NEW TEAM FOR THE A-LEAGUE

Football Federation Australia have begun steps to introduce a new team from Sydney after it was revealed that $ 10.3 million funding has been set aside for the new team to begin all the necessary work required to be inducted into the A-League.

This move comes after the A-League was reduced to just 9 teams following the suspension of Gold Coast United. The owner of Gold Coast United – billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer – was extremely outspoken in his criticism of the A-League. As a result, his A-League was cancelled immediately and his team were expelled from the competition.

Now, they are looking to add a ninth team into the division, but that will not be easy given that the location for the new team has to be decided. The Football Federation Australia seems to have decided upon Sydney for this purpose, as they believe that Sydney should have a second team. The Football Federation Australia is looking to introduce this team into the A-league at the start of next season. Hence, work has begun in full swing in order to make this possible. The Football Federation Australia has made it clear that it wants to have a 10 team competition next season, as it is not comfortable in continuing with the current format of just nine teams.

"We were transparent about our model and we put it together in just two weeks. Do I feel like we've been strung along? A bit like that, yes. I would have thought if they were considering our bid seriously then Western Sydney would have been put on hold. Western Sydney can't just be born overnight, so it's obvious to me that our bid wasn't taken seriously," Gold Coast businessman and mayoral candidate Tom Tate said upon the decision by the FFA.