SOCCEROO Shane Stefanutto believes a community ownership plan will secure the long-term future of financially embattled A-League club North Queensland Fury.
The Tableland product has pledged to honour the final two years of his contract with the club despite the Fury losing about $6 million in its first season.
"I hope to be here for the next two years, and a few more after that,’’ he told The Cairns Post yesterday.
"No club has gone bust in the A-League and I don’t expect us to be the first.
"I think the community will get on board the Fury and hopefully we’ll have a successful year to come.’’
The Fury reportedly has a March 31 deadline to raise $2.5 million in investment and sponsorship to secure its future in the A-League, and has turned to the North Queensland business community to become stakeholders in the club.
Stefanutto said the shift from an operation heavily reliant on the financial backing of chairman Don Matheson to a community-based model made sense.
"On paper, it’s the perfect model,’’ he said.
"You get the community on board and they get to embrace the club and have a say in how the club is run.
"In our league, Melbourne Victory does the same thing and they are very well run.’’
Stefanutto said a "misunderstanding’’ last week led players to believe they had been released from the remainder of their contracts.
But following meetings on Friday involving Football Federation Australia, the players were confident their contracts were secure.
"There was a misunderstanding there,’’ he said.
"I didn’t ring my agent on Friday, maybe other players did.
"If I was a fully fit player I would definitely have rung an agent and said, ‘What’s going on’ ... but it was a misunderstanding and all players’ contacts will be honoured and transferred to the new ownership group.’’
The upheaval at the club has reignited debate over marquee star Robbie Fowler’s future, with reports suggesting the former Liverpool star is almost certain not to return to Townsville from an off-season break in England.
"I’m sure it’s irritating for Robbie and it’s irritating for everybody but there’s bound to be speculation about him until he’s back on the training park for pre-season training,’’ he said.
Stefanutto is staying in Townsville over the off-season as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.
"I think everything that happened on Friday in terms of meetings was pretty positive,’’ he said.
"I don’t think there’s too much really to worry about yet, I hope, and I believe over the next seven days it will all sort itself out and the Fury will be here for many years to come.’’
