Southern Expansion beef up board as A-League race warms up

Southern Expansion have strengthened their board as the race for an A-League spot warms up.

Bank of Queensland chief executive Jon Sutton. Picture: AAP

Southern Expansion will today unveil the high-powered, final piece of the puzzle that could go a long way to helping them secure a spot in a revamped A-League competition in 2019.

The Australian has learnt that the bid has convinced Bank of Queensland chief executive Jon Sutton, who has been at the helm of the $4.5 billion bank since January 2015, to join the board of ­directors that will serve alongside chairman and former NSW premier Morris Iemma.

It is understood Coca-Cola Amatil group general counsel Betty Ivanoff, KPMG executive Greg Daniel and Ben Wong, managing director of ASX-listed investment bank Moelis Australia, have also agreed to become ­directors in a move that gives Southern Expansion some big business clout.

Julie Murray, a former Matilda and one of the first Australian footballers to play overseas, is already a board member, and the group says it will fill the last position with another “outstanding businesswoman” by January. The appointments are certain to put more pressure on Football Federation Australia as it weighs up the decision as to which two clubs will be admitted into a new look 12-team national competition.

There are seven clubs vying for the expansion spots along with Southern Expansion, who proposes to take in the St George, ­Sutherland Shire and Wollongong regions, one of the long time favourites to grab one position.

FFA is expected to make an ­announcement on the successful applicants by the end of next month. However, there are suggestions it could be fast-tracked to sometime this month because of the upcoming FFA emergency general meeting on October 2 that will decide whether to adopt ­proposals that will drastically alter its voting congress.

With FFA expected to bring in a team from NSW, Southern Expansion have come under some pressure with South West Sydney Macarthur, a merged entity made up of the South West Sydney and Macarthur bids, gaining momentum. SWSM has the backing of billionaire property investor Lang Walker.

There are also strong suggestions the bid from Canberra has made some valuable ground in ­recent weeks.

However, Southern Expansion believe they now have everything in place to set themselves up as the best-equipped bid.

“A modern, growth-ready and agile football club … must be underpinned by solid foundations, which includes a professional, ­diverse and high-calibre board of directors,” Southern CEO, Chris Gardiner, said. “The board structure and appointments we are announcing signals again to the FFA, and the Southern area we will serve, the depth and extent of the Southern Expansion bid and our capability to deliver.”

Gardiner said Southern would also appoint two member representatives to their board should they be successful in bidding for one of the A-League licences.

A high-level steering group has been working on the bid for more than 18 months. Iemma, who was ­appointed after the death of inaugural chair Les Murray, has been at the forefront. Southern Expansion are ultimately backed by Chinese billionaire Shen Yuxing, the founder and chairman of property developer Jianyan International Group and a part-owner of a Chinese Super League team.