A community ownership partnership, focus on youth development and keeping the Mariners on the Coast: these are the main points of an exciting pitch to reinvigorate A-League club Central Coast by a potential new buyer.
Patafta played for Benfica as a youth player before returning to the A-League with Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets.
He was also a train-on squad player for the Socceroos at World Cup 2006.
It’s also understood Patafta and FFA CEO James Johnson have a good working relationship having worked together in the past during Johnson's time with FIFA.
Anderson won an A-League Championship with the Mariners in 2013 and also played for Gold Coast United and Sydney FC before embarking on a playing career in UAE, Malaysia, and Singapore.
In 2016, the former A-League defender co-founded Samara Capital Investments, which invests in start-up businesses across Singapore and South-East Asia.
He has also co-founded and supervised the development of Genie Tech, an application company based with backers in the Middle East.
"A lot more confidence and belief have come into the team and the club,” Mariners coach Alen Stajcic said after the Victory win.
"But some of the positives for me ... we have laid an excellent platform of youth players that can represent the club over the coming years and they have all been signed to multi-year contracts.”
Despite some pessimism around the future of the A-League, there’s opportunity and hope in a crisis.
And for two former A-League players, their youthful optimism coupled with business savvy in football’s corporate world at First11 Capital could be just what is needed at the Mariners and on the Central Coast right now.
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