AAP can reveal the Holman Barnes Group (HBG), which owns a majority stake in NRL side Wests Tigers and shares in NPL NSW football club APIA Leichhardt, will be confirmed as the new backers of the Mariners ALW side on Tuesday.
The Mariners ALW side were left in the lurch in June when Total Soccer Growth Holdings (TSG) - fronted by Malaysian businessman Ruben Gnanalingam - chose to only invest in the A-League Men team.
The Mariners - winners of the 2024/25 grand final - had proven themselves to be a breeding ground for emerging Australian talent with Isabel Gomez and Annalise Rasmussen both earning moves to Europe off the back of their exploits in Gosford.
But when TSG, which owns stakes in English Championship club Queens Park Rangers and Major League Soccer side LAFC, opted against running an ALW side, the existence of the Mariners' women's team was plunged into doubt.
HBG has emerged as the saviour of the Mariners' ALW side and will be tasked with finding players and backroom staff for the upcoming season, which starts on October 17.
"Our vision is to establish a sustainable, high-performance A-League Women's program on the Central Coast that delivers elite football outcomes while embedding long-term participation and development pathways for female footballers across NSW," said HBG chief executive Daniel Paton.
"We believe elite women's football programs must be built upon a dual foundation of participation and performance pathways.
"We want to create an enduring women's football program on the Central Coast that expands participation opportunities, strengthens the pathways to elite domestic and international competition and advance the growth of women's football - while preserving the strong community identity synonymous with the Central Coast Mariners."
A resolution over the fate of the Mariners' ALW side is another win for the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), who were able to secure a buyer for Canberra United last month.
TSG will hold the licence to the club, while HBG will take on all day-to-day responsibilities of running the ALW side.
"This innovative structure provides HBG with the full rights and obligations of the women's team, and gives the club a dedicated women's investment, matched with decades of local experience in women's football participation and development," APL chair Stephen Conroy said.
