Agreement But No Action On Football Coalition Plan

Illawarra Mercury

Saturday November 29, 2008

By TIM BARROW

THE prospect of unification under the South Coast Football banner was raised with officials of the A-League bid and Wollongong FC yesterday.

The response was the same from both sides.

Without prompting and in separate interviews, Wollongong FC director Vic Cuoco and A-League bid chairman Eddy de Gabriele both declared the unification of the two bodies as "ideal". Yet, even with the former Wollongong Wolves franchise on the verge of collapse, neither side revealed any plans to come to the table to make it happen.

It was only a week ago that South Coast Football was asked to consider taking over the Wollongong FC licence as one of three options to bail the present Premier League title holders out of debt.

Wollongong FC are holding a community support drive tomorrow to ensure they come up with the $37,800 entry fee, let alone the $200,000 operating costs required to see out next year.

However, de Gabriele yesterday said South Coast Football had been shut out of the campaign to help save the Premier League team.

"It would be ideal to create the pathway under the South Coast banner, but they haven't offered us that option ... we can only become involved if there is an approach from them," he said. De Gabriele said South Coast Football were prepared to look into taking over the licence, provided Wollongong FC took on the A-League bid's name, colours and corporate structure under Football Federation Australia guidelines.

Wollongong FC officials yesterday called for leadership from the A-League bid officials. "They've got to put their hands up," Illawarra junior technical director Glenn Fontana said.