That's what they did for WSW, so I think it's fair game. Agree that the quality will probably be diluted but worth it in the long run.

Increase the allowance equally across the board for every franchise - even fairer.

We can.
Bring in the teams, and watch the players get better.
There are fringe A league and NPL players who are capable of improving if given the chance.
They just need the opportunity.
The semi pro NPL and A league salary cap are stopping this happening.

I surprised Sportsbet don’t have a market for the new team

Southern wanting that merger means theyre hopefully out of the running. Id be going SWS and a Melbourne bid (West or 11) next season and Canberra and the other Melbourne the following season

Why South West Sydney bid rejected $20 million carrot from Southern Expansion

Macarthur South West Sydney have confirmed knocking back a last-gasp merger attempt by Southern Expansion ahead of Wednesday’s FFA board vote on the potential granting of two new A-League licenses for next season.

In a clear message that Southern Expansion are concerned their chase for a stand-alone license is losing traction, CEO Chris Gardiner approached MSWS co-chairman Gino Marra on Friday to float the notion of a collaboration on effectively forming a super bid.

However, with minimal deliberation, Marra was unswayed by the $20 million on the table from the Hong Kong-backed bid with Sutherland Shire as its base, and politely declined to play ball.

“There’s no culture mix between us and them,” he told The World Game.“We were not tempted in the slightest. Our bid is all about our community and what we stand for, and we have no interest in deviating from that.”

It has been postulated that FFA suggested to Southern Expansion that a unification with MSWS would be expedient, posing serious questions over the on-going validity of a bid that has met fierce resistance from Sydney FC over encroaching on its territory to the south of Sydney.

“When we amalgamated with the United for Macarthur bid it made sense because we both wanted to play out of Campbelltown Stadium, we’re both the same region and have the backing of local associations, and it just made sense to come together,” added Marra.

“But there’s nothing in amalgamating with Southern Expansion, it just doesn’t make sense.”

MSWS are already lavishly backed with billionaire property developer Lang Walker on board and remain among the front-runners for a license.

“I believe we’re ready to be a force in football from Wednesday, if successful,” added Marra.

“We’ll be bigger as time goes because we’re part of a community which is rapidly growing.

“It’s made up of smart, intelligent, hard working local people and we’re in this for them and to make something special happen in our region.

“People in our region are already taking ownership of the club and the bid, and I don’t think the Southern Expansion guys understand that.”

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/why-south-west-sydney-bid-rejected-20-million-carrot-from-southern-expansion

This whole process is doomed. Maybe 2 maybe  3 maybe 4 clubs. Maybe next season maybe the one after. Announcement maybe today or tomorrow or next month. No commitment and the whole process to have expansion called off would be terrible but the expansion sounds doomed

I guess it doesn't look like FFA want more than 2, they just want as much cash up front from that 2


FFA encourages Sydney A-League expansion bids to join forces

Southern Expansion has acted on a last-ditch push from Football Federation Australia for them to join forces with the other remaining A-League bid in Sydney ahead of a possible boardroom decision on Wednesday.

Southern, who are bankrolled by Hong Kong-listed conglomerate the JiaYuan Group, were resistant to the FFA's idea to begin with but explored it anyway and were promptly knocked back.

Macarthur-South West Sydney co-chairman Gino Marra confirmed to the Herald he had received a call on Friday from Southern CEO Chris Gardiner, who asked if they would be interested in joining forces, but politely rejected his approach.

FFA chief executive David Gallop was contacted by the Herald but declined to comment.

The Herald understands the FFA last week encouraged Southern Expansion to consider linking up with Macarthur-South West Sydney, an already merged entity made up from two separate groups from the region who had been bidding separately.

The amalgamation would have vastly increased the financial power behind the Macarthur-South West bid, which is already backed by billionaire property developer Lang Walker. If successful, the expansion club would have abandoned the Southern region altogether and played their games at Campbelltown Stadium.

Gardiner is understood to have sent a letter to key FFA executives on Sunday reaffirming Southern's commitment to their original catchment areas of St George, Sutherland and Illawarra while urging them to make a decision on expansion that is in the interests of the whole of the sport – not just a single stakeholder.

Sydney FC have campaigned publicly and privately against Southern's inclusion and appear to have won out. Southern Expansion looks all but out of the race to join the A-League, despite offering what is believed to be a significantly higher licence fee than Macarthur-South West.

The FFA's own metrics suggest there is no region more ripe for expansion than southern Sydney. And although Sydney FC has claimed their support base would be cannibalised by another club in the area, it's understood the FFA's data ranks Southern as the expansion bid that would have the least impact on existing A-League teams out of the four bids from Sydney and Melbourne.

Gallop and A-League chief Greg O'Rourke will front the FFA board on Wednesday, where it's expected they will present their two preferred bids for deliberation. It's believed Macarthur-South West Sydney and Melbourne-based Team 11 have long been FFA's favoured options.

Precisely what action will be taken by the board remains to be seen. There is a possibility of provisional licences being issued for the 2020-21 campaign, rather than next season.

That could allow Team 11 and the FFA to enter formal discussions with the federal and Victorian state governments over funding for a proposed stadium in Dandenong, in Melbourne's south-east suburbs, while also giving Western Sydney Wanderers a full season of 'clear air' in the new Bankwest Stadium before the formation of another team on the fringes of their market.

Alternatively, the decision on expansion could be deferred until January. Canberra remains a dark horse, but counting against them is the fact that only new clubs from Sydney and Melbourne would trigger additional funds from the A-League's broadcast arrangement with Fox Sports.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/ffa-encourages-sydney-a-league-expansion-bids-to-join-forces-20181209-p50l60.html

FFA chief executive David Gallop was contacted by the Herald but declined to comment.

Closed HAL is failing with 10 teams
Closed HAL failed with 11
FFA forced to try a 12 team Closed HAL thatll just create 2 more mid table also-rans
and still this weird 16-team panacea gets trotted out. 
Theres a sticky for this nonsense
https://forum.insidesport.com.au/1617388/The-Aleague-Expansion-Thread

As a tender process its not crash hot.

Its been more about flushing out investors with some serious money.
In the end the game will lose twice as much investment from this process as it will gain, merely from the losing bidders who will be lost to the game, as has happened in the past.

An advantage of a connected pyramid is investment in the game will increase overall and when clubs go up and down the levels.

Wonder why they've not mentioned this before ?

Canberra A-League bid to build $30 million training facility

The Canberra A-League bid will build a $30 million state-of-the-art training facility if it wins an expansion licence next week, with the hub likely to double as the new Capital Football headquarters.

The complex has been dubbed a "mini AIS for football" and will likely be built at Gungahlin or become part of the Stromlo Forest Park redevelopment.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/canberra-a-league-bid-to-build-30-million-training-facility-20181207-p50kvc.html?utm_source=Foundation+Members&utm_campaign=61ae214375-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_12_09_11_10&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d40bc4e242-61ae214375-37061401

Canberra bid has massive funding behind it...can't see FFA turning away the bid entirely and will surely leave it on the grill for the following season at the very least for a staggered inclusion

Has it ?

Who are they ?

Interestingly, even Heather Reid seemed to have some question marks around athe viability of a Canberra team in some of her comments, so we will we see.

I am not really a fan of Canberra Stadium, but that’s the only option available for them at this stage.

The issue I currently see is that going for a 13th and 14th team from the current buds would have to include either a 4th Melbourne or Sydney team. Would be far too early for that.

Cant give away details but this was in the Canberra Times today

This is more like it, Desperation taking hold


WE ARE WEST – An Open Letter to the Football Fan

Adios Welly :(  

We got a 10 year licence!.

If ony it were that simple :crying:

That's old news

Why can't you give away details ?

It's still in confidence but we're talking about a multi billionaire

Reid should be talking up the bid, not killing it off. She is no friend of the Canberra bid.

What's she done wrong this time ?

The bloke who owns Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars is going to be my guess

Unless it’s Red Bull. Lel

EDIT:
That’s about the Canberra Times article clipping. I can’t reply directly to it for some reason

FOOTBALL Federation Australia is coming under growing pressure from the A-League clubs to delay expansion, 48 hours before the new FFA board is due to decide whether to add two teams for next season.

A-League expansion is the main agenda item of Wednesday’s FFA board meeting, the first of the post-Lowy era, after the previous board opted to postpone the announcement set for last October.

FFA were due to name the two new clubs, likely to be from Melbourne and Sydney although Canberra United are viewed as outsiders. Six bids remain in mix.

The south east Melbourne based Team 11, Western Melbourne and former NSL club South Melbourne are the three live Victorian bids. Southern Expansion, taking in St George, Sutherland and the Illawarra, and South West Sydney are the other two.

In a sign of the competing pressures tightening on FFA’s executive ahead of the massive call, a delegation of the five biggest clubs told CEO David Gallop that he should recommend delaying expansion by a year when he briefs the board on Wednesday.

The owners of Melbourne Victory and City, Sydney FC, the Wanderers and Brisbane Roar told Gallop that provisional licenses should be awarded to two of the bidders, with the new teams coming into the A-League in 2020-21 subject to fulfilling certain criteria.

It’s understood the five owners argued that none of the six bids on the table was advanced enough to be rushed into the league next season, despite FFA management having argued it remains confident expansion can be managed successfully in just 10 months.

However, in a sign of the myriad viewpoints at play, at least one A-League owner maintains he was not aware that the delegation would meet Gallop.

Though all have now submitted their formal bids, including the final sum they are prepared to pay as a licence fee, there remains significant jockeying for position in the final hours.

That included brief discussion of a marriage of the two Sydney consortiums on Friday that was quickly shot down by the South-West Sydney group which intends to play its games at Campbelltown Stadium.

On Wednesday the new FFA board, elected only last month, will meet with expansion the major item on its agenda. However it remains unclear which of the six directors will be able to vote on it, as the three newly elected members – Heather Reid, Joseph Carrozzi, and Remo Nogarotto – all have links to some of the bidders.

Under the FFA Constitution, at least four directors are required for a quorum, which could potentially raise governance issues for the new board. FFA has been approached for comment.

The board is also likely to consider appointing extra directors, including the former Labor senator Steven Conroy, though it’s believed that is more likely to happen in February.

http://outline.com/X4xRRd

Two A-League expansion bids won't try again if they miss out

Two A-League bids are set to drop out of the race for future expansion if they are overlooked for a licence on Wednesday or if there is a long-term delay on announcing the new teams to enter the competition.

The Football Federation Australia board has flagged choosing the successful two teams from a field of six to enter the competition at a board meeting on Wednesday.

The organisation has made no secret of its desire to increase the number of teams from 10 to at least 14 and possibly 16 in the future, beginning with the likely appointment of two new clubs from the current expansion process before growing the competition further in years to come.

There is no certainty, however, that an announcement of two new teams for next season will not be delayed further.

A Southern Expansion source suggested they would incur a "major loss of faith" in the process if they were to be knocked back in this round and are unsure whether they would re-enter a second expansion process for a future licence.

The Sydney-based bid team has "not had the conversation about hanging around for a second attempt" with JiaYuan, the Hong Kong listed property development company that is bankrolling the bid.
In the event Southern Expansion is not awarded an A-League licence on Wednesday, they will discuss their future with the JiaYuan representatives but admit the dropping property prices in Australia could deter the group from re-entering the race for a licence.

Property is central to other bids and change in real estate availability will impact Western Melbourne Group's ability to submit an application for a licence in the future if they were to be overlooked for this round.
It's now or never for the Wyndham-based bid who have already secured land in Tarneit for a self-funded stadium, training base, academy and offices on an existing train line.
Due to the anticipated population boom in the region, it's almost certain the required land will be re-zoned for other purposes if the bid misses out on a licence.

"An opportunity for a club to own their own stadium comes along once in a lifetime," bid director Steve Horvat said. "The land that's earmarked for the stadium and facilities development will no longer be available in two to four years because of the growth."

It is highly likely the other four bids would remain in contention for a licence in later stages of expansion. Team 11, based in the south-east region of Melbourne, confirmed their intention to hang around in the long term for an A-League licence if they were not awarded one in this round of expansion. The popular bid is situated in the sprawling corridor around greater Dandenong and has the backing of local businessmen and the council.

“Nothing will change our belief that a team in the south east of Victoria will be an absolute boom for the sport and also the community. If the coin doesn’t go our way this time, we will definitely go again,” Team 11 spokesman Matt Windley said.

Similarly, the joint Macarthur-South West Sydney bid is emerging as a favourite for a licence but will not be deterred by a potential knockback in this expansion process.

"If for whatever reason we aren't selected, we are committed to delivering a team to the Macarthur region," bid leader Gino Marra said.

Canberra are another strong candidate to be included as part of the next round of expansion but similarly won't be stop their push to have an A-League team if they're to be unsuccessful following Wednesday's FFA board meeting.

"We are sticking with this bid team until the job is done," Canberra bid spokesman Aaron Walker said.

Former NSL giants South Melbourne remain in the hunt to return to top-flight football. They are the only bid of the six that are active in other competitions, currently playing in the Victorian National Premier League.

"We're a brand everyone knows, largely respects and a club that's been around for 60 years and will continue for another 60 years. We will put our hand up every time this issue comes up for discussion," South Melbourne bid chairman Bill Papastergiadis said.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/two-a-league-expansion-bids-won-t-try-again-if-they-miss-out-20181210-p50lci.html

What a shit show

Yep

I thought it would've been spicier and earlier though

Maybe the incriminations and Post Mortem will be juicy

"In the event Southern Expansion is not awarded an A-League licence on Wednesday, they will discuss their future with the JiaYuan representatives but admit the dropping property prices in Australia could deter the group from re-entering the race for a licence."

This is f@#$%g unbelievable.

There were rumours that the SEX bid was nothing but a ruse for a property land grab by HK, but ---- well --- there it is.

They are gawn.  What a farce.

They were a farce from the start. A genuine south Sydney team would not try to "unite" three different areas.