Soccer: New A-League team to be announced

A West Sydney-based A-League team looks set to be announced this afternoon. Photo / Getty Images.

A West Sydney-based A-League team looks set to be announced this afternoon.

In a statement this morning, Football Federation Australia confirmed "deliberations about the establishment of a new Community Club representing Western Sydney in the Hyundai A-League have advanced significantly in the past few days".

A statement will be issued by the FFA "in relation to the latest developments" at 4.15pm New Zealand time.

The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported the new club has already been signed off and will be up and running in a few days, according to sources close to the project.

The Telegraph understands funding for the club will come from within FFA resources.
The prospect of another Sydney-based A-League team could be enough to lure former Socceroo Scott Chipperfield to play in Australia.

"Good to hear a West Syd team is coming into the A league. I might have a final kick in Oz after all," the FC Basel midfielder wrote on Twitter.

With the troubled Gold Coast United unlikely to take the field next season after owner Clive Palmer was stripped of the club's licence, a West Sydney team will ensure the A-League remains a 10-team league.

Efforts to launch a West Sydney team have been in the pipeline for several years, however, the bid has lacked a financial backer.

The announcement this afternoon is expected to coincide with a pledge from Australian Prime Minister to pump AU$5 million of federal funding into grassroots football in the western suburbs, the Telegraph reported.