Southern Expansion chairman Morris Iemma says the club will attempt to reach out to and collaborate with Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers after Football Federation Australia confirmed Southern as one of 10 successful bidders to make the shortlist for A-League expansion.
Southern, who plan to represent the St George district as well as Sutherland Shire and Illawarra, have advanced to the next stage of the process with FFA intending to grant licences to two new clubs for the 2019-20 season.
Fifteen formal submissions were made during the initial expressions of interest stage which were analysed by FFA and its lead advisers, Deloitte, against the criteria.
The FFA announced on Friday afternoon that Southern had advanced alongside fellow Sydney bids South West Sydney FC and United for Macarthur as well as a stand alone Wollongong bid.
Brisbane City, Ipswich Pride, Canberra & Capital Region and Melbourne bids Team 11, South Melbourne and Western Melbourne Group were the other successful bids.
The official bid phase will start next month, with final binding bids due by August 31. The announcement of successful bids will be made by the end of October.
Iemma said it was a “tremendous vote of confidence in Southern”.
“On behalf of our region’s football associations and hundreds of thousands of fans, we’re excited that we’ve been shortlisted by FFA and are now one step closer to fulfilling [inaugural chairman Les Murrary’s] legacy – giving the people of the Southern region their own professional club,” he said.
“We tick all the boxes. We have strong financial backing, we’re supported by our three local associations, we’re committed to investing in new training facilities and other local infrastructure. We have three, high-quality local venues to play our home games in the short-term and will build a purpose-built stadium in the medium to long term. We have strong leadership and governance platforms and we are in the right geographical location for a new A-League club, with our population rising to 1 million and player participant numbers [of] 40,000 dwarfing any of our competitors in NSW, or anywhere else in Australia.
“We will undoubtedly be a success in our own right but importantly for the A-League, Southern will deliver enormous benefits and help grow the game, boosting TV audiences and match-day attendances and create new rivalries with Sydney FC, in Australia’s biggest fan and media market. These derbies alone, will bring a wave of new enthusiasm and excitement for the game.
“The Wanderers proved to be a huge boost for the A-League and it’s going to be the same with Southern. We intend to formally reach out and offer to collaborate with Sydney FC and the Wanderers to formulate a strategy for sustained market growth once we enter the A-League.”
CEO Chris Gardiner said the club was delighted at being on the shortlist and that Southern’s steering group would now focus on preparing a more detailed proposal for FFA.
“We thank our three associations, our local state and federal MPs and of course, all of our local fans for their ongoing support of our bid.”
FFA chief executive David Gallop said the process remained highly competitive.
"FFA's job is to get the best outcome for the Hyundai A-League and football as a whole," he said.
"That means granting licences that will complement the existing Hyundai A-League clubs, link back into fans and the football history in their local community, help to develop football pathways for more players, increase interest from sponsors and broadcasters, have solid financial backing and operate sustainably.
"Expansion has created enormous interest and attracted 15 groups to come forward from around the country. Once we get these two new clubs established for the season after next we intend to add more clubs in future years."
