Foundation club Queensland Roar will become the Brisbane Roar this month but the FFA have denied they are preparing to take back their A-League licence.
High-ranking sources have confirmed the Roar will officially change their name from Queensland to Brisbane before the 2009-10 A-League draw is released early next month.
With two more Queensland clubs – Gold Coast and North Queensland – admitted to an expanded 10-team competition, kicking off on August 7, the Brisbane-based Roar can no longer claim to represent the whole Sunshine State.
It’s understood the club has already registered Brisbane Roar as a trademark and sent off new strips and merchandise for production.
Roar chief executive Laurence Oudendyk has long denied constant rumours of the name change but it’s understood the club has hoped to sell off existing “Queensland Roar” merchandise.
Oudendyk and other Roar officials met with the FFA in Sydney on Friday for their annual club review, coincidentally on the same day Fairfax Media reported the national body was preparing to take back the club’s licence due to financial reasons.
Both the Roar and FFA have vehemently denied the report, which claimed the club was struggling due to the crippling deal to play out of Suncorp Stadium where they need to attract an average crowd of 15,000 to break even.
“We’re not going to take back the licence of the Queensland Roar,” said FFA head of corporate and public affairs Bonita Mersiades. “The future of the Roar is not in doubt.
“We have been in discussions regarding stadium arrangements and we’re very happy with the way things are progressing.
“They’ve performed extraordinarily in the Hyundai A-League and were unfortunate last season not to qualify for the Asian Champions League.”
Oudendyk was confident that with negotiations for a better stadium hiring arrangement and short-term support from the FFA, the Roar would build on the success of 2008-09 when they finished third.
With the club forced to cut some of it’s off-field staff in the last month, he also revealed they were chasing new investors to shore up the bottom line.
“The club is currently in discussions with local and overseas interest regarding investing in the club,” he said.
“Combined with strong support from our current sponsors and investors we can guarantee Queensland Roar will be playing in the Hyundai A-League in the upcoming season and well beyond.”
But the FFA are preparing to sweep in and help Adelaide United as a caretaker manager as the Reds prepare to find a new owner.
Outgoing owner Nick Bianco is in the process of restructuring his business interests and the FFA has been assisting the club since February to find new investors or a replacement owner.
The FFA have previously taken over Central Coast and Perth Glory until new owners could be found.
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