Slavich, ACT Sport Minister Yvette Berry and ACT Senator David Pocock were among those who jumped on board the expansion vision after the Australian Professional Leagues nominated the capital as its preferred location for a new team.

Slavich, the leader of the inaugural bid to secure an A-League licence 15 years ago, said the sport's peak body in Canberra would work with the APL and Michael Caggiano to progress to the next stage.

"It's exciting, it's a real pathway for players coming through," Slavich said.

"The paradigm has changed ... the APL is running a better process and they've determined Canberra is the logical place for expansion. We've been saying for 15 years that Canberra is the logical place, and in that time our population has grown."

Capital Football and the A-League proposal will discuss the future of the women's team in the coming weeks. It's likely Capital Football will be willing to part with the A-League Women's licence to have men's and women's teams under one banner.

But the deal will also need to include financial compensation for the brand and following Canberra United has built over 15 years of the ALW.

Berry has met with APL boss Danny Townsend to discuss the competition's expansion plans, the plans for a new stadium and how the men's team would be integrated with the existing women's side.

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The ACT government will likely commit $1.5 million per season to the men's performance agreement, as per a deal that was struck when Caggiano put forward a bid to join the A-League in 2018.

"The ACT Government welcomes the A-League's interest in Canberra," Berry said. "Canberra loves football and has fantastic community leagues and competitions.

"We have had positive conversations with the Australian Professional Leagues to date, and we look forward to receiving a formal proposal and assessing that on its merits.

"The establishment of an A-League team would give our rising stars better access to training and competition opportunities in the territory. I look forward to continuing to work with the A-League as conversations progress."

Pocock hopes the impending arrival of a men's summer sport will accelerate the discussion about a new stadium for the city, ideally located in Civic.

"It's great to hear the announcement of an A-League Men's team to join Canberra United - one of the most successful women's teams and a team we're so proud of as Canberrans," Pocock said on Wednesday.

"It clearly strengthens the case for a city stadium. All the talk we've heard from the ACT government since they moved away from wanting a city stadium doesn't take into account the rise of women's sport.

"... It's a big piece of infrastructure that will set up the city centre for the future. No one wants a Homebush in Canberra that people begrudgingly go out to rather than somewhere you can go and enjoy.

"...We're a growing city and these sorts of infrastructure projects, it's so important that we get them right. The stadium is coming to the end of its life regardless of what we think, and so it's going to take investment. Let's put that investment where it's really going to serve us in the future."

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