A-League plans to expand to two key cities beating 11 other contenders in $50 million move
Canberra and Auckland are the preferred markets of the A-Leagues for their next round of expansion ahead of the 2024-25 season.
They beat 11 other contenders including North Queensland, Gold Coast and Wollongong and are now on track to enter the competition in just over 18 months, pending the finalization of license applications in June.
It is the latest development in Australia’s football landscape after 32 clubs have put their hats in the ring to take part in a second tier national competition due to start in March next year.
The four main criteria the markets were judged on included potential fans and whether it would cannibalize existing fans, stadiums and expansion of the A-Leagues’ footprint.
Canberra’s bid will again be led by Michael Caggiano, who has remained in talks with the governing bodies after Football Australia rejected its 2018 bid in favor of Macarthur and Western United.
Empty seats have been a feature of the A-League season – even as Sydney FC played Wellington in Auckland last weekend (pictured), while the Kiwi City now lines up to become a new franchise under the the league’s expansion plans
The latest expansion round in the A-League resulted in the addition of Macarthur FC, whose defender Matthew Millar (left) is pictured in action against the Central Coast Mariners
The announcement comes despite the competition struggling to attract audiences and ratings, even though interest in the sport skyrocketed late last year with the Socceroos’ smash run to the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup.
The A-League recorded its worst ever attendance percentage with an average crowd of just 5,998 in round seven, held in mid-December.
Danny Townsend, CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues, said the Canberra and Auckland teams entering the competition were not a formality, but now they had the chance to ‘show us how’ they can make it work.
He said the ACT had to prove it had the ‘components’ of a successful football club in order to be formally licensed.
“The stadium, training facilities, community involvement… corporate support from the ACT, government support… those bricks… have to be in the pot and we need a collective group of people to invest in that pot,” he said. he .
“The market is ready, the football community wants a team, the women’s team is already there which we want to improve and invest in.
“There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be (a formality), but I wouldn’t say it’s a fait accompli.”
The APL will require expansion fees of $25 million per franchise, the The Sydney Morning Herald.
Danny Townsend, CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues (pictured), said it is not a formality that Auckland and Canberra will be successful
Wellington Phoenix star Scott Wootton signs autographs for fans in Auckland after their game against Sydney FC. New Zealand’s largest city was an obvious choice for the game’s bosses
Canberra have not had a team in the national men’s top flight since the Canberra Cosmos retired in 2001, while Auckland’s Football Kingz retired in 2004.
It is not Auckland’s first A-League experience, having hosted the New Zealand Knights for the first two seasons of the competition before their license was revoked in 2007.
Townsend said the Knights’ failure, due to poor crowds and on-field performance, has not hampered his confidence in taking a “better path.”
“Auckland is the largest metro city in Australia and New Zealand without a team,” he said.
“We don’t worry too much about history and why things worked or didn’t work.
‘Of course we look at why the knights didn’t work and you learn from that.’
Those in power will hope that fans in Auckland and Canberra will soon be treated to dramatic matches such as Perth Glory’s miraculous victory over the Wanderers last Friday (pictured)
Gaggiano said expanding through the APL process rather than FA was “completely different”, adding a Canberra-based team was a matter of “not if, but when and with whom”.
“I’ve worked with the APL, they are genuinely involved, interested and working with us to bring football investment to Canberra,” he said.
‘This is about the best investor, not just any investor. The best investor for this region who will contribute to football and help football grow and become more valuable as a whole.
“It’s not about who can drop the most money, it’s about what’s best for the game and what’s best for the leagues.”