The financial situation for Newcastle Jets appears to be somewhat dire.
The Football Federation of Australia (FFA) has issued the club, owned by mining giant Nathan Tinkler (pictured), an ultimatum that it must pay debts owed to creditors within the next 14 days or lose its license to compete in the Australian top flight.
According to Australian media, Tinkler was asked to appear in front of FFA officials and convince them not to revoke his license after he missed a deadline to pay a $500,000 debt.
An FFA spokesman said in a statement released by the organization, “FFA today held another round of talks with Nathan Tinkler and received assurances about his intention to recapitalise the Newcastle Jets and comprehensively address urgent issues in the club’s operation. FFA advised the Jets that it has decided to give the club a formal notice in relation to its financial state. The Jets will be given a short period to respond to the formal notice.”
Tinkler has formally announced he is looking to sell the club, and has been running the team on pennies since that decision. Newcastle, as a result, sits ninth in the 10-team table with just one win on the season through 15 games, and was plastered 7-0 by 2nd-placed Adelaide last time out. The club cut ties with five senior players last Wednesday, including their captain Kew Jaliens, and three senior coaches plus the youth head coach have all left as well. The cleaning house was Tinkler’s reaction to players openly calling for the firing of head coach Phil Stubbins.
“We’ve had concerns about the state of the club for some time now,” said FFA president David Gallop. “We’ve given the club formal notice around their financial position and we need to put things in place quickly. It’s our responsibility to make sure that the club is aware of it’s obligations and fills those obligations in a timely manner. The consequences are obvious.”
Needless to say, the club clearly needs to find a buyer, and soon, or it could get even uglier at Hunter Stadium really soon.