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Expansion Thread 🪜

Sutherlandbear said:
They stump up the cash TBF.
If you had fan ownership, then fair enough.
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100% members owned club mate.

5.3 MembersThe Members of the Club shall consist of:(a) Ordinary Members over 18 years of age who, subject to this Constitution, shallhave the right to be present, debate and vote at General Meetings;(b) Junior Members under the age of 18 years who, subject to this Constitution,are not entitled to hold any office, but shall have the right to be present,debate and vote at General Meetings through the Junior Member’s parentor other legal guardian.5.4 Honorary Members(a) The Board may confer the privileges of honorary membership of the Clubupon players, officials, donors and other persons who have a specialrelationship with the Club, for such limited period as the Board determines.(b) The Honorary Member shall have the privileges of an Ordinary Memberexcept he/she shall have no voting rights.(c) The Honorary Member shall complete and sign an application form formembership of the Club in the form prescribed by the Club and shall agreeto be bound by the Memorandum of Association and the Articles ofAssociation and rules of the Club.(d) The Honorary Member shall pay no membership fee.(e) An Honorary Member may be admitted under the following conditions:i. By invitation of the board;ii. On the nomination in writing by a members and approved bythe President and the Majority of the Members of the Board;iii. Shall not hold any office in the Club;iv. Propose or second any candidate for membership of the Clubv. Have any right, title or interest in any property of the Club.
 
HappyGuus said:
Does the final decision to join A-League or not definitely comes down to a supporter vote? If so, what percentage does it need to pass/fail?
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Surely it comes down to the elected board members or something like that
 
HappyGuus said:
Does the final decision to join A-League or not definitely comes down to a supporter vote? If so, what percentage does it need to pass/fail?
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No Idea to be honest. I would assume this would be a private equity owned Aleague club nothing to do with the actual non for profit South Melbourne Football Club itself. I have been told it would need a quorum of directors to pass to allow them to use our license which I am sad to admit would probably happen. As long as they dont sell the actual football club down the river myself and all the true supporters can just hang on to our club and all the new found balcony main-streamers can cause us uninterrupted embarrassment in the off season.
 
MoorePark said:
South will do what they and Olympic did for the Australian Championship and make a seperate entity completely for the A-league. That way no need for all dialogue for them.
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Exactly. There IS a reason why this wasn't mentioned in the so called "fans forum" a couple of weeks ago...
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
100% members owned club mate.

5.3 MembersThe Members of the Club shall consist of:(a) Ordinary Members over 18 years of age who, subject to this Constitution, shallhave the right to be present, debate and vote at General Meetings;(b) Junior Members under the age of 18 years who, subject to this Constitution,are not entitled to hold any office, but shall have the right to be present,debate and vote at General Meetings through the Junior Member’s parentor other legal guardian.5.4 Honorary Members(a) The Board may confer the privileges of honorary membership of the Clubupon players, officials, donors and other persons who have a specialrelationship with the Club, for such limited period as the Board determines.(b) The Honorary Member shall have the privileges of an Ordinary Memberexcept he/she shall have no voting rights.(c) The Honorary Member shall complete and sign an application form formembership of the Club in the form prescribed by the Club and shall agreeto be bound by the Memorandum of Association and the Articles ofAssociation and rules of the Club.(d) The Honorary Member shall pay no membership fee.(e) An Honorary Member may be admitted under the following conditions:i. By invitation of the board;ii. On the nomination in writing by a members and approved bythe President and the Majority of the Members of the Board;iii. Shall not hold any office in the Club;iv. Propose or second any candidate for membership of the Clubv. Have any right, title or interest in any property of the Club.
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So how many shares do each person/ company hold.
 
South Melbourne FC wishes to signal its intention to open formal dialogue with the Australian Professional Leagues and relevant stakeholders regarding the prospect of securing future A-League Men’s and A-League Women’s licences.

The club believes the time is right to explore a return to the highest level of domestic football, building on the significant progress South Melbourne has made both on and off the pitch.

South Melbourne won the inaugural Australian Championship in 2025 and currently represents Australia in the Oceania Professional League, a competition that has received support from both the Federal and Victorian Governments.

Participation in the OFC competition has seen South Melbourne become Australia’s 13th professional football club and accelerate its transition towards a full time professional football environment.

On the pitch, the club continues to compete strongly across multiple competitions and is currently a Quarter Finalist in the 2026 Australia Cup.

Importantly, South Melbourne does not see participation in the A-Leagues as replacing its existing football commitments.

The club’s ambition is to maintain its presence in the Oceania Professional League, Australian Championship and NPL Victoria while exploring the opportunity to add A-League Men’s and A-League Women’s teams to its football structure.

Co-President Bill Papastergiadis said South Melbourne had always been an aspirational football club and should continue looking for opportunities to compete at the highest possible level.

“South Melbourne has always been an ambitious and aspirational club. That has been part of our DNA throughout our history and it remains the case today,” Papastergiadis said.

“Winning the Australian Championship, representing Australia in Oceania as a professional club and competing on the national stage through the Australia Cup have demonstrated what this club is capable of.

“We are incredibly proud of where we have come from, but we are equally excited about where we can go.

“Our ambition is not to leave behind the competitions that have been important to our journey. We want to continue competing in the NPL, Australian Championship and Oceania Professional League while exploring whether South Melbourne can also have a place in the A-Leagues. This will open up even more opportunities for players across Victoria to play at a higher level.

“We believe South Melbourne should always aspire to compete at the highest level available to us, and we believe the time is right to begin that conversation.”

The club enters that conversation from a position of significant strength.

More than 150 businesses are supporting South Melbourne in 2026, providing strong financial and commercial backing and demonstrating confidence in the club’s long term direction.

South Melbourne also operates from Lakeside Stadium under a long term lease arrangement, providing an established professional home, strong matchday infrastructure and a highly profitable operating model.

Co-President Andrew Mesourouni said the club’s passionate and established supporter base was central to its ambitions.

“Our supporters have continually shown up in significant numbers for our biggest matches, creating an atmosphere at Lakeside that demonstrates the appetite that already exists around this club,” Mesourouni said.

“South Melbourne is ready made. We know who we are, we know our identity and we have generations of supporters who have grown up with this club.

“We are proud of our history, but equally proud of what we are building today. Through our growing network of partner clubs, schools and community programs, we are connecting with more young people, families and communities across Melbourne.

“We believe there is a genuine opportunity to bring that history, identity, supporter base and growing community to the A-Leagues. Through our history and location, there is an opportunity for ready-made derby matches, and we also believe there will be strong commercial interest in our participation, including via broadcast.”

The women’s game would be integral to any future A-Leagues discussions.

South Melbourne has invested significantly in its female football program and believes any future professional licence should encompass both A-League Men and A-League Women, providing genuine pathways from junior football through to the highest levels of the Australian game, regardless of gender.

With more than six decades of history, an established supporter base, significant commercial backing, professional football operations, an expanding community footprint and a long term home at Lakeside Stadium, South Melbourne believes it has a compelling foundation from which to explore the opportunity.

The club acknowledges that any future expansion or licensing process would require extensive consultation with the Australian Professional Leagues, Football Australia and other relevant stakeholders.

At this stage, South Melbourne is signalling its intention to commence that dialogue and formally explore what a future pathway into the A-Leagues could look like.

The club looks forward to engaging constructively with all relevant parties about what role South Melbourne can play in the future of professional football in Australia.

For all media enquiries, please contact George Kouroumalis at media@smfc.com.au.

– ENDS –

Media Statement: South Melbourne signals A-League intention • - SMFC

www.smfc.com.au www.smfc.com.au
 
Monoethnic Social Club said:
100% members owned club mate.

5.3 MembersThe Members of the Club shall consist of:(a) Ordinary Members over 18 years of age who, subject to this Constitution, shallhave the right to be present, debate and vote at General Meetings;(b) Junior Members under the age of 18 years who, subject to this Constitution,are not entitled to hold any office, but shall have the right to be present,debate and vote at General Meetings through the Junior Member’s parentor other legal guardian.5.4 Honorary Members(a) The Board may confer the privileges of honorary membership of the Clubupon players, officials, donors and other persons who have a specialrelationship with the Club, for such limited period as the Board determines.(b) The Honorary Member shall have the privileges of an Ordinary Memberexcept he/she shall have no voting rights.(c) The Honorary Member shall complete and sign an application form formembership of the Club in the form prescribed by the Club and shall agreeto be bound by the Memorandum of Association and the Articles ofAssociation and rules of the Club.(d) The Honorary Member shall pay no membership fee.(e) An Honorary Member may be admitted under the following conditions:i. By invitation of the board;ii. On the nomination in writing by a members and approved bythe President and the Majority of the Members of the Board;iii. Shall not hold any office in the Club;iv. Propose or second any candidate for membership of the Clubv. Have any right, title or interest in any property of the Club.
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BTW, fan ownership is when normal supporters fund the club by buying shares totaling over 50.1% of said shares. Is that what you have.
 
Barca4life said:
If South Melbourne want to join then they should be allowed to.

Wish them all the best, we need more teams given there are only 10 pro teams in the aleague set up so the more teams the better whilst questing for an open pyramid as well.
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For me ideally the league needs to get to 16 teams. Then we can have an even 30 round H&A competition, none of this "some teams you play 3 times others you play twice" nonsense. 30 games plus Aus Cup (plus ACL/ACL2 for those that qualify) almost warrants enough games to not need finals, but we all know what country we live in.

In addition to the current 12:

- South Melbourne
- Canberra
- Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast for another Queensland team
- Tasmania

If ever in the position to expand to 18 then bring in Wollongong and Christchurch. Haven't included these two in my above 4 as a) NSW has enough teams already; and b) preference for AUS teams over NZ ones purely for the AFC requirements/co-efficients.
 
Guy Incognito said:
For me ideally the league needs to get to 16 teams. Then we can have an even 30 round H&A competition, none of this "some teams you play 3 times others you play twice" nonsense. 30 games plus Aus Cup (plus ACL/ACL2 for those that qualify) almost warrants enough games to not need finals, but we all know what country we live in.

In addition to the current 12:

- South Melbourne
- Canberra
- Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast for another Queensland team
- Tasmania

If ever in the position to expand to 18 then bring in Wollongong and Christchurch. Haven't included these two in my above 4 as a) NSW has enough teams already; and b) preference for AUS teams over NZ ones purely for the AFC requirements/co-efficients.
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And get to pro-rel with 16 teams by splitting the league into 2 divisions of 8 teams, 7-8 from division 1 get relegated, 1-2 from the second division get promoted?

Get the aus championship aligned to the a-league divisions and maybe we can get closer to the open pyramid we all want.
 
Sutherlandbear said:
BTW, fan ownership is when normal supporters fund the club by buying shares totaling over 50.1% of said shares. Is that what you have.
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Its a not for profit sporting club from what I understand mate, the "ownership" is limited. In essence, unless I'm off the mark, our yearly membership fee is contribution towards share holding.

1.2 The liability of Members of the Club is limited.1.3 Every Member of the club undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Club inthe event of it being wound up while he/she is a member or within one yearafterwards for payment of the debts and liabilities of the Club contracted beforehe ceases to be a Member and the costs, charges and expenses of winding upthe Club and for the adjustment of the rights of the contributories amongthemselves such amount as maybe required not exceeding FIFTY DOLLARS ($50).1.4 If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Club there remains after satisfactionof all debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid toor distributed among the Members of the Club but shall be given or transferredto some other institution(s) having objects similar to the objects of the, to bedetermined by the Members of the Club at or before the time of dissolution or indefault thereof by such Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria as may have or3acquire jurisdiction in the matter, and if and so far as effect cannot be given tothe aforesaid provision, then to some charitable object.
 
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