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Socceroos star Tim Cahill has publicly backed the bid for a NSW South Coast team’s inclusion into the A-League in 2010.
The Wollongong-based bid is squaring off against the likes of Melbourne and western Sydney for a place in the second wave of expansion earmarked for the 2010-2011 season.
The consortium behind the South Coast bid have claimed they are close to securing the financial backing needed to satisfy Football Federation Australia’s entry requirements and also have Socceroos Cahill and Scott Chipperfield in their corner.
Everton midfielder Cahill, who has already committed to create a youth academy in the area, said it was a matter of “when” and not “if” a South Coast team would join the competition.
“I am very confident that ultimately the South Coast will be successful in obtaining an A-League licence,” said Cahill, who played a starring role in Australia’s 4-0 World Cup qualification win over Qatar on Wednesday.
“There is a very good case for an A-League team on the South Coast and from what I know there has been a lot of work gone into the development of the bid and I think it’s only a matter of time.”
Cahill said the “football heritage” of the South Coast, a nursery to players such as legend Johnny Warren and current Socceroos Mile Sterjovski, Luke Wilkshire and Chipperfield, was a key factor in why he wanted to base his first academy in Wollongong.
Inspired by his struggles as a youngster, he plans to eventually create a national network of academies.
“My pathway to where I am today was extremely difficult for me, my parents and my family,” Cahill said.
“My parents sacrificed almost everything to give me the opportunity to be successful and if I can make the pathway either to professional football or a better life off the streets easier then this is a big motivation for what I am doing.”
Asked would he consider playing for a South Coast team in the A-League once he returned from England, Cahill said: “Absolutely. Why wouldn’t I?”
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