Central Coast Mariners women secure place in soccer's A

The Central Coast Mariners women's soccer team has been thrown a financial lifeline by a group more often associated with rugby league.

The Holman Barnes Group (HBG), which owns a majority stake in the NRL's Wests Tigers, will take over operation of the Mariners' women's team along with its coaches and staff.

The A-League squad was facing an uncertain future after being left out of a takeover deal with English club Queen's Park Rangers (QPR) in June, which only saved the men's team and the club's academy.

At the time, the A-League imposed a deadline of July 31 for an owner to be found to guarantee a place in the upcoming A-League competition.

Race against the clock

HBG chief executive Daniel Paton said it was "always a race against the clock" to ensure the women's team was part of the upcoming season, which kicks off in October.

"We're super excited we can make that happen," he said.

"Our vision is to establish a sustainable, high-performance A-League women's program on the Central Coast … while embedding long-term participation and development pathways for female footballers across NSW."

Mr Paton said he was confident HBG could pull a squad together, but acknowledged there was still a lot of work to be done.

"I guess I'm going to reach out to local community and see how [it] can get behind this … because that's going to be the next challenge.

"I obviously need to do that very quickly so we can even get a kit together for the first round."

The ABC understands most games will be moved away from Central Coast Stadium in Gosford and played at a smaller ground nearby.

But Mr Paton said the plan was for the team to remain local.

"With access to 16,000 boys and girls up there and obviously the two academies, it's a natural progression and the right move to keep the Mariners' men's and women's programs in the A-League on the [Central] Coast," he said.

Renewed certainty

The new deal provides more stability for the club after it was left under the management of the Australian Professional League (APL) earlier this year when former owner Mike Charlesworth handed back its licence after a failed sale.

Both the men's and women's sides struggled on the field, finishing the season 9th and 7th respectively.

The Mariners women kicked off the season as defending champions, after winning the 2025 grand final against Melbourne Victory.

New owner welcomed

Central Coast Mayor and former Central Coast Mariners coach Lawrie McKinna said the deal was "a great outcome for the Central Coast".

"Our girls over the years have been successful and it's a great pathway for our young players to come through," he said.

Cr McKinna said there had been "a lot of noise made by supporters" over the possible loss of the local women's team.

"Let's get behind them, not just when we're winning."

Cr McKinna said the Holman Barnes Group was a "big sponsor of APIA Leichhardt in the NPL [National Premier League]", which also stood local female players in good stead.

"They can play NPL and then if they're good enough they can go on and play in the A-League in the top level in Australia, and then go on to be Matildas hopefully," he said.

"It's giving their players a pathway to become top-level football players."

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