A-League chief executive Steve Rosich says there is no rush to fill the void left by Western United in the Melbourne market, with the competition's current priority the stabilisation of its existing franchises.
The A-League launched its 2026-27 campaign in Sydney on Wednesday, its second season without Western United since the club was placed in "hibernation" and its first since it moved to formally terminate its licence to compete in August.
The first-ever former champions to fold, United's collapse lowlighted an offseason of significant movement on the ownership front, with new owners of a Canberra United licence and the Central Coast Mariners also secured since Auckland FC and Melbourne City were crowned 2025-26's men's and women's champions in June.
"It's really interesting," Rosich told ESPN on expansion plans. "We've had strong interest from parties to enter our league, and they get considered in the context of our future growth plans and expansion.
"We'll consider expansion plans in the right markets at the right time with the right partners and don't feel rushed in that respect.
"We're also really focused on stabilising our current franchises; that's where our focus lies."
In addition to suddenly leaving its A-League Men, A-League Women, and backroom staff out of work, Western United's collapse left the A-League with just two clubs based in Melbourne -- Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City -- both of which play out of AAMI Park in the city's centre.
Projections suggest that the Victorian capital is on track to become Australia's most populated metropolitan region in the years ahead, with significant growth in its southeast and west. But, for now, Rosich said the league wasn't hurrying to restore a third team in the region.
"That's one of the considerations," Rosich said. "That's something that we'll work through, in a considered way. But we don't need to decide that in the near term. We'll work through our expansion plans. With our continued focus on our current franchises."
One outfit that has made no secret of its desire to fill the void left by Western United is South Melbourne, who immediately flagged their desire to join the top flight in the wake of the Tarneit-based outfit's collapse and who will face Victory in a sold-out Australia Cup final next Saturday.
"We've had a number of parties express an interest," the executive said when asked about South. "We'll work through those parties' interests in time as we consider our expansion strategy. And, for fear of repeating myself, with a focus on our current franchises."
Rosich was pressed on the ramifications of Manchester City's guilty verdict for the Australian top-flight at the season launch, the competition featuring CFG-owned Melbourne City and Manchester City board member Simon Pearce serving as City's vice-chairman as well as sitting on the board of A-League operators the Australian Professional Leagues.
Any Australian-based fallout from the Man City ruling would only add to swirling uncertainty for the A-League, which is set to enter its new season without a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and facing possible strike action from referees should whistleblowers fail to reach an agreement with Football Australia.
Rosich said he was confident that a resolution in both labour disputes was close -- so confident in the latter he feels no contingency plans need to be made -- and cut a bullish tone on the league's viability.
"There's been a lot of good work done over the last few years to stabilise the league," he said. "We have a growth mindset.
"We've built a blockbuster fixture. We're feeling really positive about building on the growth we saw last year and anticipate further growth in crowds, free-to-air viewership, subscription viewers, and overall league metrics. So we're very positive and bold about our future."
