Is Canberra ready for A-League men's soccer?

Brought to you by Emmanual Davis.

When the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) announced that Canberra and Auckland were its preferred locations for A-League Men's expansion teams, there were many in the city and the ACT that saw it as a long overdue commitment to bring top-tier soccer back.

There has not been any Canberra representation in the A-League in its entire existence, but local fans and investors are convinced that the city is ready to play on the highest stage in the country.

When the A-League began without a Canberra team, the city was promised that it would be considered as an expansion side in the future.

But there hasn't been a top-tier club from Canberra since the Cosmos folded in 2001 and quit the old NSL. Now that looks as if it will change.

Soccer has continued in the absence of a team in the A-League Men (ALM), of course. But having a team given the chance to represent the city on an Australasian - and Asian - level, will do wonders for the game in a city that has looked to its rugby team as a sports success story.

There is still work to be done before the new expansion team deal is even rubber-stamped. Nothing is guaranteed at the moment, but the investment team behind the new club should be working on hearing the good news in a few months' time.

That does beg the question of what this new club will look like.

Since the ALM and the ALW were able to split away from the FFA, there seems to be a clearer direction of what is expected of new clubs. A soccer-specific stadium is a must (unlike Western United who still don't have a permanent home) and there is also the need to work in conjunction with a women's team.

Canberra has a head start on that last point, of course.

Canberra United were a founder member of the W-League, now rebranded as the ALW, in 2008. The fact that the club is one of the most successful in the league's history is a good starting point for the new men's team - and the formation of a relationship that is just about unique in world soccer.

No final decisions have been made on the look of the new ALM club. But there does seem to be a consensus that the lime green colouring of the women's team should be appropriated.

This is not the way around these things usually happen. But there does seem to be an honest desire to forge the two teams together as one club, building on the existing success of the women.

There are further developments in the structure of Australian soccer that look as though they will benefit the game in Canberra.

Aside from the excitement of a new top-tier men's team, there is the potential for a number of the highly regarded, existing clubs to join a new National Second Tier (NST).

It might not happen quite as quickly as Canberra soccer fans would like to, but there should be promotion and relegation between the ALM and the all-new NST.

Clubs such as Canberra Croatia and Gungahlin could be in line for a quick jump up the ladder of Australian soccer if that is to be the case.

If you are in any way involved in the game in this city it would seem as though Canberra is more than ready for an A-League Men's team.

The support is already here and there are other major tournaments coming up that will only sell the game even more to the public.

Although you won't see Canberra on a betting market on the MyBookie sportsbook for a year or two yet, Australia's ruling body for soccer has all but made the decision to introduce a Canberra team into the A-League.

The FIFA Women's World Cup may not be coming directly to Canberra, but the competition will open up the game to thousands of kids looking for a local team to support.

The AFC Cup taking place at the start of next year will do the same. Canberra has been waiting too long for a men's team to go along with the success of the ALW's Canberra United.

In the next few years, those dreams will turn into reality.