Auckland A-League team: Phoenix coach unconvinced as big American backer rolls in

Auckland will soon have a team in the A-League.
Photo: Masanori Udagawa

Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano has expressed his reservations about the longevity of Auckland’s A-League side and says ‘time will tell’ if it can succeed.

The latest addition to the A-League has the backing of a man with a track record of owning franchises on stages far bigger than the highest level professional men’s football league in Australia and New Zealand.

Texan billionaire Bill Foley is the founder of the global multi-club football operator Black Knight Football Club – the group of investors who own Premier League side Bournemouth. Foley is also aiming to invest in Scottish Premiership side Hibernian.

As an interested observer from the capital, Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano said the new Auckland club must be built from the grassroots up.

“I gauged a little bit from the announcement that they’re fairly ambitious,” Phoenix men’s coach Giancarlo Italiano said.

“There’s a lot of strategic planning that needs to be put in place.

“There also needs to be an appeal to the grassroots in order to gain that interest. You don’t really want to have a franchise that doesn’t have a core base because then no one will be enjoying their success, so time will tell.”

Bill Foley of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates their Stanley Cup victory
Photo: BRUCE BENNETT

The US-based owner is not just involved in football, however, and in 2017 started the Vegas Golden Knights ice hockey team, who won the Stanley Cup last year.

The 78-year-old has big plans, promising to sign two marquee players and build a squad capable of winning the championship.

The new side will enter the men’s A-League in 2024 and the women’s A-League a year later with the A-League and women’s A-League set to expand to 13 teams.

Foley hoping to kick-start new franchise operation

The American tycoon with interests in insurance, software and the wine industry, said it was an honour to bring a top football club to Auckland.

“Building a championship team from expansion has been my most exhilarating professional achievement, and I aim to do the same for the fans of New Zealand and particularly the community on the North Island,” Foley said.

“It’s a special place and an area that I know will embrace this team.”

Australian Professional Leagues chair Stephen Conroy said he was delighted to welcome Foley into the A-League.

“In Bill Foley we have a proven global sports investor and operator with a track record of building deep roots in the community, a passion for football, and a long-standing business and personal relationship with New Zealand,” he said.

Foley is a sports fanatic with a net worth of $2.6 billion who moved in corporate law before founding the the insurance company Fidelity National Financial in 1984. Alongside his insurance interests, the 78-year-old is a major investor in the US wine industry.

Coach Giancarlo Italiano of the Phoenix looks on before the A League Men – Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar at Sky Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand on Saturday 4 November 2023
Copyright photo: Masanori Udagawa / www.photosport.nz
Photo: Masanori Udagawa

He has wine interests in this country through Foley Wines, representing 10 local brands headlined by Central Otago’s Mt Difficulty and Roaring Meg wineries, Marlborough’s Clifford Bay. Wairarapa spirit maker Lighthouse Gin is another in his stable.

Back on the football pitch, the rival Wellington coach plans to keep a close eye on the new side as it develops.

“I don’t know what the dynamic is until we actually play them. We don’t know how many fans will turn up” Giancarlo Italiano said.

“We don’t know what the recruitment is, we don’t know what the club’s about. Once that’s developed, then I’ll get excited.”