $2.5M a year or the full amount up front).     
While the offer seems good, it would be nice to know the full details, and also what the FFA's concerns are.

I spoke to one of the people driving the development of the North Queensland Football Supporters Association Patrick White about what his views on the current bid would mean to NQFC (Not NQFFC? - KA) supporters, and the "franchising" of modern football in gerneral- " I fear the franchise approach that is taking root in modern football.  This system has professional clubs acting only as a corporate brand.  They have little contact or significance to the city or region beyond the 1st team.  Historical sporting clubs are rooted in the community in which they claim to represent.  These clubs foster strong links to the local community and have a direct interest in developing players.  They have other roles and legitimate interests across the community.  NQFC is a young organisation and I hope it focuses on a  model that entrenches itself in north Queensland's community.  It has a direct stake in the development of local football at all levels.  I would hope that a foreign investor will recognise these points and share the community's interests as well as those of their back pocket."  

While most people who aren't overly involved in football wouldn't understand why most of us "sockah nuts" show contempt toward most overseas owners and investors you only need to search the Glazer family or the owners of Liverpool FC and read some comments to find out why.  

But back to NQFC and I asked Paddy what he thought about foreign ownership of NQFC in particular-  "It depends on who the investors are, what model they believe in and what interests they articulate.  If a foreign investor heads in the direction highlighted previously and develops international connections and partnerships that enhance the club's ability to perform across the spectrum of interests and initiatives then this might be an advantage."  

Last season in particular the club has been accused of having a lack of transparency, something that up until the new admin team started 2 weeks ago was still lacking, is finally getting better. Paddy believes it is crucial to the clubs growth and commercial success- " Transparency within reason is crucial to retaining legitimacy and maintaining positive relations with your membership and supporter base.  NQFC has suffered throughout 2010 for a number of reasons and members have suffered from a lack of transparency.  The inaugural membership base were rarely contacted or engaged throughout the troubled times and this led to a deepening frustration among fans.  The lack of information caused rumours and speculation to develop and this type of environment is not positive.  Members and fans deserve transparency and should be engaged."  

New CEO Rabieh Krayem has said that the new organisation is working towards a community owned club. While the majority of fans would be happy for this to happen White said that this approach should also be taken with care- " I'll suggest that a serviceable mix is the best option.  We are seeing a growing trend in Europe where fans are growing tired of foreign or external ownership of their clubs.  People can become disenfranchised from their club by corporate interests.  Clubs appear increasingly held at the mercy of the external interests of the wealthy individual or company that owns them.  A fan ownership model appears to be one way of taking back some of the power and direction and retaining the focus.  However, it is a complex beast.  This approach demands significant research, consultation and development.  Clear and agreeable goals need to be identified and then processes must be enacted to achieve these."  

While the future of NQFC is safe for now, most know that there is a lot hinging on the WC2022 bid. Should Australia be unsuccesful in this bid NQFC will most likely need to come up with a profitable/workable solution by the end of the current season. There is no doubt that with NQFC's proximity to Asia it would be in the interests of the FFA to keep us around, but they are not likely to keep a financial basketcase alive, particularly when that side has no hope of playing in Asia (assuming we became a consistently poor peformer due to having to cut costs and play with below standard players).  

Personally I feel that the FFA probably wouldn't want to own any of the clubs, and would be jumping at any "reasonable" ownership offer. This, and the approach the investors have taken in trying to scare the public by going to the media and saying they will take their money elsewhere, says to me that the FFA have got it right this time in being extra careful in the owners they give the Fury.

At the end of the day the chances of NQFC  surviving another offseason like the one we just had are next to nil, and hopefully the sole concern of the FFA in all of this is the longevity of the club.