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Many have described the 2012-13 A-League as the best season to date. Marquee signings aside, a large part of this success has been down to new club Western Sydney Wanderers.
After a number of unsuccessful expansion attempts, the FFA proved with the Wanderers they could (finally) get it right.
Although further expansion may be a while away, here is my look at possibilities for new A-League clubs.
Canberra
There are a number of states and territories without a team, the ACT being one of them. It seems ridiculous the national football league has no representative from the nation’s capital.
Canberra has proven themselves capable of managing a successful sports team – The W-league Canberra United has been successful in recent seasons and the ACT Brumbies had a good season last year, and are looking even more impressive in 2013.
An unsuccessful A-League bid was previously put forward for Canberra. The team was backed by TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich and was supported by current Socceroo Carl Valeri and former Socceroo Ned Zelic.
Only a short time ago the Canberra Times reported that David Gallop, FFA Chief Executive, said Canberra deserves a team in the A-League, and they should receive one before long.
Tasmania
Another state without a team is Tasmania. The island may not have a team in the NRL or AFL, but the Tasmanian Tigers Cricket team have proven to be competitive in national competitions.
Like Canberra, Tasmania has also made an unsuccessful A-League bid. Should Tasmania be awarded a team, the A-League would become more national than both the NRL and AFL, whose majority of teams are based in Sydney and Melbourne respectively.
South Melbourne
Currently playing in the Victorian State League, South Melbourne FC was one of the most successful clubs from the NSL days.
Fans and players will undoubtedly feel hard-done by they were not rewarded the position of becoming the second Melbourne A-League team, the position instead being filled by newly formed Melbourne Heart.
After their failed bid the club has made clear their aspirations of purchasing an A-League club and moving them to South Melbourne. Recent news reports claimed Heart and Mariners have both rejected bids from South Melbourne.
It would need to be asked if another A-League team can fit into Melbourne, and if another city should be awarded a team first.
But if Melbourne is to receive a third club, South Melbourne FC should be considered with their impressive history and culture.
Geelong
If the state of Victoria is to receive a third A-League team, perhaps the FFA should look at placing them outside of Melbourne.
Geelong is the largest regional city in Victoria, a similar size to Newcastle, and should not be ignored for a possible A-League team.
The city has previously made an unsuccessful bid. They claim to have a number of talented players currently in the Victorian State League who could make up a team.
Victorian Goldfields
Melbourne and Geelong aside, most cities in Victoria would be too small to support an A-League club. Perhaps a club could belong to a region or a group of cities.
The Goldfield Region of Victoria holds the major cities of Ballarat and Bendigo, and would be one possibility for a regional Victorian A-League club.
Third Sydney team
We now draw our attention to NSW, the first logical location to focus on is Sydney.
With the Wanderers located out in Western Sydney, and Sydney FC in the East, geographically a third Sydney team could be placed north in the Northern Beaches area, or south in the Sutherland Shire.
With the success of the Wanderers, a third club could be placed out west, in the Penrith or Blue Mountains region.
But perhaps another NSW team should be located outside of Sydney.
Wollongong/South Coast
With the first (Sydney) and second (Newcastle) largest cities in NSW already with A-League clubs, the third largest (Wollongong) may be in place for their own team.
Critics may say the city is too small to host a club, in which case the team could be located in the South Coast region, of which the ‘Gong is a part.
The South Coast is another region which has put forward an unsuccessful bid in the past. The bid received backing from current Socceroo Tim Cahill.
The South Coast region has also had an impressive number of footballing talent, the likes of Johnny Warren, Luke Wilkshire and Scott Chipperfield originating from there.
Second Brisbane team
Brisbane Roar have been highly successful in recent seasons, but this doesn’t mean the city deserves a second A-League team.
With only one NRL and one AFL club, I’m not sure if Brisbane can manage a second A-League club.
Perhaps if Queensland was to be awarded a second club it should be placed outside Brisbane.
Sunshine Coast
With failed A-League teams from North Queensland and the Gold Coast, the FFA will be weary of attempting a new club in Queensland.
However, unlike with their previous attempts, the Sunshine Coast Football Club already exists and currently plays in the Queensland State League.
Perhaps this will be a better way for the A-League to introduce new teams, with clubs that already exist with their own players, coaches and staff that can be built upon.
This raises an interesting point of potentially combining the A-League with local state leagues in a possible FFA Cup or some sort of relegation/promotion system.
The A-League is not quite ready for immediate expansion, but if the 2012-13 season is anything to go by, it will not be far away.
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