Thursday 24 May is the closing date for potential bidders to submit their expressions of interest to the FFA if they wish to be part of the 2019/20 A-League season.
Top-tier aspirants will learn their fate on 31 October, when the two successful teams will be announced and FFA will make a choice on how each bid best meets the criteria listed here.
Vision and strategy: how the club will engage fans and media, stadium, government support, and their youth programs.
Proposed location: geographic area and ties to a local football community and its history.
Financial capacity: their ability to pay for their licence and fund the ongoing operations of the club.
Persons involved in the prospective bid: including their previous experience in running a sporting organisation.
The former head of A-League Archie Fraser joined Neos Kosmos in assessing South’s strongest rivals.

Victoria

Team 11 
The councils of Casey, Kardinia Shire, and Greater Dandenong are behind Team11 who have former Socceroo Vince Grella and current Socceroos duo Jackson Irvine and Bailey Wright as ambassadors.
Based in the south-east of Melbourne, the area has a population of 1.2 million people with almost 100 registered football clubs and over 17,000 players.
There are plans to build a stadium in Dandenong and a $40 million training and administration base at Casey Fields. The bid would be funded with support from the local, state and federal governments as well as private investors.
Archie’s verdict: It’s a football area and will be a strong contender but the big challenge is there isn’t a stadium.
Geelong 
Fronted by former Socceroo Steve Horvat, football in Geelong is booming with more than 20 per cent growth in 2017. The bid has drafted plans to build a 15,000– 20,000 capacity boutique purpose-built stadium in Armstrong Creek.
Board members include Paul Sergeant, who has experience running Wembley and Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, and Maurice Bisetto who has worked with Collingwood Football Club.
Archie’s verdict: A worthy bid, and Geelong will eventually have a team in the A-League but it won’t make the cut this time.
South Melbourne FC
See details of South Melbourne FC’s bid here.

NSW & ACT

Southern Expansion FC 
Southern Expansion FC has a number of high profile names attached to the bid with former NSW Premier Morris Iemma as chair, and former Socceroo and SBS football analyst Craig Foster as Head of Football.
In terms of financial backing, it is one of the most impressive with Chinese property mogul Jia Yuan Group backing the bid to the tune of $12 million.
Based in the Southern Sydney region of Sutherland Shire, Illawarra, as well as the outlying South Coast regions, games will be split between Wollongong, Cronulla, and Kogarah.
There are plans to build a stadium and training centre in the Sutherland Shire and having another club in Sydney would also mean extra derbies.
Archie’s verdict: Trying to cover three regions doesn’t work, it’s risky and tries to satisfy too many masters.
Wollongong Standalone 
Former NSL club Wollongong Wolves are a ready-made club with a senior men’s team playing in the NSW NPL, and ties with the Illawara Stingrays who play in the local women’s league.
The advisory board chairis Cory Lovell who runs the Multi Civil and Rail Services company and already sponsors the Wollongong Wolves along with 20 other local sporting organisations and community groups.
Last year the Wolves signed an agreement with the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council that includes development plans at Albert Butler Memorial Park. While the club would play their home games at Win Stadium.
Archie’s verdict: With a stadium already there, they could be a nice strategic bid for the A-League and could reinvigorate an area that’s always had a strong football culture.
Canberra United
Boasting a W-League club in Canberra United and a team in the National Youth League, the only thing that is missing is an A-League side.
Australia’s capital city already has a boutique rectangular stadium and existing infrastructure such as the Australian Institute of Sport.
Former Socceroos and locals Ned Zelic, Andy Bernal, and Tom Rogic are products of Canberra. Jeff Williamson announced he was leading a bidding group of 12 people. Melbourne Victory captain Carl Valeri and Matildas star Lydia Williams have pledged their support to the club.
Archie’s verdict: Football should be at the heart of where political decisions are made, but I don’t think the bid will get up in this round.

Queensland 

Brisbane Strikers 
Boasting former players such as Jade North, Matt McKay, Michael Zullo, Adam Sarota, and Shane Smeltz, the former NSL club views junior development as one of the bid’s biggest strengths. They also have plans to redevelop Perry Park.
Archie’s verdict: FFA would like to see more local derbies, but until Brisbane Roar gets a bigger market share and fan base it would be risky to get a second Brisbane team in.
Brisbane City 
The Brisbane NPL club is coached by John Kosmina and is based in the north-west suburb of Newmarket. The club also has plans to redevelop 18,000 capacity Ballymore Stadium.
Archie’s verdict: They’re a great historical club and going through the exercise would be good for them. If they get their act together they could jump the Strikers eventually but it’s a few years away.
Gold Coast United
While they already have a stadium, the Clive Palmer era is still a bone of contention for many fans. United bid chair Danny Maher says this time the bid would not be funded by one owner, with business and grassroots football communities each having a one-third share in the club.
Archie’s verdict: I don’t think the FFA will go anywhere near the Gold Cost for some time. They had a pretty good team last time but couldn’t get the crowds and the stadium deal is expensive.
Western Pride
A 30-minute drive from the Brisbane CBD, Ipswich is considered part of the greater Brisbane urban area. NPL club Western Pride play in the QLD NPL and through their chair Pat Boyle have been making noises about joining the A-League. They have history on their side through many Socceroos coming from the region including Alex Gibb who holds the first Australian cap from 1922.
Archie’s verdict: They are a dark horse. It’s a massive growth corridor in Brisbane, and there has been discussion about a stadium. They have a football history and great infrastructure. But they won’t get in this time, perhaps next time.
Sunshine Coast FC
In January 2017 Indian businessman Nirav Tripathi, chair of the Diya Group of Companies revealed he’d been in discussions with Sunshine Coast FC about a potential bid for an A-League licence.
With their catchment from Caboolture in the south to Gympie in the north, the area is populated by over 550,000 people and there are plans to redevelop Kawana Stadium.
Archie’s verdict: No, but a great place to go on holiday.

Tasmania

South Hobart
South Hobart FC’s bid is backed by former Melbourne Victory board member Harry Stamoulis.
They have plans for a new rectangular stadium to be built in Hobart. Football could take advantage of AFL’s non-interest and it also has the backing of independent Tasmanian federal politician Andrew Wilkie.
Archie’s verdict: A serious option but it would need government and financial backing, and with no professional team there it really would capture the market. But the bid needs to be amalgamated with Launceston and unite the whole of Tasmania.
Archie’s final verdict.
Expansion Team 1: South Melbourne.
Expansion Team 2: Southern Expansion but only if they stayed in Sutherland. If they don’t, then Wollongong or Hobart.