The now defunct New Zealand Knights playing in Sydney in 2007 and,right,A-League Women side Canberra United.Credit:Getty Images
It is an entirely different approach to the one taken by Football Australia during the last round of expansion in late 2018,which led to the birth of Western United and Macarthur FC.Both of those clubs are struggling for a foothold in Melbourne’s west and Sydney’s south-west,respectively.
Instead of an open-slather tender process inviting bids from across the country,the APL has conducted extensive research to determine which untapped markets hold most potential for the A-Leagues. Canberra and Auckland were the clear standouts to become teams 13 and 14,chief executive Danny Townsend said.
Both cities have been designated “preferred market status” by the APL. The organisation’s chiefs have already begun consulting football community leaders,governments and other potential stakeholders to gather support. They will spend the next few months searching for investors,before ideally awarding club licences to the new owners in June – giving them about 14 months to prepare both men’s and women’s teams for kick-off in October 2024.
APL chief executive Danny Townsend.Credit:Getty
“We want to go and look at all the things that you need to deliver a really successful football club ... so we can sort of build a club in a box,and then find the right owner for the box,” Townsend said.
It won’t come cheap. Townsend confirmed the APL would be asking for expansion fees of about $25 million for new franchises,which is in line with recent club sales andthe valuation of the whole league by Silver Lake’s $140 million private equity deal for a 33 per cent stake in the competition. It would also provide a much-needed boost to APL coffers. A mix of local and international investors is APL’s preference,Townsend said.
“This is not about investing in the A-League today,it’s about investing in where we’re headed,and we’re really confident the direction we’re headed is going to be one that will drive a lot more enterprise value in those licences,” Townsend said.