The expansion announcement has come and gone and it’s no surprise to anyone that Football Federation Australia has gone with the ground-breaking new territory of Sydney and Melbourne.
Here’s the five A-League expansion teams that really would have made more sense than Western Melbourne and Macarthur South West Sydney.
Words by: Agaki Bautista
1. Svalbard, Arctic Ocean
As money is seemingly the main factor in gaining an A-League license, the unincorporated region of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean should be a prime candidate for an A-League team!
Bankrolled by the Russians, this territory is as a key piece in Arctic strategy and trade routes so a Svalbard team will be able to pump millions of dollars into the A-League as Russia aims to solidify it’s position as a key player in Arctic political squabbles.
Who cares if nobody really lives here? People may be living here in the future and they have the cash!
2. Shanghai, China
With one of the most wealthy middle classes in the entire world and a population number close to that of the entirety of Austalia, Shanghai is prime real estate. THINK OF THE METRICS PEOPLE! Similar to Sydney and Melbourne, Shanghai already has two top flight football teams with deep roots and intense derbies. We know that this isn’t an issue to the FFA apparently, so why not Shanghai for the A-League?
3. Atlanta United
Atlanta United’s rise to champions of the MLS is one of the most feel good football stories of the year. The MLS expanded into Atlanta knowing that there was a deep grassroots football culture in the US south and knowing that other professional teams had under-served the area for decades. An organically growing support took hold immediately and created one of the best atmospheres in world football within two years, in a rectangular stadium! What a good idea right? So why don’t we just take Atlanta and put it in our league?
!?!
4. Seven Hills Station
It’s close to public transport because it is a station and I’ve seen some mad fights going on in that car park with better atmospheres in the crowd than most A-League games. I mean there’s no stadium, facilities or anything substantial really about this idea but that doesn’t seem like a problem to the powers that be.
5. Canberra or Wollongong
Actually I’m sorry, this is a ridiculous idea and shouldn’t be on this list.
Seven Hills Image Credit: Gareth Edwards
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