HomeNFLMLBNBANHLNCAAFNCAA Football NCAA Football Recruiting NCAA Football Video Rivals.com HomeNCAABNCAA Men's Basketball NCAA Women's Basketball NCAA Basketball Recruiting NCAA Basketball Video Rivals.com HomeNASCARGolfUFCBoxingSoccerTennisAction SportsGrindTV Home Skate Surf Snow Wake BMX MotocrossMoreAussie Football (AU) High School CFL Horse Racing Cycling IRL Cricket (IN) MLS Formula One(UK) NCAA Baseball Rugby(UK) Olympics World Cup Skiing WNBA All SportsVideoBlogs College Broadcast NewsMy Sports News Expert Analysis RumorsMost Emailed PhotosTransactionsShopFantasyWorld Soccer HomeWorld CupEnglandItalyGermanySpainNetherlandsFranceMLSPhotosBlog Sports Search Trending Now:NFL Training Camps Brett Favre A-Rod Phillies Scoot PodsednikNew team for 6th A-League, star Fowler moves westBy DENNIS PASSA, AP Sports Writer 6 hours, 1 minute ago
BRISBANE, Australia (AP)—The sixth edition of Australia’s A-League begins this week with a new club, a a shift west for star import Robbie Fowler and continuing concerns over the competition’s financial viability and dwindling attendance.
Melbourne Heart is the new club in the expanded 11-team league. Brazilian striker Alex Terra and former Netherlands youth international Rutger Worm will lead the Heart against the Central Coast Mariners in Thursday’s season opener.
“After 10 months of being here and working together with all the people to build the club, it’s time to kick off,” said Heart coach John van’ t Schip, a Canadian-born former Dutch international.
Fowler, the ex-Liverpool and England striker, will have to wait an extra day to see his first action for the Perth Glory in Western Australia state. The Glory will take on Fowler’s old team—North Queensland Fury—in a match Friday at Perth.
Fowler will hope there are no acrimonious feelings on the field from his June decision to take legal action against his former club for damages over the termination of his playing contract.
He was one of seven Fury players whose contracts were terminated when North Queensland restructured earlier due to financial difficulties and its operations were taken over by Football Federation Australia. Fowler then signed a new deal with the Glory.
The players’ union took action against North Queensland on behalf of the seven players and reached settlements for all but Fowler. The amount sought by Fowler has not been disclosed.
“To Robbie’s credit, he could have gone and played in just about any country around the world and forgotten about the Fury situation,” union chief executive Brendan Schwab said. “But he is committed to developing the Australian game and ensuring contract security for Australian players.”
North Queensland wasn’t the only team hit by financial worries last year. Other Queensland state clubs Gold Coast United and Brisbane Roar also had concerns over attendance and costs, with Gold Coast owner Clive Palmer rumored to be pulling the financial plug on his team late last season.
In April, the A-League’s head of operations, Archie Fraser, resigned after only a year in charge. It came as the rumors of Palmer’s pullout continued and as the FFA took over control of North Queensland.
Palmer had earlier caused concern for the league when he restricted attendance at his team’s match against the Fury in a move to cut costs.
Palmer, a billionaire mining magnate, capped the crowd at the match to 5,000 by only opening one of four sides of the team’s 27,400-seat stadium on the Gold Coast. By limiting the crowd, the team was not required to pay a state government transport levy, and saved money on stadium staff.
The crowd restriction lasted only one match after the league and Palmer held talks to end the impasse.
Overall, average attendance was down by more than 2,000 in 2009-10 from 12,180 to 9,796. Although the addition of two new teams last year—North Queensland and Gold Coast—led to an increase in regular-season attendance from 1,023,147 to 1,322,475.
The potential for attendance increases this season won’t be helped by Australia’s poor showing at the World Cup in South Africa, where the Socceroos failed to advance past the first round.
It could get a late-season boost, however, if Australia manages to land the 2022 World Cup when FIFA decides the location on Dec. 2. The Australian domestic season ends in February.
In other first-round matches, Adelaide United hosts the Newcastle Jets on Friday and defending champion Sydney FC takes on the Melbourne Victory on Saturday in a replay of last year’s final. Gold Coast hosts Brisbane in an all-Queensland state opener Sunday.
The Wellington Phoenix, which has the first-round bye, opens at home against Gold Coast on Aug. 13.
The Phoenix were boosted late last week by the signing of Australia defender Jade North, who has played 28 matches for the Socceroos. North, who was born in Australia but who grew up in New Zealand, formerly played for Perth, Newcastle, Norwegian side Tromso and South Korea’s Incheon United.
“Jade is a proven performer at elite level, with almost 100 appearances in the A-League,” Wellington head coach Ricki Herbert said. “Not only does he have a wealth of experience but he also brings significant leadership qualities to the club.”
It's game time! Sign up for Fantasy Football '10 today!Updated 6 hours, 1 minute agoEmail Print Buzz up! digg add to facebook del.icio.us TwitterWorld SoccerBerger to coach Australia in friendly matchDraw with Palmeiras costs Corinthians league leadShimizu beats Shonan 6-3, Johnsen gets hat trickArgentina, Brazil to start series of friendliesNew team for 6th A-League, star Fowler moves westPuyol won't end Spain career before 2012Batista might win Argentina job with good resultsThierry Henry rules out France returnThere are no comments yetSelect another sort optionShow: Newest FirstOldest FirstHighest RatedMost Replied Sort Post CommentSign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account.Yahoo! Sports BlogsDirty Tackle
