Football: Sutherland Shire is betting agency's favourite for A-League licence

Potential: A new franchise in the area would give players like Alex Gersbach, who played his junior football for Sutherland Shire Football Association, a team to aspire to. Picture: Chris Lane

A betting agency has rated southern Sydney, based out of the Sutherland Shire, as the most likely location for another A-League franchise, offering odds on who the next club could be to join the Hyundai A-League.
A Southern Sydney franchise playing games out of Southern Cross Group Stadium is Luxbet’s $3.50 favourite to become the next A-League team to gain a licence.According to Luxbet, Geelong is second most likely at $4, followed by Canberra at $5, Brisbane Strikers at $6 and the Illawarra region at $6.50.“There has been talk for a lot of years around an A-League team based at Shark Park, with Cronulla on record saying they would be interested in ownership of the new side,” Luxbet’s Dylan Atkinson said.“Geelong will be a solid choice for punters with millions of dollars spent on [Kardinia Park] in recent years and the ground has also hosted six matches in the past decade, with over 21,000 watching the Victory play Perth Glory last year.”Defunct teams North Queensland and Gold Coast are $501 outsiders to be granted another licence.The last team to be added to the competition was the Western Sydney Wanderers in 2012 and, since then, the A-League has been more focused on consolidating the competition rather than expanding it.


Home ground: Southern Cross Group stadium could play home to a new A-League franchise. Picture: John VeageHowever, last month, A-League chief Greg O'Rourke gave a timetable for possibly two new teams to be introduced in the 2018-19 competition, in a statement. 
“A framework for expansion will be completed early next year which will allow [consortia] to submit expressions of interest in a framework which focuses on the viability of the proposed franchise and its ability to provide benefits to the A-League and the game," the statement read.
Cronulla Sharks chief executive Lyall Gorman, who was the former chief executive of Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners, told the SunSun Herald Herald he was adamant the shire should be home to an A-League team in an expanded league."We've consistently said that we believe there is room for a third franchise in Sydney,” Gorman said.
“We believe that, logically, the southern part of Sydney lends itself very much to that. 
“We know we've got the largest registered football junior association in the southern hemisphere in Sutherland Shire, so there's a lot of reasons why engaging this region in some form or another in an expansion strategy makes a lot of sense.
"We have a great rectangular venue there. 
“We've seen it at full capacity all year and understand fully the model of engagement and community spirit that [Shark Park] offers.

"Luxbet prices for the next A-League team:Luxbet prices for the next A-League team: $3.50 Southern Sydney (Sutherland), $4 Geelong, $5 Canberra, $6 Brisbane Strikers, $6.50 Illawarra (Wollongong), $8 Southwest Sydney (Liverpool), $10 Tasmania, $15 West Adelaide, $26 Perth II, $26 South Melbourne, $26 South East Melbourne, $51 Dubbo, $67 Alice Springs, $251 West Wyalong, $501 North Queensland, $501 Gold Coast.

Would you support a shire-based A-League club?

Would you support a shire-based A-League club?