Sydney Portugal Community Club board ‘not effective’: ILGA
Administrators have taken over the running of one of the inner west’s historic clubs and associated football teams - raising fears over their futures.
Inner West
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A popular inner west club has been thrown into disarray with the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) placing it into administration after its board “ceased to be effective”.
Administrators will oversee the day-to-day running of the Sydney Portugal Community Club in Marrickville after the actions of its board were brought to the attention of the ILGA earlier this year.
The cultural hub was under investigation by the authority when it placed it into the control of administrators from KPMG last week.
The company was contacted about the future of the club last Thursday but did not respond.
Club president Miguel Vairinhos was also contacted but was unable to be reached.
Founded in 1965, the club is currently home to soccer team Fraser Park FC and houses a restaurant as well as one of the best football pitches in Sydney on four hectares of land at Marrickville.
The futures of all of that, and six decades of history, are now in limbo as administrators decide in the coming weeks whether the club is financially viable enough to continue running.
What the decision means for the future of the football club is also unclear.
The club was formed four years after Fraser Park FC began in Paddington in 1961 and has been the home for Sydney’s Portuguese migrants around Petersham and Marrickville ever since.
Its financial strains were laid bare in 2018, almost five years after it had been granted $2 million by the Federal Government for a new grandstand which had not been completed.
Media reports from recent years also detailed how the club had been rife with “gossip” and “infighting” over its future.
ILGA chairman Philip Crawford said the action was taken after an initial investigation into how the club was being run.
“Where boards of clubs become ineffective, ILGA has the power under section 41A of the Registered Clubs Act 1976 to appoint an independent administrator who then has the functions of the governing body of the club,” Mr Crawford said.
“As such, we’ve appointed Morgan Kelly of KPMG as temporary administrator of the club. “The role of the administrator will be to administer the affairs of the club and to report back to ILGA on the financial position of the club, its governance, and a plan for its future.
“At this early-stage he will investigate the club’s viability, continue its operations if possible, and assess its future plans in consultation with ILGA and the club’s members.”
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