Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

Caltex's naming rights sponsorship of the Socceroos is due to expire next week.Credit:Dallas Kilponen

The round ball game and Ampol go way back,after all. Remember the old Ampol Cup knockout competitions in NSW,Queensland and Tasmania,variously run between the 1950s and 1990s? In the'80s,there was also the China-Australia Ampol Cup,which was supposed to be an annual event pitting the two nations against each other,but fizzled out after just a few years.

A spokesperson for Football Federation Australia confirmed that the deal in place with Caltex elapses at the end of the year – as in,next week – and that the governing body was already seeking a replacement. That means there will be no"Ampol Socceroos".

Caltex has been sponsoring the Socceroos since early 2016,after a two-and-a-half year period in which the team had no naming rights partner following Qantas'decision not to renew their long-running deal.

Now it's back to the drawing board,adding one more item to an already lengthy to-do list for incoming FFA chief executive James Johnson,who will officially begin his role in the middle of January.

Going it alone

Ange Postecoglou is enjoying some well-earned downtime back homeafter securing the J.League title with Yokohama F. Marinos. But his long-time assistant is still working hard in Japan.

Peter Cklamovski – who was by Postecoglou's side at Greek club Panachaiki,Melbourne Victory and the Socceroos – was appointed head coach of Shimizu S-Pulse earlier this month,ensuring there will be two Aussies at the helm of clubs in the Japanese top division next year.

Sources in Japan say Cklamovski is hard at work planning his senior coaching debut and is in talks to bring in Naoki Imaya as his assistant.Imaya is,of course,the Japanese-Aussie who was Postecoglou's personal translator in his first year at F. Marinos and a childhood friend of Cklamovski. It would make an awful lot of sense.

Naoki Imaya during his brief time with the now-defunct New Zealand Knights in 2006.Credit:Getty Images

Future Bulls on parade?

Melbourne City pair Denis Genreau and Nathaniel Atkinson could be spending this weekend in Sydney on somewhat of a reconnaissance mission,as the two youngsters may be living here next year.

A-League newcomers Macarthur FC have flagged interest in signing the Young Socceroos pair for their inaugural campaign next season and will get a closer look at them in Sunday's match between Melbourne City and Sydney FC at Jubilee Stadium.

The Bulls have been active in their recruitment during the past month but are still yet to announce any signings for their debut squad,having previously missed out on a very public bid for Milos Ninkovic and been linked to a host of other players.

Western want more firepower

Western United are set to enter the transfer market next week with the other A-League expansion team eager to boost their attacking stocks in the January window.

Sources close to the club suggest coach Mark Rudan is eager to bolster his forward line and use their final visa player spot on another striker to add some more pace to their attack and complement Besart Berisha up front.

Former Socceroo Scott McDonald has battled an injury in recent weeks,while Panagiotis Kone came off injured against the Wanderers last week and could miss a few games.

Roar deal for O'Toole

Still on player movement,and Brisbane Roar are also keen to make a splash in January,but are working to offload some players.

Left-back Connor O'Toole is contracted for next season,but sources at the club say they are eager to move him on to give embattled coach Robbie Fowler more room to move on the recruitment front.

Fowler already has five foreigners on his books,but is hopeful of being able to sign one more,provided veteran striker Roy O'Donovan's bid for Australian citizenship is granted next month.

License this article