A-League scraps plans for second Sydney side
Reuters - Friday 10 December 2010, 04:02
SYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australia's ailing football
league has scrapped a bid for a second Sydney side to take the
field next year, a week after the country's 2022 World Cup bid was torpedoed with only a single vote from FIFA.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) in September gave the
backers of the Sydney Rovers a month to convince league
administrators of the viability of their franchise to compete
alongside Sydney FC.
The FFA would "open discussions with other interested
parties after mutually agreeing with the Sydney Rovers
consortium not to pursue its bid for a franchise in western
Sydney," the governing body said in a statement on Friday.
"FFA remains committed to (an)... A-League franchise in
western Sydney and will now engage with other interested
investors."
A-league boss Lyall Gorman last week rejected the notion
that the competition's development would lose momentum in the
wake of Australia's failed World Cup bid.
The FFA has been slammed over its administration of the
A-league in recent months, accused of expanding the fledgling
competition too quickly and then being distracted by the 2022
bid.
Attendances have plummeted in recent seasons and a number
of clubs in the 11-team competition are walking a financial
tightrope.
In September, the FFA had to intervene to save east-coast
club Newcastle United from crippling debt by switching the
franchise's license to a wealthy local mining magnate.
Administrators this week flagged starting the season later
and cutting midweek games in a bid to try to shore up flagging
support.