As "tempting as a billionaire backer would be," Canberra's A-League bid team does not want one, according to Eamonn Tiernan of the CANBERRA TIMES. Canberra was one of 15 prospective A-League expansion teams that made "expression of interest submissions" to Football Federation Australia on Thursday. A-League clubs cost between A$10M ($7.6M) and A$12M ($9M) to operate annually. A Canberra team "would receive the majority of its funding from the ACT government," the competition's broadcast deal and matchday revenue. Canberra bid leader Michael Caggiano said, "Deep pockets is not the way to go for longevity of a club because they won't be around forever, you need a club that can stand on it's own two feet without an individual chipping in gratuity money" (CANBERRA TIMES, 5/24).
U.S. BACKING: The AAP reported Gold Coast United's case for an A-League return "has been bolstered after securing in-principle backing from two American investors with links to clubs around the world." The reformed franchise "submitted its expression of interest" and will be supported in the next part of the process by Brett Johnson and Jordan Gardner. Johnson is co-Chair of second-tier U.S. club Phoenix Rising, while Gardner is a shareholder in recently relegated EPL club Swansea City and co-owner of Irish side Dundalk. The pair made contact with Gold Coast through an intermediary "after following A-League expansion developments and have long been keen on the competition." Johnson: "We think it is a prime opportunity to get involved with Australian football leveraging our track record in global football investments and feel there are fantastic opportunities with Gold Coast United" (AAP, 5/25).
