Holman Barnes Group Saves Central Coast Mariners Women’s Team

The women’s side was plunged into uncertainty after being excluded from a takeover deal with Total Soccer Growth Holdings, which assumed control of the Mariners’ men’s and academy teams in June.

But with Holman Barnes’ intervention, the Mariners women now have two months to flesh out their coaching and playing squads before the season kicks off on 16 October.

It’s a welcome outcome as the Central Coast community celebrates 50 years of women’s football in a region flush with talent, highlighted by the Mariners winning the 2024/25 ALW title. 

The new deal expands Holman Barnes’ investment in elite sport, with the booming hospitality group owning a majority stake in the NRL’s Wests Tigers and shares in NPL NSW football club APIA Leichhardt.

"We're proud to have played a leading role in securing the future of the Central Coast Mariners’ women's team,” Holman Barnes Group Chairman Dennis Burgess said.

“Our Vice Chair Frank Primerano, with decades of strategic involvement in football administration, has played a key role in bringing this together and broadening our sporting footprint, which has been a key strategy of our CEO Daniel Paton and the Board this year.

“Our Board believes thriving sporting clubs strengthen communities by creating pathways from grassroots participation to elite competition.”

Central Coast Mayor Lawrie McKinna heralded Holman Barnes’ investment in the Mariners as a major win, saying it “gives players, supporters and young footballers across the Coast renewed confidence and hope for the future”.

Holman Barnes Group CEO Daniel Paton, the architect of the deal, added: “The Board of Holman Barnes Group have unanimously supported this investment with a view that it protects the pathway between community sport and the elite game that inspires the next generation.

"Whether it's rugby league, football or any other sport we support, the principle is the same. Strong elite teams inspire participation, strong grassroots participation builds stronger communities, and stronger communities produce stronger sporting clubs.

“You simply can't have one without the other. Young players — girls and boys — need something to aspire to. They need to know that if they work hard and dream big, there is a pathway from local fields to the highest level of the game internationally… The future is extremely bright for this region and community."

Holman Barnes’ partnership with APIA Leichhardt FC will help provide a clear pipeline for talented young girls to progress from community football to the NPL and now to the professional ALW competition.