Sydney FC claims new club in city's south would be 'very damaging'
Sydney FC has thrown its support behind A-League expansion into the city's south-west, and warned the FFA that expanding into the southern suburbs would "cannibalise" the club's fan base.
Sky Blues chairman Scott Barlow believes the Harbour City can accommodate a third A-League team as the FFA looks to expand by two clubs in season 2019-20, but will only support the bid for another Sydney club should it be based out of Campbelltown.
Two Sydney bids will be strongly considered by the FFA - one in Sydney's south which would incorporate the Cronulla and Kogarah regions with the possibility of playing occasional games at Wollongong, and another based in Campbelltown which would represent the rapidly expanding Macarthur region.
“A new team based in the south would be very damaging to our club and would result in huge cannibalisation of our fan base. Put simply it would cut our club off at the knees," Barlow said.
"I am strongly opposed to a team based in south Sydney - the southern regions of Sydney including St George and Sutherland are vital parts of Sydney FC’s heartland.
"Thirty per cent of our members come from the south, in fact more than from the east of Sydney. And over the next three seasons we will be playing close to half our home games at Kogarah."
The knockdown and rebuild of Allianz Stadium to begin at the end of 2018 has forced Sydney FC to find a new base for home games until its completion, expected to be in March of 2022.
Sydney FC will play six of their home games per season at the SCG, and their remaining seven will be split across Kogarah's Jubilee Oval, and Leichardt Oval.
The club isn't the only powerful supporter of the Macarthur bid. Billionaire businessman Lang Walker recently pledged to financially back the proposal.
“The Macarthur region is the future of Sydney, it’s the city’s fastest growing region and will have one million people living there in the coming years," Barlow said.
"It is an area with a very high proportion of young families - perfect for an A-League club. This is where a big successful club can be based, in the heart of a growing community and with a fan base that has a real sense of ownership in the club."
New Sydney FC coach Steve Corica is also strongly opposed to a southern suburbs bid, and expressed his thoughts on the matter soon after being unveiled as Graham Arnold's replacement last month.
"We've got a lot of supporters from that area so we want them to stay with us," Corica said.