With a national second division moving inexorably closer to becoming a reality as early as 2020-2021 in a 12-16 team format, former NSL elite like South Melbourne, Melbourne Knights, Sydney Olympic, Adelaide City, West Adelaide, Marconi Stallions, Heidelberg and Brisbane City are all knocking on the door.
Teams from Tasmania, Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Cairns are also possibilities as the FFA-appointed Second Division Working Group, headed up by director Remo Nogarotto, puts the building blocks in place.
Rabieh Krayem, head of the AAFC which represents the existing NPL clubs, said: “Around this whole process there have been about 30 clubs that have shown interest.
“Showing interest and putting pen to paper is a different story, so we’ll wait and see once the final document comes out.
“We’re not going to be rushed because we’ve got to get this right.
“We know people can become impatient but a few more weeks is not going to make any difference. It’s all about making sure this enterprise succeeds and I think everyone appreciates that.”
Archie Fraser, the former A-League chief who is fronting the AAFC’s Second Division push, believes the next cabs off the rank in A-League expansion could come from the Championship, in a promotion without relegation model.
Within five years, he feels, a genuine promotion-relegation system might then be adopted.
“I foresee teams in the second tier having the opportunity to push for expansion spots with the A-League ultimately growing to 16 teams,” he said.
“Some of the existing clubs have big aspirations ... and I think they’ll the find the sponsorship and money needed.
“They have their own grounds, which aren’t expensive, and even with gates of only around a few thousand they’d make more than several existing A-League teams (who don’t have the luxury of favorable deals on their ground rentals).
“These existing NPL teams have large junior bases also and they will definitely be followed.
“The point is that when considering future expansion, these clubs are already up and running and you know what you’re getting.
“You could run it (the Championship) for the next four years (without promotion) and then have a play-off against the bottom-placed A-League team.
“Or you could just add four teams from the second division, so long as they were prepared the pay the same money as a start-up franchise (over consecutive years).”
Fraser, who oversaw the entry of Melbourne Heart, Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury during his tenure at FFA, now believes that the age of manufactured franchises might have lost some lustre.
“If the A-League Is looking to add teams each year it must also look at the second division as an option,” he said.
“They’ll know how they’re performing, being managed and who’s running them.
“Starting up a new franchise is always risky, as we’ve seen.
“I’m not sure about creating too many more in the style that we’ve had till now.
“I don’t know how much more capacity the country has to just pop up new clubs and hope people will follow them.”
