The NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority has appointed a temporary administrator to the Sydney Portugal Community Club after forming the opinion that the Board has ceased to be effective as a governing body.
ILGA Chairman Philip Crawford said the action was taken after an initial investigation into how the Club was being run.
“Where boards of clubs become ineffective, ILGA has the power under section 41A of the Registered Clubs Act 1976 to appoint an independent administrator who then has the functions of the governing body of the club,” Mr Crawford said.
“As such, we’ve appointed Morgan Kelly of KPMG as temporary administrator of the Club. The role of the Administrator will be to administer the affairs of the Club and to report back to ILGA on the financial position of the Club, its governance, and a plan for its future.
“At this early stage he will investigate the Club’s viability, continue its operations if possible, and assess its future plans in consultation with ILGA and the Club’s members.”
The Club in Marrickville was one of many venues that shut down when the pandemic hit.
“It was really hard for our community … A lot of people are used to their routines. We have an important social role,” club president Miguel Vairinhos told SBS News back in May last year.
Mr Vairinhos said at the time that he was not fussed if their restaurant, Tasca, didn’t make a profit when it reopened.
“One of the things we’ve realised through this pandemic is the importance of taking care of each other, of community, of people around us,” he said. “If I break even, then I’m happy.”
The Club was founded in 1965, a few years after the formation of its Football Club in 1961. Portuguese migrants created the “Clube Português de Sydney”, as it was originally known, in Paddington, in the heart of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
It was there that a small number of Portuguese immigrants began to plan the future of the club, which later became Rosebery and then Fraser Park F.C.
Situated on 4ha at Fraser Park in Marrickville, Sydney Portugal Club consists of clubhouse, entertaining space and playing fields and with its community concentrated in Petersham and Marrickville, now commonly known as the Portuguese neighbourhood of Sydney.
The Club was given a $2million Federal Labor Government grant in 2013 but didn’t have much to show for it by the time the money was spent. It went into further debt after securing a $500,000 loan from NAB.