The proposition has been tabled and received, and now it's once more up to Football Federation Australia to determined Canberra's A-League fate.
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European-backed Capital Region Football Collective have offered the FFA in excess of $4m to acquire an A-League licence, and are ready to purchase the for-sale Central Coast Mariners and relocate the team to Canberra.
Were the Mariners to stay on the Central Coast, the Canberra bid led by Michael Caggiano and Bede Gahan would be just as willing to form a 13th A-League club.
Caggiano and Gahan are urging the FFA to respond quickly to what they have labelled an offer that "Presents more than just money but value to the league." Should the FFA fail to respond in time, CRFC's backers would likely seek other international opportunities.
"They're very active in acquiring clubs in Europe and in other leagues and in the next four to six weeks they want to see progress to that, or they'll go and look at another acquisition," Caggiano said.
"Their interests are in Canberra and the capital region, we've really sold them on that. They could invest in other teams really if they wanted to but there are unique facets of what we're trying to do here that they're very much interested in.
"They're very much interested in our women's team. Women's football in Europe is exploding and...it presents a really awesome opportunity for our local girls."
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The CRFC team have been in negotiations with Mariners owner Mike Charlesworth this year about acquiring the licence he has owned for seven years.
Charlesworth is believed to be keen to sell his licence to Caggiano's team, but any deal would require FFA approval.
"FFA will engage in confidence with consortiums and individuals interested in investing in the Australian football ecosystem, and will provide updates as applicable in due course," an FFA spokesperson said.
"FFA is encouraged by the interest that exists in the market, and as stated in the recently released XI Principles for the future of Australian football discussion paper, expansion of Australia's professional leagues is an ambition for the sport."
The willingness of the FFA to further expand the league could strengthen the Canberra offer, with a local team expected to be ready to take the field by 2021.
Caggiano said the Canberra offer had bipartisan support in the capital, and the Andrew Barr-led government has already pledged to kick in $1.2m per season to help fund the operation of the team.
"This is investment in Australian sports, this is investment in Australian football," Caggiano said.
"This is for the good of everyone, this is for the good of the game, for the good of the region, for the good of Australian sport in general. You can't walk away from that."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
