After more than a decade in the elite wilderness, the Wollongong Wolves are now potentially four months away from a place in the A-League.
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But the race for two places in an expanded 2018-19 competition remains wide open after Football Federation Australia announced on Friday 10 bids were still eligible.
The shortlist includes the Southern Expansion bid, supported by the South Coast, Kogarah and Sutherland associations.
It means the Illawarra turf war remains, while two western Sydney bids, South West Sydney FC and United for Macarthur, also remain in the hunt for what is almost certainly one place in the A-League.
Wolves chief executive Chris Papakosmas said the announcement was the first step towards “something special” for the Illawarra.
“This is an opportunity for the community to band together in support of the Wolves,” he said.
“It’s a chance for the South Coast to do something special and be part of the A-League. It’s going to be a boon for boys and girls across the region to move through the pathway from juniors to the elite level.
“We have every faith in our submission.”
Three Victorian bids made the cut, as well as Canberra, Brisbane and Ipswich, but Tasmania and the push for second teams in Adelaide and Western Australian missed out. The Wolves, who won National Soccer League titles in 1999-00 and 2000-01, would play all A-League games at WIN Stadium if successful, while Southern have committed to a one-third share of home fixtures in Wollongong.
An official announcement of the two successful clubs is to be made on October 31.
The region’s governing body, Football South Coast has signed a memorandum of understanding with Southern Expansion’, joining Kogarah and Sutherland associations in support.
But FSC have also signalled their support for the Wolves’ bid. Southern Expansion chairman Morris Iemma, the former NSW premier, said the shortlist was another endorsement of their bid, which was backed by the late Les Murray, the Berkeley High student and legendary SBS broadcaster.
“This is a tremendous vote of confidence in Southern,” he said. “On behalf of our region’s football associations and hundreds of thousands of fans, we’re excited that we’ve been shortlisted by FFA and are now one step closer to fulfilling Les’s legacy – giving the people of the southern region their own professional club.”