Football Australia has completed its third National Second Tier (NST) Request for Proposal Application Process in a procedure that did not find any additional clubs ready as yet to be approved.
The process, which was announced by Football Australia (FA) last October during their confirmation the Australian Championship would commence in 2025, was officially completed on Monday 21 July.
The NST RFP process was expanded to target clubs outside of the initial Expression of Interest process and predominantly from underrepresented States and Territories, Football Australia remarked in their statement.
Aimed at finding additional clubs to join the eight foundation teams (of which South Melbourne and Sydney Olympic are part of), the process ultimately did not succeed with the FA confirming they did not receive any fully compliant bid proposals.
The organisation said they are encouraged with the prospect additional clubs may be in a stronger position to join in the future, stressing their focus is to ensure that the Australian Championship is set up to succeed long-term.
“This RFP process has been an invaluable exercise in terms of providing a clear picture as to the current state of readiness across the domestic club eco system in Australia, and we will continue to monitor the progress of potential clubs,” said FA Interim CEO Heather Garriock.
“I want to thank all the Foundation Clubs and Member Associations who are working very hard to establish this new competition and make sure that it is set up for continued long-term success.”
Football Australia confirmed it has actively engaged and evaluated as many as 25 teams over the past two years against the NST RFP framework, with the teams having provided them a deep understanding as to their capacity to meet technical and financial benchmarks.
So far, only eight clubs have been approved via these processes with them granted automatic access to play in the Australian Championship for a period of up to 5 years conditional upon continuing to meet key licensing standards.
The eight teams will be joined by the premiers of each National Premier Leagues top-flight competition (excluding Northern Territory) in the debut edition of the Australian Championship later this year.
It will kick off with the highly anticipated clash between South Melbourne and Sydney Olympic at Lakeside Stadium on Friday 10 October.
Football Australia stated it will continue to monitor club standards and performance within the confines of the Australian Championship to evaluate club development both on and off the field before determining any further NST RFP processes.
