APL confirms expansion of the A-League with two new clubs joining by 2024

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A-League expansion
Image credit: Kritsana Laroque / Shutterstock.com

The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) have confirmed that Canberra and Auckland will be the A-Leagues’ preferred markets for the next round of expansion for the 2024-2025 season.

The decision was based on judging key criteria in areas such as potential fan-base, appropriate stadia, whether or not it would cannibalise existing fans and expanding the competitions’ footprint.

The A-League Men’s competition is set to further expand by the 2025-2026 season, with a further two teams to join the league. Expansion candidates are understood to include a second team in Brisbane, Wollongong, Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast and Tasmania.

“We’re focused on building really strong sustainable clubs into the future, and we definitely think Canberra and Auckland fit that bill,” APL CEO Danny Townsend said.

“We want to go and look at all the things that you need to deliver a really successful football club… so we can sort of build a club in a box, and then find the right owner for the box.

“We’ve got under-served markets as the priority in this round…next round… we’re certainly looking at derbies (as a reason for expansion).”

Danny Townsend
Danny Townsend addressed the media regarding the latest expansion.

AAFC Chairman Nick Galatas, in response to the A-Leagues announcement, stated to Soccerscene:

“The A-Leagues have always said they want to expand, so I understand their decision in that context,” he said.

“Having said that, that was before the new NSD was firmly in the works and it comes at a time when Football Australia has also flagged it aims to expand the number of strong clubs in the country, by means of a new national second tier. 

“In doing that, Football Australia has called for EOI’s from clubs with a demonstrated tradition and contribution to the game with a connection to their community – whereas the A-League is proposing to expand by creating new, private entities and then deciding on a location or territory for them. 

“My concern is about how the two diametrically opposite, and perhaps competing, approaches to building strong clubs will be incorporated into a coherent strategy, allowing unification of our tiers consistent with FA’s stated objectives.” 

Canberra will be returning to the national men’s top league for the first time in over 20 years with the Cosmos folding in 2001, while the Auckland-based Football Kings folded back in 2004.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

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South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

 

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

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Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

 

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.

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