Canberra United left without a voice in APL's A-League grand final discussions

Well, it's the Australian Professional Leagues' car and little old Canberra United - the only A-League club without a men's team and run by a member federation - is the noise they're pretending doesn't exist.

All week we've heard about 12 clubs being divided about the APL's decision to sell three years' worth of A-League grand finals to Sydney in a deal said to be worth anywhere from $12 million to $20 million.

But what about the 13^th club? Do advocates of women's sport have to spend their time reminding the rest of Canberra United's existence until the club is given a seat at the table?

Two championships put Canberra ahead of more than half the league. Only one team has claimed more premierships than those playing out of the country's political power base.

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But it seems that's not enough for APL bosses to acknowledge their existence in the midst of a debate that has alienated players and left fans preparing for mass walkouts at A-League games this weekend.

Canberra United are run by a member federation in Capital Football. As a result, they are not an equity holder in the league and therefore concede voting rights on commercial decisions.

So when A-League clubs convene to decide where men's and women's grand finals will be played, Canberra's invite must conveniently be lost in the mail. Busy Christmas period, you know, it happens.

But the Central Coast Mariners and Macarthur FC - two clubs without women's teams - have a voice in the discussion.

Whether Canberra United are an equity holder or not should not exclude them from a decision which has redefined the league and left players frustrated by a lack of consultation.

Imagine sitting with Michelle Heyman on her team's flight to Perth this week and telling the league's all-time leading scorer that her chances of recreating one of the crowning moments in her career are gone, and her club is powerless to do anything about it.

Then turn to Grace Maher on that same plane. Remember when you sat in the McKellar Park stands as a starry-eyed youngster, watching Heyman score two goals in a grand final at home? Yeah, won't be happening for you. What about the time you helped Canberra to another title - as the youngest player in the club's history, no less - this time in Perth when you stunned the hometown favourites? It was great, but you're not doing it again.

Not for the next three years, at least.

When they meet in the future to decide on the future of the grand finals beyond that point, one would hope Canberra has a seat at the table. By then, the capital may be home to a men's team. Maybe then, they won't be so easy to ignore in a male-dominated landscape.

A-League club bosses were to meet in Melbourne on Thursday, desperate to fix the trail of destruction left by the APL's decision to sell grand final hosting rights to Destination NSW.

The deal was initially trumpeted as one to create a new tradition - only it is one which dismantles history and denies clubs the right to host the grand final on home soil. So now it's one to shore up the league's future.

The intense backlash - which APL officials say is nothing they hadn't foreseen - caused clubs to hold crisis talks on Tuesday night. There, they were 8-3 in favour of sticking to the agreement with the NSW Government.

Those opposed were Adelaide United, Western United and Melbourne Victory, while Perth owner Tony Sage is against the move but was travelling during the meeting.

And Canberra United? Well, it didn't matter what they thought. Instead, they're made to rely on others to make the right call. And when they don't, hope something else can spark a change - like mass walkouts from fans who have been denied the chance to cheer their team in a grand final at home.

Because right now, it seems the men in suits have little desire to pretend a rattling noise called Canberra United exists.

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