History
A-League4Canberra, a Canberra-based consortium led by TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich, was determined to apply for and receive a license to compete in the A-League, commencing in the 2010-11 season. However, A-League4Canberra failed to secure the 12th license they had applied for as Western Sydney Wanderers FC was later given the license instead. The Slavich-led consortium then moved forward with the intention of competing for the 13th licence. The first formal step in that process was to present an application to the A-League License Review Committee in August 2008. At the time, Canberra was one of ten bids expected by Football Federation Australia (FFA) for up to four available licenses, but was considered to be strongly positioned to succeed and had support from the highest levels within FFA.
On Thursday, 5 March 2009, Canberra Stadium hosted an Asian Cup Qualifier game between the Socceroos and Kuwait. FFA officials said that, if Canberra attract over 20,000 to this game then they will be the likely destination for the twelfth A-League licence.
Despite the poor Socceroos performance, the trial in Canberra was a success, with 20,032 fans attending the match. In September 2009, however, a poor crowd to an A-League game at Canberra Stadium was recorded and doubts surfaced about the viability of the bid.
Read more about this topic: Canberra A-League Bid
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