A-Leagues side Perth Glory has been put into voluntary receivership after businessman Tony Sage relinquished his ownership of the club.
Restructuring firm KordaMentha confirmed on Saturday that it has been appointed as receiver by the A-Leagues’ governing body, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), and that the embattled club will now be put up for sale.
“An orderly sale process for the Perth Glory Football Club would commence immediately,” KordaMentha’s Andrew Knight said.
“While this process is being undertaken, the receivers and managers will continue to operate the club in a ‘business as usual’ manner as the teams continue their pre-season preparations.”
A 9News and WAtoday report revealed that, for the past five months, players and staff wages of around $5 million have been paid by loans secured by the APL rather than by Sage.
In a statement on Saturday confirming he had stepped down as owner, Sage savaged the Western Australian government’s COVID-19 restrictions, which he claimed made it impossible to keep running the club.
“My family has invested millions into the club to put competitive men’s, women’s and youth teams on the pitch to represent this great club and our state and provide a genuine football pathway for all aspiring WA footballers,” he said.
“This investment was increased greatly and unsustainably by the impact of COVID-19 which decimated the club’s income streams and then further compounded by our forced relocation from HBF Park last season for 10 of 13 home games while upgrades were made to enable the stadium to host upcoming matches in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“We are still in talks about compensation with the WA Government and trust they see the financial damage the relocation caused the club, especially after the two COVID-ravaged seasons.
“The culmination of these events and the damage they caused has made it all but impossible for us to continue financing the club and led directly to the position we find ourselves in today.”
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APL CEO Danny Townsend said a sale of the Glory would guarantee its future.
“Perth Glory have faced incredibly difficult circumstances over the last five years and we are pleased to close off this period of uncertainty for players, staff, members and fans as they continue their preparations for next season,” he said.
“Here we have a process which allows for the club’s operations to continue ‘business-as-usual’, whilst the technical adjustments are made to the club’s ownership structure.
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“Under this league structure, the continuity of our clubs is now guaranteed by the league.”
While a title-winning team in the old National Soccer League, Perth has never won an A-League Men’s championship, although it made the grand final in both 2012 and 2019.
The women’s side has also fallen short on the final day of the season three times, losing the grand final in 2014, 2017 and 2019.
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