In 1995 Nick Tana (Chicken Treat and Red Rooster) led a consortium to bid for a Perth team to enter the NSL.
In 1996 Perth Glory entered the NSL.
In 2006 Football Federation Australia took control of Perth Glory after Nick Tana and the ownership group agreed to hand back the licence. The ownership group had been floating the possibility of offloading the club since 2004.
In 2007 a three man consortium took ownership of the club including Australian Financial Group’s Brett McKeon, Mining entrepreneur Tony Sage and Luxury Resort Developer John Spence from Football Federation Australia.
In 2008 Tony Sage became the sole owner of Perth Glory after buying out partner Brett McKeon and following the exit of John Spence.
In 2020 a bid to purchase the club by a London based cryptocurrency group fell through.
In 2023 Tony Sage relinquished his ownership of Perth Glory and the Australian Premier Leagues took control.
In 2023 a bid to purchase the club property developers Robert Brij and John Nekic fell through.
In 2024 the Pelligra group successfully acquired the club from the APL. The group has been involved in a number of Australian sporting clubs, primarily in Adelaide and owns Italian club Calcio Catania. Pelligra was previously associated with the South Melbourne FC A-League bid and continues to be a sponsor of the club as at 2024.
Insights
Perth Glory’s ownership until Sage’s eventual exit was a story of parochial local businessman supporting Western Australian representation, in a story similar to Adelaide United’s. Although Perth were a powerhouse in the old NSL the entry to the A-League changed things, Tana was quick to signal an intention to leave and the club has since constantly struggled with financial issues, often pointing to the high costs of A-League competition. Travel costs and high stadium rental costs have played a part in this but a double barrel financial hit in the form of COVID operating freezes and forced temporary relocation out of their stadium strained club finances.
Limitations and considerations
Information has been accumulated based on publicly available reports and may not be entirely correct.
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