Expansion or implosion?

THE FFA is set to decide this weekend whether the Townsville and Gold Coast franchises will be confirmed as starters for the 2008/09 season.

But already the wheels are starting to fall off one of the Townsville bid.

One of the primary backers for the franchise, backer Millissa Fischer-Massa has already signalled she will remove her capital after founders James Gage and Allen St James were unable to secure their end of funding.

The result leaves the FFA with a difficult decision. Do they try to push the North Queensland bid over the line, and risk the franchise struggling and possibly folding?

Or do they bite the bullet, say they’re not ready and proceed with an awkward 9-team competition.

There has been little word from the FFA on how they are planning to facilitate the new move, or whether criteria for the new clubs differ from those of the competition’s foundation members.

There are two clear obstacles facing the FFA and owners of the Gold Coast and Townsville clubs: Where are they going to find 44 players of the same quality as the other A-League clubs? With the youth league competition set to kick off, and restrictions on the number of imports, the prospect of finding the necessary talent will be a huge struggle.

The second, and probably more serious problem is attracting funds after the start-up. The Queensland Roar only managed to secure a long-term shirt sponsorship deal in November last year while Central Coast played the Grand Final without one, showing how difficult it is for the regional clubs to prosper.

Perth Glory are still struggling, both financially and on the park.

The addition of more clubs while welcome in time is going to put strain not only on the new clubs, but also on the existing yet still fledgling rivals.

There is no question the popularity of the A-League is building, but the FFA need to show extreme caution in proceeding or risk jeopardizing the competition.