I think the way things are going, both Canberra and Tasmania will end up with a football Team.

Probably, in Canberra's case, in Tier 2 to start off with, but its only a matter of time before this competition is inducted into a fully integrated pyramid structure just below the A League with promotion/relegation. 

Just read an article that Canberra's population is projected to rise to 420,000 by 2020. Surely a big enough population size, which would unite behind a single brand, to justify investment/willingness from the FFA to consider the merits of a Canberra club

82 odd clubs haven't joined yet. they better get their arses into gear and get at least half of the clubs before the meeting. 

I can't understand why all of them haven't signed already. 

Starting to sound legit. Some of the big clubs from the other states look to be on board.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/soccer/national-second-division-is-kicking-off-with-or-without-ffa-20170311-guw6lx.html

Council support...tick
Boutique stadium (10k - 15k)...tick
Derby match...tick

Council to throw full resources behind A-League bid

IT IS official.

Ipswich City Council is set to throw its resources behind the Western Pride's bid to enter an expanded A-League competition, hopefully as soon as 2018-19.

A council report by the Strategic Partnerships Coordinator, dated January 27 of this year, was tabled with the city works, parks, sport and environment committee that Cr David Morrison overseas.

That report was approved by the full council meeting in February with the Ipswich council agreeing to assist the Western Pride Football Club in their bid to secure an A-League license.

Western Pride general manager Pat Boyle and a delegation from the club met with Mayor Paul Pisasale and Cr Morrison last month.

A council officer has also held talks with Marcel Creed, the founder of the Facebook site called 'Ipswich A-League Inspiration', about the Pride's plans.

"What we are saying is that we will dedicated our resources to help with the Western Pride's proposal to go forward in the A-League," Cr Morrison said.

"The A-League has still not put out its criteria for new teams but if Football Federation Australia's criteria fits the Pride then council officers will work with them to put forward a detailed proposal to enter the A-League," Cr Morrison said.

"One of the things we have heard verbally is that Ipswich will not even be considered if they use Suncorp Stadium as a home game.

"The A-League wants to have those derby games at a local stadium."

North Ipswich Reserve has been identified as the site for upgraded facilities.

Cr Morrison said if the A-League called for a 15000 seat stadium moves would be made to achieve it.

Depending on time frames, he said that may need to happen in a staggered fashion with a 10000 capacity initially.

"Hopefully North Ipswich Reserve will fit their requirements, but we can progress towards what is needed," Cr Morrison said.

"But we have to wait and see what the A-League is proposing and then logistically move towards that."

Asides from bringing a national sporting team Ipswich can support, Mr Creed and Mr Boyle have also pointed to the economic and infrastructure benefits the city will gain if an A-League side is based in Ipswich.

South Melbourne Quality Meats Gyros! lol

If anything, we would be the South Melbourne Dim Sims!

Based on this I think the only real argument(albeit a long one) that the NPL clubs can throw at FFA/FIFA is that their is no clear cut criteria which gives them an opportunity to earn a licence for the 'Championship".

There has been talk though that AFC has asked us to have promotion/relegation isn't there?

That is the principle and method for p/r where it occurs but it doesn't proscribe where and when it must happen.  The FFA has 1 League that it runs.  If there were two divisions then movement between them would be done in accordance with that principle.  The State Feds have multiple divisions so that principle applies between each division.  At some point those State Feds choose not to apply p/r and that is perfectly fine.

There is nothing you will find that requires p/r between Leagues in different bodies.  If the two bodies agree to have p/r then the principle would apply.

Thank you bigpoppa!

I started to look on my phone but didn't have the CNTRL F function to find the exact location.

Thanks for doing the leg work for me.

This is all I could find in a brief look through FIFAs statutes.

Page 73. https://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/affederation/generic/02/78/29/07/fifastatutsweben_neutral.pdf 

9 Principle of promotion and relegation

1. A club’s entitlement to take part in a domestic league championship shall depend principally on sporting merit. A club shall qualify for a domestic league championship by remaining in a certain division or by being promoted or relegated to another at the end of a season.
2. In addition to qualifi cation on sporting merit, a club’s participation in a domestic league championship may be subject to other criteria within the scope of the licensing procedure, whereby the emphasis is on sporting, infrastructural, administrative, legal and fi nancial considerations. Licensing decisions must be able to be examined by the member association’s body of appeal.
3. Altering the legal form or company structure of a club to facilitate its qualifi cation on sporting merit and/or its receipt of a licence for a domestic league championship, to the detriment of the integrity of a sports competition, is prohibited. This includes, for example, changing the headquarters, changing the name or transferring stakeholdings between different clubs. Prohibitive decisions must be able to be examined by the member association’s body of appeal.
4. Each member association is responsible for deciding national issues, which may not be delegated to the leagues. Each confederation is responsible for deciding issues involving more than one association concerning its own territory. FIFA is responsible for deciding international issues involving more than one confederation

Gyfox,

You find it yourself but you can bet your bottom dollar that not having a pathway is asking for trouble if the NPL clubs get together and start throwing tantrums about them not having a pathway and having a closed shop.

I think everyone knows this now.

The NPL clubs have been quiet because they were waiting for the expansion criteria and no one was prepared to rock the boat. Now, the FFA are scrambling to buy time and delay the inevitable. The game is going to change whether the FFA like it or not.

What they are trying to do is wait until some other entities get their act together and exclude others which are ready to go. It won't work because there are laws which any good legal firm will be happy to take on.

In theory couldn't clubs just own the teams in a rebel league?

Just put a sponsor in their name like the EuroLeague basketball (Barcelona Lassa, Galatasary Odeabank, Panathinaikos Superfoods) and have a varied logo/emblem

Example

South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights continue to play in the NPL, FFA Cup etc

And South Chicko Rolls Melbourne and Melbourne Pepsi Knights play in s rebel league.

Of course you have the cost of 2 squads and the NPL would be much weaker but they can maintain their junior setups.

Where in the FIFA Standard Statutes does it say that there must be a pathway between the competitions of a subordinate Regional Association (our state feds) and the competitions of the Member Association (our FFA)?  I can't find one.

The FFA are in hot water because our constitution does not comply with their Standard Statutes on the issue of membership which FIFA want to follow the principle of representative democracy.

The whole basic principle for soccer, is to have a pathway for clubs and players. Only then can the game progress because it opens the Football market right up to all fans.

Right now, we are divided. Thousands of people have been driven from the game. I think you guys call them the Eurosnobs as a derogatory term supposedly. But yourselves in their shoes. They don't want to support an FFA Licence. It's not a club. And their clubs have been told to go away.

The entire FFA/A League concept is based on a totalitarian and UN democratic business model controlled by a select few privileged and wealthy people. It's an impregnable tight little circle which will give none of us here, the time of day.

Not necessarily! That's because excluding clubs at the NPL level isn't entirely legal according to FIFA statutes which is why the FFA are in hot water trying desperately to cling on.

FIFA won't deny the NPL a pathway. And FIFA do not like the HAL model.

The HAL model probably also violates a number of Federal Laws. There is certainly a case to answer to in terms of exclusion and also racist policies. No one has challenged them on it though but if they do, you can bet there would be an inquiry.

Cartels are great aren't they.

The rebel national League where players, club officials and any rebel match officials are banned by FIFA.  It won't be able to be called the NSL or NPL and the funding that goes to the state feds to assist the running of the NPL will be able to be used for something else.  By the way if the clubs are banned then they won't be able to compete is any of the under age competitions I would think.

The NPL revolt is on the cards as well. Apparently NPL teams from NSW and South Australia have signed up too.

This is the precursor to a truly National NPL comp.

We could end up in a position of having 2 National Comps within a couple of years. The A League and a rebel National Soccer League NPL.

There's derby potential in the battle of the Southampton - South Melbourne Vs South Sydney.

Something to ponder at least.

Sounds good. I'll enjoy the extra teams.

not in this thread

Any update on the victorian revolt meeting against the FFA on Monday night? http://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/victorian-clubs-plan-revolt-to-force-aleague-promotion-and-relegation-20170305-gur017.html

Lol what a joke. 

So looks like were sorted then. Australis Sydney, Redbull fc (bris2?), Geelong Patriots, minus the Nix's. 12 team HAL. And boom! we dont need to come up for air until the next tv deal in 6 years. 

This is coming from someone who has lived in the St. George area his whole life. I honestly think this is a bad idea to combine all three areas to form one "super-club".

As much as I would like to have a team represent my area, I think I would rather see a Woolongong team or a Sutherland team be introduced. I absolutely loathe the idea of sharing home grounds. All three of these areas have their own identity, and I think not now but eventually in x amount of years that each area would be able to have their own team.  

I know this is biased, but from what I have read, there are far more SFC supporters from the Shire than the St. George area, so why not have a St. George team and a Woolongong team instead. I think it makes more sense also considering there's more of a distance between St. George and the Illawarra region than there is between Illawarra and Sutherland. 


Either way I will still support this "super club" if it does in fact come to life. Just my opinion.

A-League expansion: Heffernan says teams in Sutherland and Wollongong could impact like WSW

AN A-League super club covering St George, Sutherland and South Coast would be “massive” for football but would it empower the region like the Wanderers did for Sydney’s west?

Fox Sports football expert Dean Heffernan believes there’s enough interest in the Southern Sydney region to have two distinct teams enter an expanded A-League competition.

The former Sutherland Sharks and Wollongong Wolves player says the mooted Southern Expansion bid uniting three local football associations would be “massive”, but he would rather see the A-League expand with one team in Sutherland and one team in Wollongong.

Ante Covic, currently playing with National Premier League club Rockdale, believes creating two new teams in the area at the same time would cause “oversaturation”, but agrees that the A-League needs to expand and Southern Sydney is the perfect place for it to happen.

COMPETITION: Expansion rivals respond to South Sydney bid

WHY SOUTH SYDNEY IS RIGHT FOR EXPANSION

“I know it’s a very passionate region,” Covic told foxsports.com.au.

“The A-League has to grow and I think Sydney is a City that’s sustainable for three teams.”

Heffernan said: “If they did that it [in Southern Sydney] it would be massive. 100% it would be massive.

He added: “We need expansion and it would be like a breath of fresh air to the league just like the FFA Cup was and the Wanderers were.”

Zachary Mackenzie of the Wolves and David Carney of Sydney FC during an FFA Cup clash.
Zachary Mackenzie of the Wolves and David Carney of Sydney FC during an FFA Cup clash.Source: Getty Images
ONE “SOUTHERN EXPANSION” TEAM WOULD MISS AN OPPORTUNITY

Heffernan is convinced an A-League team combining three associations in Sydney’s South will “100% work” but it wouldn’t inspire the same support the Wanderers did at their inception.

A big factor is that the team’s home games would be split between WIN Stadium (Wollongong), Shark Park (Cronulla) and Jubilee Oval (Kogarah) while Chinese property giant JiaYuan Group - who will financially back the bid - look into building a boutique stadium to host the club.

“People in The Shire want to support a Shire team. I know that Wollongong people are the same about Wollongong,” Heffernan told foxsports.com.au.

“Are you going to get people supporting that from the Shire supporting the team, driving an hour down to Wollongong to watch a game? Possibly, but it’s not going to be like the Wanderers.

“It’s not going be like (with Western Sydney, where) they’re coming from one area for one team they support.

“I think football in this country is big enough to have two separate clubs (in that region), for sure.”

Nikolai Topor-Stanley screams after a Mark Bridge goal in 2012.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley screams after a Mark Bridge goal in 2012.Source: News Limited
HEFF’S CASE FOR TWO TEAMS

Heffernan believes one team in The Shire could replicate the hype and success of the Wanderers when they were created.

“I really think that in The Shire it could be just like the Wanderers did; the way they set it up with the fan forums, the fans picking the name, the fans picking the colours,” he said.

“You get Shire people on board like that and they’ll follow, they’ll come to the games.”

He also noted that when Sydney FC have taken games down to WIN Stadium in Wollongong, the crowd figures have been “huge”.

“When you go to WIN Stadium it’s full and they love it and it’s a real good football culture,” he said, adding: “there’s loads of kids playing the game in the Shire as well.”

Covic believes initially only one expansion team in Southern Sydney would be a viable option.

“If we have 12 teams and one’s a South Sydney and one’s a Wollongong, I think that’s oversaturation,” he said.

Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets walk onto the WIN Stadium pitch before a match in 2015.
Sydney FC and Newcastle Jets walk onto the WIN Stadium pitch before a match in 2015.Source: Getty Images
“Right now if we have 12 teams to put two in such proximity? No I don’t think it’s a viable option.

“In a 14-team, 15-team competition that can be brought up but there would have to be a discussion first... All the infrastructure and everything has to be sorted out.

“If we do go with a South Sydney or a Wollongong then the other option I think has to be from outside a broader Sydney area.”

Despite Heffernan’s passion for the Wollongong and Sutherland regions, he recognises that having one or two teams in Southern Sydney would both work, but creating one would be “playing it safe”.

“We know 100% that will work but I definitely feel like Wollongong Wolves or The Shire could have their own teams,” he said.

MORE BIDS THE BETTER

Covic doesn’t think the announcement of a Southern Sydney expansion bid will hurt Wollongong Wolves’ chances of entering the A-League as it “opens the discussion”.

“I don’t think it’s a negative for either one,” said Covic.

“If one group sees a South Sydney team and one sees a Wollongong team, that’s great – it opens the discussion.

“I think it’s a great thing that if there’s a different consortiums that obviously have the right backing, outlook for the future on what they want to achieve, and the right structure.

“That just means there’s interest in our game and there’s opportunities and people that want to be involved in our game; it’s just making sure we get the right people.”


Covic said the next step is to weigh up which bid would help improve the A-League.

“You have to weigh up in which ways does each add value to the league," he said.

“How [will it work] financially? What’s their vision? What can they bring to the league? That opens it up a discussion about which scenario would be a better fit.

He also believes the Southern Sydney bid will be “the first of many”.

“Whether they’ve come out early or should’ve waited, that’s beside the point,” he said.

“The discussion isn’t there about when these two new teams or when the league will expand. They decided to get the backing in, it doesn’t mean they’re the frontrunners. They put in the proposal and I think that’s great.”

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/aleague-expansion-heffernan-says-teams-in-sutherland-and-wollongong-would-impact-like-wsw/news-story/22a35603bb92c0bbe7865c47a8537dd6

Even if what you said was true, it would still have no bearing on the raging success they'd be. 

And there actions are in their hundreds of fans chanting Hellas, operating as a Greek club and entity they call Hellas, run by personnel with Greek heritage. Not rhetoric but fact.

Agreed. You gotta give credit where its due. Theyre the consummate marketeers.. Not hard granted when your actions match/exceed your rhetoric.