North Queensland Thunder FC
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| North Queensland Thunder | |
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| Full name | North Queensland Thunder Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Thunder |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Ground | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville (Capacity 25,000) |
| Chairman |  Ian Kiernan |
| Manager |  Wynton Rufer |
North Queensland Thunder FC is a consortium seeking to establish an association football (soccer) club based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, seeking admission to the A-League.
[edit] History
The bid was considered for admission for the 2008-09 season along with Gold Coast Galaxy, but Football Federation Australia has delayed expansion of the league until at least the 2009-10 season.[1] [2]
The bid was tentatively accepted to join in the 2008-09 season expanding the league to ten teams. Needing to meet certain financial criteria to be granted entry into the league, the club's major financial backer pulled out of the franchise on March 5, 2008, effectively collapsing the bid. The FFA determined on 11 March that neither Thunder or Galaxy would be granted entry "in the best interests of the league," given that a nine team format was generally unfavoured.
The teams badge has been released and the uniform colors will be Red, White and Black. The club's training facilities were to be located at the North Queensland Institute of Sport. The club was to play at Dairy Farmers Stadium, a 25,000 seat ground in Townsville that is also home to the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League.
Originally named Northern Thunder, the consortium agreed to a name change after the FFA made it clear that they wanted a more specific regional identity. Despite this, the club has been criticised along side the Gold Coast Galaxy franchise for their choice of what is deemed a poor name in regards to a football club.
[edit] References
- ^ "NO A-League Expansion this season", FourFourTwo, 2008-03-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ "Hyundai A-League expansion delayed", A-League, 2008-03-11. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
|title=Moore the merrier: FFA opts for SFS grand final despite clash with SCG one-dayer|date=2008-02-13|publisher=The Sydney Morning Herald|accessdate=2008-02-13}}</ref>
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