Ownership will not fund Strikers

League to discuss financial assistance

The financial troubles of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers have taken a dire turn, with the club’s Brazilian ownership group informing the North American Soccer League that it will no longer fund the operation, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The source confirmed a report by WRAL.com that principal owner Paulo Cesso told the league that as of Sept. 1the team would cease meeting payroll and other financial obligations through the end of 2016.

The Raleigh, N.C., television station reported that NASL officials have proposed that the league pick up those expenses, estimated at between $1.25 million and $1.75 million. That is expected to be considered during the league’s Board of Governor’s meeting next week in Atlanta.

Strikers managing director Luis Cuccatti said via a spokesman that the club would have no comment until after those meetings.

NASL officials didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment but did issue a statement to WRAL that read: “Whenever a situation arises that requires the attention and support of the league office and its board, everyone within the NASL rallies together, like any true league would, to work through the situation and try to achieve the best possible outcome. The current status of the Fort Lau--

derdale Strikers is no different.”

The Strikers, an iconic brand in American soccer that has existed in various forms since the 1970s, have been rumored for months to be up for sale and in financial difficulty.

The Sun Sentinel reported in July of three instances of late payments to players and checks bouncing. Cuccatti attributed it to lags in the transfer of funds to the U.S. from Brazil.

Despite the turmoil surrounding their future, the Strikers are performing well on the field during a sevengame unbeaten streak that has them in contention for the fall season playoffs. They will play host to the rival Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday at Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill, where they relocated last month from their original base at Lockhart Stadium.

The Strikers’ latest incarnation dates to 2011 when the brand was resurrected with the move of Miami FC to Fort Lauderdale.

The group headed by Cesso purchased the team from Traffic Sports in September 2014. Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo was added a few months later as a minority owner with the group outlining ambitious plans for expanding the team’s profile locally and internationally.

But after the initial splash, which included discussion of the former World Cup star known as The Phenomenon possibly coming out of retirement to play for the club, Ronaldo hasn’t been a visible presence.

“I’ve never seen him,” said Kenny Butler, president of the passionate fan group Flight 19, noting that Ronaldo even failed to attend a planned puck drop at a Florida Panthers game. “They even advertised it on the radio and he didn’t have the courtesy to let anyone know he wasn’t going.”

That was just one aspect of the disconnect with the local community since the Brazilian group took over. Despite reaching the NASL finals in 2014, popular coach Gunter Kronsteiner was let go and the roster turned over in favor of a core of Brazilian players.

More attention was directed at exploiting the Strikers’ name globally, including a preseason trip to China earlier this year, of which Cuccatti said, “Ronaldo and the Strikers see immense, untapped potential in China.”

Meanwhile, local interest declined.

A recent midweek game drew only 455, though the weekend crowds at Central Broward Stadium have ranged from1,821 to 2,376.

The Strikers brand became known worldwide in the late 1970s and early ’80s when the likes of George Best, Gerd Müller, Nene Cubillas and Ray Hudson raised them to prominence in the original NASL. But it was the direct interaction of those players with their fans and the Fort Lauderdale community that made the games at Lockhart Stadium a phenomenon for a few years.

“Itwas a hip thing to do,” said Thomas Rongen, who played on those early teams and until earlier this season did television commentary for their games. “It was a way to start your evening with a few beverages and watch a pretty exciting team with small shorts running against other guys in small shorts.”

Now playing in a lower tier of domestic soccer, and with more pro teams in the South Florida market, reviving that buzz has been a challenge.

“They have absolutely no connection to the past,” Rongen said. “It’s sad actually. It’s a sad, slow death of this beautiful franchise that we knew and played for.”

Nonetheless, Chris Marrazzo, a Flight 19 member who broadcasts The Tailgate Show over the internet from his home, sees positives in the move to the more intimate confines at Central Broward Stadium. He cited close proximity of the field to the stands and the roof that aids fan comfort, aswell as a competitive team on the field — Italian forward Amauri highlighted the first game there with a highlight-reel bicycle kick goal.

“To see that live, it’s incredible,” Marrazzo said. “They brought in three or four food trucks. They brought in better beers. They’ve created this little food court type of atmosphere in the main area.”

Being an avid fan, he said, “I would give my right arm for 5,000 [fans to be there] every night.”

Until the ownership issue is settled, it is difficult to foresee what the future holds for the Strikers. Next weeks’ NASL meetings may bring some clarity or at least short-term direction.

Tim Robbie, whose family owned the original Strikers and who left his role as club president a few months after the latest change in ownership, said he would be interested in getting involved again under the right circumstances.

“If you do it right, even under the conditions that exist in the South Florida market today, you can carve out a niche and make it work,” Robbie said. “It’s not rocket science. It’s community involvement, it’s lower ticket prices, it’s more of a family atmosphere, not geared so much to the corporate bigwigs and people who are there to see and be seen.

“I’m just hoping that they haven’t tarnished the brand to the point that it can’t be revived.”