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, according to Smithies & Davutovic of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. A-League expansion is "the main agenda item" of Wednesday’s FFA board meeting. FFA was "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 the mix. In a sign of the "competing pressures tightening" on FFA’s exec 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 Melbourne City, Sydney FC, Western Sydney 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 '20-21 "subject to fulfilling certain criteria." It is 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" (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 12/10).
NOW OR NEVER: In Sydney, Dominic Bossi reported two A-League bids "are set to drop out of the race for future expansion if they are overlooked" for a license on Wednesday or if there is a "long-term delay on announcing the new teams." A Southern Expansion source suggested the bid would incur a "major loss of faith" in the process if it is knocked back in this round. The source added it is unclear whether Southern Expansion "would re-enter a second expansion process" for a future license. 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. 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 license in the future if it is overlooked for this round. It is "now or never" for the Wyndham-based bid, which has already secured land in Tarneit for a self-funded stadium, training base, academy and offices. It is "highly likely the other four bids would remain in contention" for a license in the "later stages of expansion" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 12/10).
