A-Leagues set deadline for Canberra investor

Townsend's back-up plan would be to look at other cities if they can't meet that deadline, but he was confident that wouldn't be necessary.

He said the A-Leagues's other preferred location for an expansion team, Auckland, was ahead of Canberra in terms of progress towards finding an owner as they look to introduce both cities as their 13^th and 14^th teams for the 2024-25 season.

But he said Canberra's search was also "in a good place".

Initially the A-Leagues said they wanted to have an investor found by June 30, but Townsend said that timeframe was more to ensure there was an appetite for a Canberra men's team.

While an investor hadn't been finalised by then, he came through that period confident the ACT wanted a team of their own.

He felt they were still a couple of months away from finalising a deal.

"I think it's going well. All of the stakeholder engagement across the board has been fantastic," Townsend told The Canberra Times.

"There's clear appetite for the team here in Canberra.

"Obviously we've got a great foundation with the women's team already and as we work through the various hurdles to get the team and franchise awarded I think we're in a good place.

"I think we're probably a couple of months [away] still.

"Our goal was always to give it 12 months before a ball was kicked so at the latest we want to have something announced by the end of September so we've still got a couple of months to work through the process.

"We'd hoped to be sooner, but we've still got that window."

Townsend said they would begin to look elsewhere if they couldn't lock in a deal by then.

That would open the door for places like Wollongong or the Gold Coast to return to the top flight of Australian soccer.

But Townsend was confident of getting the deal done for Canberra.

"We're also having conversations with other cities that are interested in having an A-League team," Townsend said.

"You've always got a plan B up your sleeve and we've got that, but I think at the moment our focus is on Auckland and Canberra.

"Both of those give us no reason they won't be in play by the time we want to announce them."

He revealed discussions to find an Auckland investor were ahead of those for Canberra, with a decision between several options to bring in the second New Zealand A-League club close to being finalised.

The Wellington Phoenix have been in the A-League for the past 16 seasons and they've even played at Canberra Stadium when the Central Coast Mariners played some home games there.

"Auckland's slightly ahead, not a long way ahead, but we're certainly at the pointy end of negotiations with investors there to make a decision on which consortium we go with," Townsend said.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

"But again really positive response from the Auckland community, from the New Zealand football community, around having another A-League team in New Zealand.

"And I think we've seen with the Women's World Cup what opportunity there is in New Zealand for football.

"They've had full stadiums as well, having two A-League Women's teams in New Zealand is going to be fantastic."

Townsend's been in ongoing discussions with the ACT government about the future of Canberra Stadium since The Canberra Times revealed one of the three options the government put forward would be a team killer.

A complete knock down and then rebuild of the venue would put paid to a Canberra team, which would be left with no home ground.

The government didn't consult with the A-Leagues before making their announcement back in June.

It's believed the fact they could be left without a home so early into a new club's existence has raised concerns among prospective investors.

"We've been talking to them ongoing since they made the announcement and just clarifying what options are available to them in the redevelopment and we're confident the outcome will be one that's great for sport in the ACT," Townsend said.

"But equally important for the A-League as we launch a men's team in this part of the world and accommodate an already established women's team."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.