Soccer: Competition thrown into crisis after Canberra get the boot

By TERRY MADDAFORD

The Australian National League has been thrown into turmoil eight days before the scheduled start of the new season.

Soccer Australia yesterday rejected a rescue package aimed at keeping Canberra Cosmos in the 14-team league for the season.

Almost immediately the club hit back by saying they would pursue legal action in a bid to stay in the league.

Cosmos were put on notice last week when their $A44,000 ($53,470) affiliation fee cheque bounced.

In April, Cosmos and Brisbane Strikers were thrown out of the NSL when Soccer Australia ruled against them as "going concerns."

The clubs were reinstated on appeal.

Yesterday, the Canberra club outlined details of a plan aimed at enabling them to meet their obligations.

They named Sydney businessman Bill Bariamis as new chairman of the board. His solicitors advised Soccer Australia that he "would guarantee all the club's debts for the next three years."

Bariamis works for American financiers Union Financial Services.

But that was not enough to convince the national body the club should remain in the league.

Cosmos' threat last night of legal action apparently does not faze Soccer Australia, who have looked closely at events in the National Rugby League competition two years ago, when South Sydney was unable to stop the NRL from tossing them out.

The other 13 soccer league clubs will meet in Sydney today to work through the issue.

They are expected to decide whether the league will continue with 24 games - with a bye each week - or add a third 12-game round.

Soccer Australia already has a structure to accommodate a three-round, 13-team league, with six extra home and away games for each club.

The added games will be split, with three of each club's home games being played midweek and the other three as weekend fixtures - one round over the scheduled Christmas-New Year break, the other two over additional weekends at the end of the season.

The Football Kingz were scheduled to play Canberra in round seven on November 16, in one of three games set down for North Harbour Stadium in Albany.

The Professional Footballers' Association is not happy that players who had signed for clubs and a 26-game (round-robin) season might now face an extra 12 games without payments to match.

There remains, of course, the opportunity for players to earned added bonuses.

Meanwhile, the Kingz, represented by Sean Douglas and Harry Ngata at yesterday's association meeting in Sydney, have said Douglas will captain the side this season.

"We are happy with that," Kingz coach Mike Petersen said.

"While I would probably be happy to have 11 captains on the field, I appreciate the need to name a captain, and I'm sure Sean will do a good job."

Ngata led the Kingz in most games in their first two NSL seasons.

Despite continuing conjecture from Melbourne that Socceroo midfielder Con Boutsianis will not return to the Kingz, Petersen remained upbeat yesterday.

He is confident the former South Melbourne player will be in Auckland by the end of the week, even if his knee injury does not allow him to play in the Kingz' opener against Brisbane tomorrow week.

Petersen is not so sure about the whereabouts of defender Che Bunce, who is set to play the second season of a two-year contract, but has not returned from playing in Iceland.