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Sydney. A young Australian coal tycoon stepped in on Wednesday to rescue the Newcastle Jets, after the former A-League champions ran out of money to pay players and stadium fees.

The move by multimillionaire miner Nathan Tinkler, 34, to take on the struggling Jets’ license secures its future for the remainder of the season, according to Football Federation Australia.

“We are very hopeful that the fans and the local business community will demonstrate their commitment to the club and lead to Nathan taking out the license on a long-term basis,” FFA chief executive Ben Buckley said.

The FFA, which provided emergency funds in recent weeks after the Jets were unable to meet their obligations, said it would withdraw current owner Con Constantine’s license.

The federation said the club had failed to prove it could meet its commitments despite being given “numerous opportunities,” including talks with FFA chairman Frank Lowy.

Jets players have been under pressure in recent weeks, with the club’s financial woes compounded by dwindling crowds at its home stadium, which is owned by local authorities.

Earlier this month, Professional Footballers Australia chief executive Brendan Schwab said players had to chip in so that two foreign recruits, Iraqi midfielder Ali Abbas and Chinese striker Zhang Shuo, could buy food.

But Buckley told reporters that the federation would never have let one of the A-League’s inaugural clubs, and winners of the 2007-2008 season, collapse.

“I think I’ve been on the public record in saying that we would work tirelessly to bring about the security of the future of the Jets,” he said. “We’ve done that.”

“We didn’t see failure as an option and we worked tirelessly to bring this about,” the football federation chief said.

Buckley said he hoped Tinkler was not a “short-term solution.”

The tycoon will receive a license for this season only but with the option of extending.

Tinkler, who is also one of Australia’s major thoroughbred racehorse owners and the youngest person on BRW Magazine’s Australian rich-list with a fortune of 355 million Australian dollars ($320 million), said he was delighted to help.

“I have no desire to own a football club but provide a nursery for the development of the game for the thousands of young football players in the Hunter region,” the businessman said in a statement issued by the FFA.

“Newcastle deserves a top-class A-League team and we are keen to help rebuild the club for the city,” he said.

In May, Gold Coast United’s place in the A-League was secured despite fears of its financial survival when the competition’s richest benefactor, Clive Palmer, a billionaire mining magnate, decided to continue backing the Queensland-based club.


Agence France-Presse