Gungahlin United's star-studded squad could be torn apart, with financial backers threatening to walk away just three months after being awarded a National Premier League licence.
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Club president Ricardo Alberto and a rival faction will have an emergency meeting with Capital Football chief executive Heather Reid on Wednesday to discuss the internal dramas.
The Canberra Times understands the rival faction has asked to take over the club's NPL licence after being unhappy with decisions relating to certain player signings and the appointment of Sydney-based coach Claudio Canosa.
The rival faction has the support of sponsors, who have underwritten the club's spending spree in the player market.
Former Socceroo Andy Bernal has also parted ways with Gungahlin United after helping the club with its recruitment and scouting.
Alberto was confident the club would take its place in the NPL, but admitted there could be changes to the playing squad.
"We're really committed to the premier league and we don't believe we're at risk of having the licence taken away from us," Alberto said.
"If players are going to leave, or if coaches are going to leave, or if people decide to move on, that will certainly put a few more obstacles in our way. It doesn't mean that we have to pull out of the premier league.
"It means we might not be as competitive as we had hoped to be in our first year, but the important thing for me is that this year is an establishing year, so we can establish something that is going to be sustainable beyond the 12 months."
Gungahlin United made a splash with its inaugural playing squad, signing several star players from rival clubs.
Those included Canberra FC captain Matt Grbesa, former Young Socceroo Stephen Domenici, Milan Popovich (Cooma), Dustin Wells, Jack Green (Belconnen), Nathan Tidmarsh, Josh Gaspari, Daniel Barac (Canberra Olympic) and Regan Walsh (Woden Valley).
Gungahlin United has been granted an extra 20 points in the points salary cap because it is its first year in the NPL. The club was awarded a provisional one-year NPL licence last October, replacing Canberra City in the competition.
Belconnen United and Woden Weston FC were also handed one-year licences, while Canberra FC, Canberra Olympic, Monaro Panthers and Tuggeranong United satisfied the criteria for three-year licences.
Reid said there were questions about whether Gungahlin United would be able to honour the commitments it had given its players and whether its licence was sustainable.
"As far as we're concerned, Gungahlin United is still in the league until such time as they indicate they're not," he said.
"There is quite a lot of speculation around the city, but from our point of view they are still in the league. We haven't had anything official from Gungahlin United that they aren't continuing with the offer."
