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Instead of an open-slather tender process inviting bids from across the country, the APL has conducted extensive research to determine which untapped markets hold most potential for the A-Leagues. Canberra and Auckland were the clear standouts to become teams 13 and 14, chief executive Danny Townsend said.
Both cities have been designated “preferred market status” by the APL. The organisation’s chiefs have already begun consulting football community leaders, governments and other potential stakeholders to gather support. They will spend the next few months searching for investors, before ideally awarding club licences to the new owners in June – giving them about 14 months to prepare both men’s and women’s teams for kick-off in October 2024.
It won’t come cheap. Townsend confirmed the APL would be asking for expansion fees of about $25 million for new franchises
30 rounds when they get to 16 teams.
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Townsend said the same process would most likely be followed for teams 15 and 16, with the Gold Coast, Wollongong or a second team in Brisbane considered the front-runners to enter the competitions in season 2025-26