Australian Professional Leagues (APL) chief executive Steve Rosich has all but ruled out the introduction of further standalone women's clubs in the A-League Women.
Holman Barnes Group (HBG) was announced as the operator of the Central Coast Mariners' women's side in early August, ensuring the team's survival after the club's new owners, Total Soccer Growth Holdings (TSG), chose to invest only in the men's and academy setups after taking control of the licence.
"Look, it's possible that it might extend to other clubs, but that was unique to that situation," Rosich told ESPN. "[It was] the right way to take those two teams forward, in doing it in that way.
"So, it's an interesting test case for us. We're positive about that new arrangement on the Central Coast. It's peculiar and particular to them, but it might provide a bit of a framework we can look at running clubs in the future."
This demarcation in operations, however, has kept the Mariners' overarching branding in place, in keeping with the "one club" model that, with the exception of standalone side Canberra United, has been in place since the creation of the W-League and continued through to the modern A-League Women.
It's a model that remains commonplace in European football but has increasingly been shifted away from in the American top-flight, the NWSL, with Forbes valuing standalone Los Angeles-based outfit Angel City FC at US$280 million last year.
London City Lionesses, owned by Michelle Kang, serve as a notable standalone entity in the English Women's Super League, recently announcing a front-of-shirt deal with Nike that Kang has claimed to be the richest in women's football history.
But when asked if this could be a model for future A-League Women entities, Rosich was definitive.
"That's not in our thinking," the executive said. "No, we think the power is in having one club.
"In [the Mariners'] case, we saw an opportunity to have a different operator for the women's team. But importantly, the note is it's one license holder, which is Total Soccer Growth Holding Group."
Rosich also confirmed this means that a future Canberran men's side would utilise the same branding as the city's women's side -- be that a continuation of the Canberra United or a new identity.
Australian Sports Group (ASG) was announced as the new owners of Canberra United in July, ending years of uncertainty surrounding the club's future, and retaining an exclusive option to field an A-League Men side from the 2028-29 season.
"That's right," Rosich said. "The current, or the new owners, of Canberra United, that includes a licence for both the men's and the women's. It's almost the reverse [to the Mariners situation], isn't it? It's the women's team that's ongoing, and really pleasingly so, and now an option for a men's team within a couple of seasons' time."
The new A-League Women season will commence on Oct. 17, with a Grand Final rematch between preseason favourites Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne City the following day highlighting the opening round.
