Nervous times for final six bids as FFA prepares to expand A-League

These are nervous times for the six remaining bids in the race to join an expanded A-League.

It has been a year in the making for most of them and they have poured millions of dollars and thousands of hours into their cause. Now it will be put to the ultimate test.

These are nervous times for the six potential new clubs with a decision on which two bids will be included in a revamped A-League next season to be made by the directors of Football Federation Australia tomorrow.

Hearts will be broken, there will be anger and disappointment. Some bids might walk away, others will hope to live another day.

Whatever happens, no one can be certain which way the FFA board will go after an intriguing process that has had its controversies, its war of words, its political machinations and its ups and downs.

It started out with 15 hopefuls back in May before five — Tasmania, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Belgravia and Fremantle — were eliminated by the end of June.

The remaining 10 were further whittled down when Brisbane City were eliminated, while the United for Macarthur and the South West Sydney bids opted to merge in August, narrowing the field down to eight, and that was further reduced by FFA to the final six late in October, when Wollongong and Ipswich Pride were axed.

If you listen to the beating drums, the contest appears to be down to four franchises — Canberra, Macarthur South West United, Team 11 and Western Melbourne Group.

It would appear that a team from Melbourne will be included, with Team 11 and WMG running neck and neck. Both have excellent credentials.

Team 11, to be based in Dandenong, are said to have a slight edge, but that bid is dependent on the Victorian government providing a guarantee of funding of $150 million to build a stadium for them, whereas WMG say they don’t need government help and will fund a new stadium themselves, and that could be a huge tipping point in their favour.

That leaves MSWU and Canberra.

FFA chief executive David Gallop has always maintained the mantra of “we need to fish where the fish are” in terms of expansion, meaning it wants to target areas with big populations.

On that basis, it would be difficult to see Canberra getting the nod ahead of MSWU. Southern Expansion, who have been one of the frontrunners for much of the bidding process, now appear to be out of the equation. As revealed by The Australian on Sunday, they attempted to open merger talks with MSWU last Friday following advice from FFA.

The feeling was that the Southern bid had run out of steam and had lost considerable ground. The fact they want to play home games at three different venues — Jubilee Stadium in Kogarah, Shark Park in Cronulla and WIN Stadium in the Wollongong — is a drawback.

It hasn’t helped that existing A-League club Sydney FC have been against them from the start amid claims the franchise will cannibalise the Sky Blues’ supporter base with estimates that 30 per cent of Sydney’s memberships come from the regions Southern wants to cover.

Still, Southern have argued they meet every metric covered by FFA, and that the almost 40,000 registered players in the region provide enough scope for the club.

But Friday’s move has been viewed in some quarters as a last desperate attempt to remain involved in the race for an expansion spot.

South Melbourne are regarded as long shots to oust one of the four favourites yet they remain buoyant about their chances.

One of the great clubs of Australian soccer, they have a proud history, especially during their days as a major force in the National Soccer League.

South have plenty going for them, including a terrific youth set-up, a quality women’s program as well as their own boutique ground, Lakeside Stadium.

However, the general concern is the sort of financial support and backing they have and that their Greek heritage counts against them.

But the people behind them should not be underestimated.

South’s inclusion would provide for even more derby matches in Melbourne and their games against Melbourne Victory would have the potential of becoming much bigger than the Victory v Melbourne City derby.