The FFA (Football Federation Australia) has recently confirmed that the Macarthur South West Sydney and the Western Melbourne Group will join an expanded A-League in 2019 and 2021. The Western Melbourne Group is going to join the A-League during the 2019/20 season, while the MacArthur South West Sydney will enter the campaign after the 2020/21 season.
Football Federation Australia
To successfully expand the tournament in this way, the FFA Board took the FFA Senior Executive’s recommendations. Two directors, including Joseph Carrozzi and Remo Nogarotto, excused themselves from decision-making and deliberations on the matter. Chis Nikou, the FFA Chairman, stated that it’s currently a very exciting time for Australian football and that the level of interest from prospective bidders highlighted the enormous potential in joining the A-League.
Nikou added that,
“We’ve witnessed remarkable interest from bids to form part of the A-League and we’re ecstatic about the two new clubs from Melbourne and Sydney and a League that expands will manage to connect brand-new communities in the two largest markets, creating new rivals, more derbies, bigger TV audiences, and most importantly, more opportunities for footballers in Australia to get the opportunity for a chance to play at the highest level for their country. One of the most significant aspects in our decision was undoubtedly the long-term opportunity for growth when it comes to every club in every new geography. Melbourne and South West Sydney will represent some of the largest growth in Australia,” he stated. Nikou believes it’s the first and most important step in a brand-new phase for football in Australia. Our mission to expand on the A-League doesn’t stop here either. This is only the beginning of an incredible adventure that will see our tournament grow far beyond only 12 trams in the near future.”
Continuing with his statement, Nikou added,
“The process of expansion has been extensive and long with loads of die-hard football fans giving every single effort into the bid proposal. Furthermore, we look forward to discuss things further with the bidders that were unsuccessful to further expand down the line. We also acknowledge on this special occasion that we haven’t been granted a license to the region of Canberra. However, we do continue to see Canberra as an appealing possibility for future expansion.””
David Gallop M, the FFA Chief Executive Officer, stated that the decision to give licenses for both the 2019/20 and the 2020/21 season will mean that the benefits of the expansion will be felt immediately and allow more than enough time to completely establish operations. The project for expansion commenced almost 12 months ago where the FFA Board accepted the last recommendation wholeheartedly.
One of the best things about the Western Melbourne Group is the incredible proposal to construct the first football-specific and football-owned stadium in Australia. Gallop stated that the region in the South West Macarthur will be represented by over 50 grassroots as well as clubs in the National Premier League with a diverse and large population base that will undoubtably continue to expand.