Despite its issues in recent times, the A-Leagues - Australia's premier football competition - is looking to expand its borders.
This process began in March last year, when the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announced their intention to add two teams for the 2024-25 season in Auckland and Canberra.
Whilst a license and owner were able to be secured for Auckland FC, there was less news about the fate of a Canberra side in the A-League Men's competition, with promises from the APL that news would be 'coming soon' not being delivered on.
The Sporting News details when fans in the capital will be able to cheer their own A-League Men's team.
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When will Canberra get an A-League Men's side?
The APL announced today that the entry of a Canberra side in the A-League Men's competition would be delayed until the 2025-26 season at the very least.
A-Leagues Commissioner Nick Garcia said in a statement, "We are still in discussion with a preferred consortium for an A-League licence in Canberra, but they aren’t able to stand up a team in time for season 2024/25.
"The ACT has a fantastic football fanbase, and we remain committed to Canberra and a fourteenth A-League team. We want to give new owners the proper runway to set up a team to ensure long-term success."
Why is a Canberra A-League team being delayed?
Whilst Auckland FC were able to secure the investment of American billionaire Bill Foley, the APL found it more difficult to find a suitor for a Canberra side.
Matters were complicated by the ownership of Canberra United - the A-League Women's team owned by Capital Football - and whether a new licensee would take over ownership of the club.
According to ESPN in March, the APL were in 'positive discussions' with a consortium in March, but stressed there were still many hurdles to overcome before an announcement could be made.
The APL stressed the need for any consortium to be financially viable from the get-go, with APL chairman Stephen Conroy saying the APL "could no longer underwrite" the financial position of clubs due to their own well-documented financial issues.
How does this impact Canberra United?
The situation has had an impact on the existing A-League Women's side Canberra United, who fell to a last placed finish in the most recent season.
Capital Football had previously expressed their concerns as to their ability to financially prop up the side after the A-League Women's season was extended from 12 to 20 games, with the long-term viability of the club dependent on the new Canberra A-League side taking control of the women's side.
The uncertainty reached a peak in March when players from Canberra United said they may be forced to walk away given the lack of clarity as to whether Capital Football would be able to sustain the team for another season.
Their short term future was secured in April, when the ACT Government gave a one-off $300,000 injection of funds to ensure they could compete in the 2024-25 season.
What does this mean for the 2024-25 A-League Men season?
When preferred expansion was announced for the 2024-25 season, the hope was two new teams could be added so there would be an even number of teams, meaning there would be no need for a bye round.
With the confirmed postponement of a Canberra team, it means there will now be 13 teams in the A-League Men's competition next season, with Auckland FC joining the 12 existing teams.
This means the league will be forced to include byes in each round of the competition, and once again having an uneven home-and-away season, with teams not playing each other an equal amount of times.
The draw for the 2024-25 season is expected to be announced in the next couple of months.
