Dear Mariners Fans,
I have been looking forward to this moment for a while.
As a Mariners’ member, you have put your name to this club, and that support means a great deal to me and I want to acknowledge that wholeheartedly.
My name is Ruben and I am the owner of Total Soccer Growth, TSG, the group that has just acquired the Central Coast Mariners. TSG is a football ownership group with a genuine global footprint, and we are delighted to have the Mariners as part of our organisation alongside our stakes in Queens Park Rangers in England and Los Angeles FC in the United States.
When we looked at the Mariners, we saw a fanbase with real passion, a history of producing outstanding Australian footballers and incredible football moments, and a community with enormous potential. That combination is rare. We recognised it and wanted to be part of it.
Our ambition is straightforward: to build a club the Central Coast is genuinely proud of. That means success on the pitch and off it, and for us those two things go hand in hand.
On the pitch, it is important to me to be clear from the outset on the football structure. The A-League Women’s team is not part of this acquisition. Professional women’s football is not an area we have existing expertise in, and we did not think it would be right to take on that responsibility without being confident we could do it properly. The APL is actively working to find a partner for the women’s team, with the aim of enabling them to participate in the 2026-27 season. We are supportive of that process and are assisting as best we can.
The A-League men’s team and the Academy for both boys and girls is included in this acquisition. Player development is at the heart of everything. We want to attract talent at every level and build a genuine pathway for the talent that we know exists in Australia. The Academy is the foundation of that and a young player from the coast or further afield should be able to see a pathway all the way to the top, right here at the Mariners.
Off the pitch, we want this club to mean something to people here. That starts with you. We will engage with fan groups and supporter communities early in the transition because we genuinely want to listen. We do not just want to tell you what we plan to do, but hear what matters to you also.
We take operational control on 1 July 2026. Matt Simon remains as Sporting Director and is already building the playing and coaching structure for the season ahead. We are also in the process of appointing a new CEO, someone who shows a strong understanding of this club and this community and shares our ambition for what the Mariners can become. You will hear more on that soon.
We will be in touch separately with more detail on the season ahead, including membership, ticketing, and the playing programme so please keep a look out for that.
The Mariners have a proud history, with great fans, great players and great moments. We intend to honour every bit of that, and we intend to add to it. This is a new chapter and I could not be more excited about what we are going to build together.
Yours sincerely,
Ruben Gnanalingam
