[1] Football Federation Australia (FFA) exercised caution when forming the A-League Men in early 2004; in terms of selecting who was to be part of the new league.
Before the introduction of the A-League Men, FFA chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into other cities, citing Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong, Coffs Harbour, Geelong, Bendigo, Cairns, Ballarat, Albury-Wodonga, Launceston, Christchurch, Auckland, Sunshine Coast and Darwin.
[2][3][4][5] In late October 2006, as a result of low crowd attendance at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland and continual poor on-field performances, rumours began to circulate that the FFA was considering revoking the A-League licence of the only New Zealand based A-League club, New Zealand Knights, and granting it to a new club that would enter the competition in the 2007–08 season.
[6] The FFA had continued to express angst at low attendance numbers, poor on-field performance and the lack of domestically developed players.
A consortium of investors made it clear that an operating budget of 5 to 6 million dollars per annum was feasible and a letter of interest from the football club had been sent to the FFA.
[12] In September, a bid led by Victorian businessman Peter Sidwell, operating under the working title Melbourne Heart Syndicate, received exclusive negotiating rights for an A-League licence.
[14] Initially owned by the FFA due to the lack of a backer, the club was later sold to a consortium of businessmen led by Paul Lederer in June 2014.
[21] In March 2023, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), which has since taken over administration and ownership of the A-League from Football Australia (formerly known as the FFA), announced that the next two expansion clubs would be based in Canberra and Auckland.
[22] In October, the APL confirmed that it intended to award the Auckland license to the owner of Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, Bill Foley, subject to regulatory approval.
[37] A-League4Canberra was a bid led by TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich, with notable foundation members including former Socceroos Carl Valeri and Ned Zelic.
[46] In 2008, South Coast Football, led by Eddy De Gabriele and inspired by Wollongong City Council, launched a bid to join the A-League.
[47][48] Former Socceroos Scott Chipperfield and Tim Cahill both supported the bid, with plans to establish a football academy in the region.
[51][52] The name Tasmania United was registered by the taskforce and it was suggested that the team play games in both Hobart and Launceston alongside joining the league in the 2011/12 season.
Despite this setback, the consortium has since stated they are "confident" of entering the A-League by late 2020 after discussions with the FFA, with the prospect of either joining the league as the 13th active club or perhaps replacing the New Zealand-based Wellington Phoenix.
[74] The region's bid for an A-League expansion position is further helped by the strong community ties of current NPL Queensland side Western Pride.
[77] The bid was assisted by the multicultural population of 1,700,000+ people residing in the region, which includes a high football participation rate.
The six biggest football clubs in the local government areas of the Casey and Dandenong regions united for an official A-League bid in late 2016.
[81][82] South East Melbourne was included in the final eight bids considered by the FFA in 2018,[19][83] but ultimately failed because of concerns about the consortium's ability to fund the ambitious project[84] Former NSL powerhouse and OFC Team of the Century South Melbourne launched a bid to receive an expansion license for the 2018–19 A-League season.
The club argued it had an advantage by possessing the required $5 million capital, access to the Lakeside Stadium and ability to simultaneously launch a W-League team.
[19] A consortium led by Indian billionaire, Nirav Tripathi, planned on joining the A-League with a team based in the Sunshine Coast.
[95] An Australia Cup round of 32 tie against Sydney on 10 August 2016 (a Wednesday evening) attracted a crowd in excess of 9,000, demonstrating the potential of the Wolves.
[101] On 8 March 2014, it was announced that the Cairns-based National Premier Leagues outfit Far North Queensland Heat had signed a sponsorship deal with the Aquis project to support their ambitions of securing an A-League licence.
[102] This announcement came just days after the Fung family launched a $269 million takeover bid for the Reef Hotel Casino in the Cairns CBD and revealed their Aquis project—a $4.2 billion development to create a mega-resort at the Yorkeys Knob site.
[103] The president of New Zealand National League side Christchurch United stated in 2023 that he would join a South Island A-League bid.
[106] In March 2008, mounting speculation suggested that a Geelong-based syndicate was working on a proposal for an A-League licence in the competition's next expansion period.
Federal Labor MP Darren Cheeseman became one of the main advocates of a Geelong-based side going as far as launching a $20,000 feasibility study to find a location, design, and cost for a new regional football facility in the city.
[106] John Mitchell pointed to Newcastle Jets' grand final success in the third season of the A-League, saying Geelong had the capabilities to match its northern counterparts.
[107] In early 2017, the consortium announced it would be entering the race for expansion spots under the working title of Victoria Patriots, with stadium plans in Armstrong Creek.
[113] A second A-League franchise in Perth is believed to have to have the capacity to attract considerable support considering the popularity of the sport in Western Australia's capital, as well as many fans' disenchantment following recent administration scandals surrounding the Glory.
[114] Sunshine Coast, who currently play in the Queensland State League, have expressed interest in joining the A-League, unveiling a five-year plan in late-2012.