APL meets with ACT government about Canberra A-League Men's team

But the APL move could see the popular Canberra Region A-League bid circumvented, with the APL instead looking to retain control of the men's licence for the capital.

The A-Leagues' governing body would then also likely take the reins of Canberra United to bring both the teams under the umbrella of one club.

Capital Football would be happy to relinquish control of United - provided assurances were put in place to maintain the history of the two-time champions.

The Canberra Times can reveal the APL met with ACT Sports Minister Yvette Berry and Sport and Recreation last week as momentum towards an A-League team continued to build.

Preliminary discussions last Wednesday focused on what expansion would look like, Canberra one of the options to become the 13^th A-League Men's team.

It would be the third time Canberra has been considered as an expansion option, with the capital missing out in its previous two bids.

Canberra was overlooked in 2010 when the Western Sydney Wanderers were admitted to the league and again in 2018 when a third team was preferred in both Sydney and Melbourne instead.

Each time the ACT has been reassured it was the next cab off the rank, only for the governing body - Football Australia at the time - to go back on its word.

It's believed expansion could come as soon as the 2024-25 A-League Men season.

If Canberra was the next team it would be the capital's return to the top flight of Australian men's soccer for the first time since the Canberra Cosmos folded in 2001 - after six seasons in the now defunct National Soccer League.

It's believed the APL would initially retain control of the ALM Canberra licence - despite the Canberra Region A-League bid already having 9000 members, multiple sponsors ready to help bankroll a team, a memorandum of understanding with Capital Football to incorporate Canberra United and $1.5 million in annual ACT government funding.

An announcement could come as early as this week - although that could be delayed as the APL deals with the fallout from its decision to sell grand final hosting rights to Sydney and the disgraceful behaviour of Melbourne Victory fans on the weekend.

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Both the men's and the women's decider will be held in the Harbour City, with Destination NSW reportedly paying up to $20 million for hosting rights.

"The position, as I understand it, has always been that if there's an additional licence given to Canberra for the men's the view of all stakeholders is there should be a single club," Capital Football chief executive Chris Gardiner said.

"In that context, if the APL announces Canberra is going to have a men's licence then Capital Football would enter into discussions with the APL about how Canberra United would fit into that and negotiate a transfer."

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