A League : FFA to trump AFL with 12 teams

FFA chief Ben Buckley has put a scare through the AFL camp by stating that the Hyundai A League is set to grow to 12 teams in time for the 2009/10 season and that includes a team in Western Sydney, one full season before the AFL hopes to introduce a new team in the same area.“We’ve got scope for an additional four teams in season five,” Buckley said yesterday. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t have at least 10 by then. Twelve is more challenging, but I don’t rule it out.”

Investors from Townsville and the Gold Coast still remain in first place for a spot in the growing football competition despite being told that they wouldn’t be accepted into season 4 of the A-League.

“We’ve had approaches from Melbourne and western Sydney,” Buckley said. “We haven’t had formal discussions with the Melbourne people, but there is advanced thinking from some quarters. Melbourne, as a city, definitely has the ability to sustain a second team.

“As far as western Sydney is concerned, we have meetings with groups coming up in the next month or so. We’ll find out where things are at with them then.”

The only foreseeable problem with this plan coming into fruition is that fact that both Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory have an A-League exclusivity agreement for the first five seasons of the A League. Ben Buckley still feels that there is enough support for these clubs to agree to the introduction of second Sydney and Melbourne teams before the five year window.

“It would require a willingness from those two clubs,” Buckley said. “But if we felt new consortiums from those two cities were ready for season five, we would have that conversation with the clubs”

The ultimate goal of Football Federation Australia is to grow the national league to 14 teams in total. Wollongong and Canberra are said to be the favoured areas for eventual introduction.

Published on May 1, 2008