A-League expansion bid Southern Expansion "acted on a last-ditch push from Football Federation Australia" to "join forces with the other remaining A-League bid in Sydney ahead of a possible boardroom decision on Wednesday," according to Vince Rugari of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. 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 that had been bidding separately. Southern, which is bankrolled by Hong Kong-listed conglomerate the JiaYuan Group, was "resistant" to FFA's idea to begin with "but explored it anyway" and was "promptly knocked back." Macarthur-South West Sydney co-Chair Gino Marra confirmed he received a call on Friday from Southern CEO Chris Gardiner, who asked if his group would "be interested in joining forces, but politely rejected his approach." FFA CEO David Gallop "declined to comment." 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 its games at Campbelltown Stadium (SMH, 12/9).
