South Melbourne’s hopes for participating in next season’s Hyundai A-League remain intact, as the FFA announced that the club will be progressing to the next round of teams to be considered for the positions to fill in the roster.

The news was revealed through a press release by club chairman and head of the bid, Bill Papastergiadis late last week. Through this statement, Mr Papastergiadis showed his pride in the effort made by the club to be among those that the FFA will be reviewing for a spot within the country’s top-tier national competition.

“The FFA received multiple bids from around the country, including our own. We produced a detailed and professional Expression of Interest document reflecting the history of the club, its success in developing the game on and off the pitch and our extensive football facilities,” he said.

“Together we are excited the FFA has acknowledged the status and capability of the club together with its potential to once again compete on the national stage.

“I continue to be encouraged by our transparency throughout the bid process and our focus on the strengths and positive aspects of our bid. There have been a number of other high quality bids for expansion licenses and South Melbourne’s position as an existing operating club with ready-to-use facilities has been recognised in our bid being shortlisted.”

Despite the club’s bid being successful thus far, they don’t seem to be performing as well in the NPL, as recently they drew 1-1 at home with Northcote and are currently on the 12th position of the table.

Along with South Melbourne, another nine teams are still in the chase for those coveted A-League positions. More specifically, the clubs whose files are still under consideration are as follows:
• United for Macarthur (Campbelltown)
• South-Western Sydney FC
• Southern Expansion (Sutherland, St George and Wollongong)
• Wollongong Wolves
• Team 11 (Dandenong)
• Western Melbourne (Geelong)
• South Melbourne
• Western Pride (Ipswich)
• Canberra & Capital Region
• Brisbane City

These teams have until 31 August to prepare their final applications, as the two new teams to be introduced into the A-League will be announced on 31 October, increasing the total number of teams participating from 10 to 12.