Don Matheson: North Queensland Fury seeking Singapore partnerships

He has a Liverpool icon leading his attack, a nine-in-a-row Rangers legend prowling the touchline and will launch his new club on foreign soil.

For North Queensland Fury owner Don Matheson, football is serious business. The commitment and passion Matheson needed to convince Robbie Fowler to take a chance on moving Down Under, is the same being poured into this week's visit to Singapore.

The Fury will face Tampines Rovers at Jalan Besar Stadium on May 31, but this tour will be no smash-and-grab by the Aussies. Matheson has big plans for his club and intends to use their tour of Singapore to establish links with potential long-term Asian partners.

“The main reason I am going over there is to build contacts," Matheson told tribalfootball.com. “There is plenty of interest in sponsorship and we hope to forge long-term relationships.

“We have planned six or seven fairly significant meetings and we leave Thursday so there is plenty of work do to before we go.”

While in Singapore, Matheson will leave football matters to his coach, Gers legend Ian Ferguson, as he sounds out potential S-League partners and sponsors keen to jump on the Fury bandwagon.

“We are going over there on three fronts – obviously with Robbie (Fowler) as our marquee player there is plenty of interest and having him creates plenty of sponsorship avenues to chase.

“Also with the ownership of the club there is an opportunity to perhaps forge a relationship with a sister-city club and evolve our relationships within Asia.

“Then there is the playing side of things, to give the players some competitive matches.”

Matheson and Ferguson managed to convince Fowler to choose the Fury over an offer from the MLS's Chicago Fire, along with lucrative opportunities in Qatar and the UAE. Not bad for a club whose first genuine game will be against Tampines Rovers this week.

“Regarding Robbie, not only in Asia but the worldwide recognition has been amazing. People are asking ‘Why would he go to North Queensland?’," smiled Matheson.

“The recognition of Robbie has blown the other clubs away in terms of media.

“In Asia they are excited about Robbie coming and we are excited about taking him there and the fact we have him for at least two years means we will definitely make more trips.

“We have actually been quite gobsmacked with the interest in him which is a great testament to the career he has had so far.”

In the near future, Matheson can see young Singaporeans being given the chance to train with the likes of Fowler - and Fury players competing in the S-League on a regular basis.

“Considering we are so close to Asia in North Queensland means there are many opportunities for return trips so we plan to build relationships and perhaps enter a sister club relationship," says Matheson.

“Another major goal is to provide player pathways.

“There are many good Asian footballers who have impacted on the A-League and obviously we want to build a relationship where players can go either way, to Asia or to Australia.

“We want to build that trusting relationship and we also feel it is a great opportunity to build on partnerships with clubs and sponsors – to help build our brand.”

And if the Tampines Rovers players needed any extra motivation for the big friendly, Matheson admits signing an S-League star is definitely on the agenda.

"We definitely would but the player would have to have the talent or potential talent," revealed Matheson.

“The player would have to satisfy the coach (Ian Ferguson) but we would definitely look at having some players to fill our Visa spots, I think its imperative.

“But the coach would have the final say and the player would have to have the talent.”

So the message is simple to Tampines' players: Impress Ferguson on Sunday and you could be soon calling Robbie Fowler a teammate.