International football experts are looking at home and
THE North Queensland Fury has hand-picked a panel of football experts to lead the worldwide search to appoint a coach for the new team.
FFA National Technical Director Han Berger, former Colchester United owner Jonathan Crisp, North Queensland resident and former English first division player Peter Brine, and Fury Interim CEO Archie Fraser head up the selection panel, announced in Townsville today.
Fraser said: “We will be appointing a coach for North Queensland who has the credentials to lead the Fury to its first premiership. We have brought together a panel of people with many years- experience in the football industry and an excellent understanding of the technical aspects of the game, to select the right coach for the new Fury.
“Coaches from across Australia and around the world have already applied for the head position and we are talking to several coaches who we have identified as having the right set of credentials for the role.
“The coach will have at the minimum an A-License badge, which is now a standard for the Hyundai A-League.
“They will also be eager to exploit the competitive advantage the Fury can have over away sides during the North-s humid summer and be passionate about working with the local community to grow the game in this region.”
The panel will now set to work to identify a shortlist and will conduct a series of intensive interviews with preferred applicants.
Brine, who has lived in North Queensland for 24 years, brings to the table first-grade playing experience in England and a vital understanding of the local community.
Brine played 102 first team games for Middlesbrough AFC from 1972 to 1977 in the English first division before a serious knee injury cut short his playing days at age 24. He moved to Townsville in 1986 to pursue his career in the casino business before opening A Touch of Salt restaurant with his family.
“The selection of a coach is paramount to the future of the Fury going forward,” Brine said.
“We need to find the right style of coach for our local community. Our fans want a coach who has the credentials to win them a premiership and they want someone they can connect with.
“With the selection panel Archie has formed, I am confident we will find the right coach for the new Fury and I-m excited to represent North Queensland in that process.”
Fellow panel member Jonathan Crisp is a former owner of Colchester United and is based on the Gold Coast, where he has lived for a number of years. Crisp is a successful businessman with particular expertise in the areas of management and marketing, and has been a board director of the PGA Tour for 16 years.
Formerly of the UK, Crisp founded and ran the largest independent management and marketing consultancy in Europe, which advised a number of sports organisations specifically in football, including Ipswich Town and Leeds United.
He was also a board director of World Sport Group for 10 years, which is the largest sports marketing company in Asia.
