A-League's Newcastle Jets up for sale

The Newcastle Jets have been put up for sale by its owning group.

Aiming to secure a long-term, sustainable future for the financially troubled A-League club, Newcastle Jets Football Club Executive Chairman Shane Mattiske today announced the Club is commencing a formal sale process and that professional services firm KordaMentha is to conduct the sale process.

Advising that the time is right to find a new owner for the Jets, Mattiske stated “the Jets are a strong Club with a great heritage and are based in a huge football community. We’ve been a core part of the A-League competition since it started in 2005 - and prior to that in the old National Soccer League.

“We know that there is real interest in this Club, as there has been in other A-League Clubs, including in the Auckland expansion licence, and we are confident that the sale process will be competitive with interest from around the country and from overseas.”

The Jets have been controlled since early 2021 by a group made up of several other A-Leagues clubs, after Martin Lee - who had owned Newcastle since 2016 - was stripped of his franchise licence over unpaid debts and a lack of investment.

Former NRL executive Mattiske was placed in temporary charge by the consortium of owners - led by Sydney FC, Western United and the Western Sydney Wanderers - and has worked to stabilise the club.

A new owner will likely benefit from growth within the A Leagues competition with growing engagement, expanding seasons and new teams, with the competition expected to benefit from the success of Australian teams, players and coaches on the international stage.

As the 2023/24 Women’s and Men’s seasons start, the Jets can point to its sponsorship having doubled over the last two years, as has membership, with the Club targeting 8,500 members for the 2023/24 season.

The Club also has highly competitive Men’s and Women’s A-Leagues teams which are underpinned by a strong Academy containing 13 boys and girls teams which are delivering exciting talent into these teams.

The boys finished the season in second place in the Football NSW Club Championship, ahead of Sydney FC and the Central Coast Mariners and the girls have had great success representing the region with the U18s finishing undefeated in the national championships (NTC) and the U14s and U16s finishing in the top four regions in the country.

Mattiske thanked the Club’s current owners for their support in establishing a strong foundation that has allowed the Club to now build a strong and sustainable future representing the Northern NSW region in the A-Leagues.

He went on to say “when they stepped in to support the Jets, the owners were focused on building stability, establishing growth and sustainability and finally to support the transition to a more permanent owner.”