ASA: Australian Soccer Association (ASA) Chief Executive John O’Neill has revealed that 20 submissions have been received for entry into the new national competition set to start in 2005.
O’Neill also announced the appointment of former Acting Australian Rugby Union (ARU) CEO Matt Carroll as the ASA Head of Operations, with the new national competition and community soccer major parts of his portfolio.
The submissions have been received from as far north as Darwin, Cairns and Townsville to Tasmania in the south and across the Tasman. O’Neill indicated three-quarters are ‘looking solid’.
The new national competition is set to kick off in August 2005, with only eight franchises to line-up for the 2005 start.
To get an indication of which teams are serious about their inclusion in the eight-team (one team per city) league, O’Neill said each has been asked to lodge a deposit, of which the majority has responded positively.
“We’ve asked for a deposit to be paid, which is not an overly expensive deposit, but it does actually force them to give an indication of how serious they are,” O’Neill said on Friday.
The successful franchises are expected to be revealed in August this year, with a soft competition set down for early next year, with the winner likely to be Australia’s representative for the World Club Championship qualifiers.
“The incentive being whoever wins it, wins the right to play in the Oceania play-offs for the World Club Championship, so it’s quite an attractive carrot,” O’Neill remarked.
O’Neill also revealed ASA is expecting a firm offer from a network for television rights to the national teams and the new competition, next week.