27 Nov How A-League expansion for 2019/2020 season could become “difficult”

FFA CEO David Gallop says the next few weeks will be pivotal if A-League expansion is to get the go-ahead for the 2019/2020 season.

There are fears that expansion plans could be delayed until the 2020/2021 campaign due to the recent governance problems that culminated in the resignation of former chairman Steven Lowy.

Discussions surrounding expansion will be a hot topic of conversation during the next FFA board meeting that is scheduled for mid-December.

“It’s certainly on the to-do list for the next few weeks to see if we can get to a point where the bids are in their best possible position,” Gallop told SEN’s Whateley.

“We want to some more work in the next few weeks because if the goal is still the 2019/2020 season, then some decisions need to be made relatively quickly.

“End of January would start to get difficult I think, there’s a board meeting in the middle of December and we’re looking to make some decisions around that.

“If it proves impossible and we stretch into the month or so after that, it won’t be impossible, it will just start to get harder for whoever’s successful to be ready for the 2019/2020 season.”

Gallop says that expansion will give the A-League a “shot in the arm” and increasing the league to up to 16 teams is a future objective of the FFA.

Team 11, Western Melbourne Group, South Melbourne, Southern Expansion from Sydney's south, South West Sydney and Canberra are the six bids vying for two A-League licences.

Listen to David Gallop’s chat on SEN’s Whateley with Gerard Whateley in the player below