Sometimes it takes a veritable feast to remind people of how starved they've been, and continue to be.
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For Canberra soccer fans, it was last year's Matildas juggernaut that may well have fuelled, reignited or sparked our love for the beautiful game.
And now it's clear how starved capital football fans have been of good news.
Until now, that is.
Enter a major English Premier League club - Aston Villa, to be precise - and the race could almost be on.
The club has emerged as a potential partial backer for Canberra's long-stymied A-League Men's bid - a massive shot in the arm for the stalled expansion process.
![Canberra United players celebrate a goal by Nickoletta Flannery. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Canberra United players celebrate a goal by Nickoletta Flannery. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/9gmjQxX8MpSQh6J68NHMnY/50aef7f5-876f-4f29-9092-ec232ca8ffdb.jpg/r0_320_4800_3029_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Not to mention a shot in the arm for the capital's sports fans.
Canberra is now closer than it's been in years to having an A-League Men's team, while the race is still on to revive the Cannons in the NBL and establish a Big Bash cricket franchise here.
There is still a long way to go, but even having an actual club showing interest is more progress for Canberra's cause than in the past 16 years.
Canberra and the Australian Professional Leagues still need to confirm a major investor for its A-League bid, and V Sports, the holding company that owns Aston Villa, will only come on board once this is secured.
V Sports already have soccer investments in Spain, Egypt, Japan and Portugal, but this Canberra move would be their first push into the Australian market.
The news comes amid an interesting crossroads in Canberra's sporting landscape.
It may have been an unusually hot and humid end to the summer here in the capital, and most people's thoughts are heading irresistibly towards the cooler autumn and winter months.
But soon enough, the end of the year will roll around, and Canberra will be facing a summer crunch.
It will come amid a serious race to fill a void in elite men's sport. Is the city big enough to sustain three professional men's teams, on top of the Capitals, United and Cavalry?
As cost-of-living pressures continue to bite - a state of affairs that shows no signs of easing as the year progresses - sports-mad Canberrans will have more serious choices to make when it comes to tickets, club subscriptions, and whether to even stick around during the capital's famously drowsy summer weeks.
If a key EPL club wants to toss some of its glitter across the pond, Canberra will be only too willing to accept it. Even if it's months or years away, it's the good news we need as the year limps on.
As the fans are fond of chanting: "Allez, allez, allez."
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