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A-League expansion in the South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales has been propsed since the establishment of the A-League in 2005. Before the introduction of the league, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the competition into cities such as Wollongong, among others. Supporting a South Coast bid for admission into the A-League is its strong junior participation rates in football, with the area widely regarded as a regional heartland of football. A bid know as 'South Coast Football' was entered to join the 2009–10 A-League season but lost out to Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury. A second attempt was made by the group to join for the 2010–11 season, however lost out to Melbourne Heart and the unsuccessful-Sydney Rovers. In 2011, FFA announced that future expansion would not be considered for the foreseeable future in preference to consolidating and strengthening the existing clubs. Since that time, expansion into the South Coast region has gained momentum with FFA expressing interest to increase the size of the league from 2017. ==South Coast Football bid== In 2008, a community-based group known as 'South Coast Football' put in a bid to join the A-League. The bid had its genesis in a decision by Wollongong City Council to pursue an A-League place in 2006. South Coast Football was led by local businessman Eddy De Gabriele and aimed to represent a population of 500,000 in the South Coast region, taking in the Wollongong, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wollondilly, Wingecarribee, Kiama and Eurobodalla local government areas.〔( southcoastfootball.com.au ) 〕 Former Wollonging City player Scott Chipperfield threw his support behind the bid and Tim Cahill also declared his support for the bid after launch his first coaching academy in Wollongong. As part of the bid Bruce Gordon, Australia's 14th wealthest person, was approached to potentially help bankroll the club. In late 2008, South Coast Football launched a membership drive to demonstrate the level of commitment to A-League football in the community. More than 6,000 fans turned up to the club's touted home ground of WIN Stadium, Wollongong to watch a 2008 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup match between Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix. One of their main rivals for the twelfth A-League place, Canberra, drew 8,000 to a similar match. The South Coast Football bid to entered the league in 2009 ultimately lost out to Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury. The A-League was expected to expand further into a 12 or 14 team competition in 2010 and the South Coast Football bid was considered a front runner to join the expansion, but lost out to Melbourne Heart and the unsuccessful-Sydney Rovers. In 2011, FFA announced that it is going to consolidate and strengthen the current clubs and cease expansion for the foreseeable future. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「South Coast A-League Bid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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