From Capital Football CEO, Samantha Farrow.
As of today, Friday 5 April 2024, Capital Football has not received any change in the status regarding any potential new A-League investment from the APL (Australian Professional Leagues). We are aware that the APL are working closely with the preferred investment group for Canberra on an unforeseen challenge outside their control, and we continue to work with them closely to inform our efforts.
As mentioned previously, on its own, Capital Football will be unable to commit to the next season of Canberra United without significant investment support. We want Canberra United to continue and be successful.
Capital Football are currently working on securing $200,000 in immediate investment to lower the projected Season 17 deficit and have been engaging with ACT & Federal Government, and other investors, to lock in this support. This immediate investment decreases the overall financial risk to Capital Football, and we believe the remaining deficit can be made up through several supplementary initiatives.
Given the need for external investment into the Club, Capital Football welcomes the support of the working group, Save Canberra United however is yet to meet with the organisers.
The supporters of Canberra United are amazing and we are more than happy to work with all parties that seek to help us ensure Canberra United continues to take its rightful place in the A-League women’s competition.
Capital Football are happy to collaborate with Save Canberra United and will meet with them next week. We first received correspondence from the organisers of Save Canberra United over the Easter weekend and our Chair, Angelo Konstantinou, contacted them directly seeking more details on their proposals which was provided late on Thursday 4 April.
Capital Football has been working on a range of initiatives including new merchandise, alternate membership options, sponsorship packages and direct investment. Capital Football has also engaged with the Australian Sports Foundation, to set up a crowd funding platform, as they are able to offer tax deduction status for any donations made, however, legalities surrounding the return of funds if unsuccessful in raising the required investment has held this up.
In total, we are seeking up to $500,000 in investment to support Season 17.
Our unwavering intent here is to procure immediate investment or commercial support to support Canberra United in Season 17. This is the immediate priority for Capital Football.
