The new A-League expansion team will be known simply as Auckland FC, an “electric blue” and black jersey and will bear the nickname of the Black Knights.
When she joins the 2024-25 men’s A-League season and the women’s A-League the following year, she will do so in a kit similar to that of Italy’s iconic Internazionale: black and blue vertical stripes.
Auckland FC has been selected from a shortlist via the NZ Herald, adding the Auckland Volcanoes and Black Knights FC.
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The club gained its access to the league last November, when billionaire American businessman Bill Foley announced it as the owner.
Foley owns several clubs in various sports, including AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League and the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. Several of Foley’s groups bear the name “Knights,” a reference to the nickname of the U. S. Army academy at West Point. The club said a procedure of “wide consultation” had resulted in Auckland FC’s call-up, with the Black Knights being the club’s moniker, as Foley’s preference.
The call-up is also reminiscent of the unfortunate New Zealand Knights, who were spoons in the first two seasons of the A-League before retiring in 2007.
The announcements show a team meeting in New Zealand’s largest city, but also highlight the slow progress in building a men’s club in the Australian capital.
Last year, Australian Premier League leaders announced that Auckland and Canberra would be their preferred expansion sites for the 2024-25 campaign. In January, Australian Premier League chief Nick Garcia said he was “very positive” about “advanced discussions” with a Canberra men’s team. team to sign up for the league.
No announcements have been made, raising questions about his actual release in October. Uncertainty plagues Canberra United’s women’s team, whose star players are threatening to retire if their futures are unclear.
While the Auckland team is taking steps towards the first round, it also seems that building a men’s professional team is not straightforward.
In November, Foley said the club would announce a director of football in a few days, a coach in a fortnight and players from January. Director of football Terry McFlynn took a fortnight, coach Steve Corica six weeks and the players have yet to be announced. On Thursday, Corica further extended the deadline to announce players, stating that it would be “starting in June. “
“I’m forward to help build the club from the ground up, building a strong attacking team known for their entertaining taste in football and attracting some of the most productive skills to grow with the club,” he said.
The club will play home games at Mount Smart Stadium, which the NRL Warriors team calls home. There are also problems locating an educational base, according to the NZ Herald, suggesting that it would be too complicated to get educational time at this stage.
Still, Foley has made it clear what his main point of ambition is for the team.
“We’ll make it. We’re here to finish down,” he told the AAP in November.
Most likely, the name Auckland FC will coincide with that of Auckland City FC, the perennial national champions, who play in military blue.
Auckland City FC have won 10 consecutive titles (until last year, when they finished second behind Wellington Olympic) representing Oceania at several FIFA Club World Cups.