Football Federation Australia’s board will today dash the dreams of some A-League expansion hopefuls, but soften the blow for those who miss out on admission to the competition.
After a year-long process, football’s governing body will meet on Wednesday in Sydney to make recommendations on expanding the league for the first time since 2012.
It’s expected two teams will be chosen as ‘preferred bidders’ by the governing body during the meeting.
That’s expected to become public on Thursday, though a host of scenarios are still possible.
FFA could lock those teams in unconditionally, or give them time to confirm arrangements – such as seeking funding for a new stadium.
Teams could be brought in next season, which begins in October 2019, push them out a year, or stagger entry over the next two seasons.
And, of course, there’s the small matter of which teams are selected.
Team 11 in Melbourne’s South-East and South-West Sydney are seen as frontrunners, while bids from Canberra, South Melbourne, Western Melbourne and Sydney’s Southern Expansion also on the table.
The X-Factor is how the A-League plans to deal with Wellington Phoenix.
The New Zealand club’s license is conditional on meeting certain benchmarks by the end of the 2020 campaign, and signs aren’t good.
FFA is likely to consider this issue, as well as its plans to arrive at a 16-team league in the medium term, on Wednesday.
That will mean giving the unsuccessful bids hope they could be admitted in the next phase of expansion.
It will also mean restoring hope to other consortiums – particularly from Brisbane – seeking to gain entry.
FFA chiefs are eager to create a derby in the Queensland capital but weren’t able to shortlist a potential option from the original bids.
Leonard Colquhoun
Roar Rookie
Just read that season 2019/20 will have 11 teams, and that 2020/21 will have 12, but the general gist of my points seem OK. Lots of chatter about the Wellington franchise failing to rise from the ashes = Wellington phoenish? Will Man City get sick of Mel City first, or t'other way round? Can the ex-Heart keep pumping with Victory and Co?
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Jordan Read about Clive Palmer and Gold Coast United. Damn shame that
Harry
Guest
Now you're just being wilfully obtuse. I've already told you that the proposed stadium is on the other side of Werribee from the sewage facility and you keep pretending otherwise. This "edge of civilisation" has a well-trafficked train station, is located in the third-fastest growing suburb in Victoria and borders the fourth-fastest. Within five years this land will be gobbled up for development if the stadium isn't built, and within ten it'll be surrounded by development on all sides. The world changes, you should try updating your view of it once in a while to match reality.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
With GCU Palmer basically lost interest, deliberately upset the apple cart so that they would take the license off him. Another factor is that during the WC bid, Gold Coast and Townsville were part of the bid, but once they lost the bid, the FFA lost patience with these clubs getting regular attendances of 4k or less. I can't remember the deal with the Rovers, it was formally announced, and then soon after, it sort of fell over, backers pulled our or something similar.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
New Zealand Knights failed because of on-field performances and crowd figures Gold Coast United failed because of crowd figures North Queensland Fury failed because of financial issues. Does anyone know why the Sydney Rovers failed.
coolncold
Roar Rookie
"No announcement until midday tomorrow" Maybe, there is still time here for people to talk about something. There are many good opinions here in this blog. However, they just talk about the good things these prospective clubs have. There does not seem to have discussions on the reasons some clubs failed before. So, maybe, FFA has to delay another one week to consider why some clubs failed before. New Zealand Knights? Gold Coast United? North Queensland Fury? Money? Gold Coast United had support of a wealthy man. There is a good boutique stadium that Brisbane Roar envies. The most important factor is the fan size plus Foxtel's support. If there is enough attendance, would Foxtel not support? If the logic is right, Team 11 stands out as it will not dilute the existing market. What is Foxtel's opinion on this?
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Ray Gatt @Gatty54 So FFa board meeting finished close to 8pm. No announcement until midday tomorrow. Supposedly None of the bidders have been informed of any decision. Count down minus 15 hours 9:02 PM · Dec 12, 2018
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Heather Reid AM @Reidyfour Replying to @Gatty54 Yep, nearly 5 hrs of robust, productive discussion on a very long list of agenda items. Details on #ALeagueExpansion to be released tomorrow. Meanwhile...
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Eamonn Flanagan @nearpost · 7m Still meeting apparently. No leaks.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
LH asked why Melburnians look down on this part of outer Melbourne, and I explained that in stark contrast to the affluent Eastern suburbs, this part of metropolitan Melbourne is flat, flat, flat. As it happens, the sheep paddock description is accurate, that's what that whole area is, endless flat sheep paddocks at the back of the Werribee Sewerage farm. For Bayern to attract a decent crowd is one thing, but to expect the Werribee Soccer club to attract people to go out to the edge of civilisation where they filmed Mad Max, well, let's just say it's a slightly different proposition.
c
Guest
Good analysis
Sam
Guest
D Day is here.........reads the headline!!!! Can someone tell FFA!!
Nemesis
Guest
The announcement hasn't been delayed. It's currently 815 pm in Sydney and the Board meeting is still in progress. They were never going to announce anything tonight.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the announcment has been delayed until Midday tommorow which is about 9:00 AM my time.
Nemesis
Guest
You're obsessed with the sheep paddock description. So what if the surrounding areas are flat? What difference does that make to a stadium? I recall going to Bayern Munich's home stadium - it's right on the edge of the city & surrounded by farmland. Doesn't stop the stadium from being embraced by fans from all across Munich & all across Bavaria. As long as there is easy access to the stadium by rail & car, that's all that matters.
Jordan Klingsporn
Roar Guru
New Zealand is not part of the AFC. But i agree that N.Z does need its own league.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Don't know about that, I've been to Anfield and Highbury & they are pretty imaginative. Maybe it's just Australia in 70s & 80s were unimaginative, Lillee, Lillee. Some clubs are just stuck in a rut.
Tm
Guest
Absolutely, NZ need a league which can compete in the asian cup. Or wld they not be able to?
AR
Guest
Consider the contribution of MF to the discussion. And then consider the ‘contribution’ of chris.
Leonard Colquhoun
Roar Rookie
Why should a 12-club competition be a fixturing 'problem'? Only because of an unrealistic expectation that each club plays all its opponents an equal number of times, that's why. But is insisting on this an FIFA diktat or an FFA decision? If it's FIFA, then the only solution is to pass [12] and go straight to [14] , which would give a roster of 26 H&A games + one 'special' round - simples! There's an old saying in the AFL, "Too much footy is still not enough!" Fortunately for all concerned, AFL/HQ never contemplated a 26-game season (1987-1990), or a 28-game season (1991-1994), or a 30-game season (1995-2010), or now a 34-game season - too much of a good thing would wear out the most fanatic of fans in any sport, wouldn't it? (Not forgetting the players, naturally.) The NRL had a 20-club season about 20 years ago, but found it counter-productive. Wouldn't a 33-round season mean about six mid-week rounds? With so many sub-10000 crowds these days, would anyone go?