The Hyundai A-League is set to expand further with confirmation today that Football Federation Australia (FFA) has granted exclusive negotiation status to a consortium for a second team based in Melbourne for entry into the Hyundai A-League in 2010-11.
FFA CEO Ben Buckley said that the consortium is led by Melbourne businessman, Peter Sidwell.
“We received two very high quality proposals for the second Melbourne license, and we had very good discussions with both consortia.
“We were very impressed with the professionalism and strength of both bids,” said Buckley.
“The level of interest and quality of the proposals reflect the momentum behind the growth and development of the Hyundai A-League,” said Buckley.
The other proposal came from a consortium known as Southern Cross FC.
FFA will now accelerates its discussions with the Sidwell-led consortium.
“We continue to be very encouraged with the level of interest in the Hyundai A-League,” Buckley said.
“The attractiveness of the competition is clearly reflected in the level of interest in the additional licenses and the quality of the bids we are receiving.”
Buckley reiterated the FFA-s earlier view that, ultimately, the Hyundai A-League has the capacity to be at least a 12 team competition and possibly 14 teams.
“When and where we expand the competition is measured simply by whether it is right for football, right for the existing Hyundai A-League clubs, right for the new clubs and right for the local community,” Buckley said.
