Has Canberra United finally found the lifeline it needs?

With the only standalone A-League Women side having survived in a state of flux for two years with no concrete future, that may be about to change.

David Polkinghorne from The Canberra Times revealed on Thursday that the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), who govern the A-Leagues, has an offer on the table to purchase the licence to operate Canberra United.

The report also said the prospective buyer was keen to have the deal done before the end of the current season so that the new administration can sign players and plan ahead for the 2025/26 season, putting it on equal footing with the other teams in the competition, rather than having to wait until the season draws closer, which could see the club miss out on key players.

Listen to the latest episode of The Dubcast, Round Ball Australia’s Women’s Football podcast on Spotify, Apple, or watch on YouTube, with new episodes every Wednesday.

Why is finding a new owner for Canberra so important?

The alternative options would see Capital Football continuing to run the side at a loss, which is hurting the federation overall, or the club folding, which would be disastrous for football in the region.

Having a professional presence in the nation’s capital is key to ensuring the competition succeeds, especially given the last two rounds of A-Leagues expansion saw a third team in Sydney and Melbourne, and a second side in New Zealand, with more than half of the competition now being based in those three areas.

Having a team located in a major city centre that is able to connect with its regional neighbours is a formula for success and finding talent, with the Newcastle Jets a shining example of that, even if that success has not necessarily led to on-field triumph, in part because of that club’s seperate ownership situation in recent years.

With Australia being such a vast land and the prospective owner looking to bring back the axed Canberra United academy, having a team in Canberra allows professional football to help service the regions between Sydney and Melbourne.

That means that budding and talented players might not have to relocate thousands of kilometres from home in order to get the same chances and opportunities as their city-based counterparts.

If the deal goes ahead, it would see the A-League Men and A-League Women on equal footing with 13 teams (Macarthur currently only have an A-League Men team), with Auckland to enter the A-League Women in the 2025/26 season.