Football Federation Australia chairman Chris Nikou says the board will “continue to push the needle on expansion” following this week’s announcement.
Western Melbourne Group and Macarthur South West Sydney are the two bids who have been granted A-League licenses ahead of Team 11, South Melbourne, Canberra and Southern Expansion.
Nikou says cities like Brisbane and Adelaide “should not be discounted” for future rounds but believes expanding in Sydney and Melbourne gives the league the best opportunity to “spike existing metrics.”
“We as a board will continue to push the needle on expansion,” he said.
“This is not to say other cities won’t get a guernsey but for now this is the call.
“When we’ve added teams in big cities it’s given a boost to the A-League.
“We will debrief the unsuccessful bidders and keep open dialogue with bidders keen for the next phase.”
The official timeline and framework for future rounds of expansion as well as a National Second Division are yet to released but Nikou says the processes will be similar.
“I can’t tell you what the next phase will look like but it will be calculated like this round with the guiding principle being what’s best for the sport,” Nikou said.
“The significant task of 2019 is the A-League model which will set the landscape for expansion beyond that.”
“We’ve done a lot of work already and we’re not going to re-invent the wheel for expansion.”
The FFA will take a “staggered approach” in introducing the two new teams into the A-League with Western Melbourne Group and Macarthur South West Sydney respectively coming into the league in seasons 2019/20 and 2020/21.
“We want to give both bids the best chance of success,” Nikou said.
“Having discussed the timing with the two bidders they prefer to be given that little extra time.”
West Melbourne Group will play at least two seasons out of GMHBA Stadium in Geelong before moving into their new privately-owned stadium.
“Western Melbourne Group is offering something exciting for the sport in owning their own stadium and is a significant step,” FFA CEO David Gallop said.
Meanwhile Macarthur South West Sydney will play their home games out of Campbelltown Stadium.
Enjoy this content? Support The Football Sack
Due in part to COVID and lack of current sponsorship we are at risk of not having the funds to continue running The Football Sack. If you enjoy our content and support our work in training talented young writers, please support us with a donation. If every reader contributed just $3, our funding would be covered for over ten years.
| DONATE |
