It's not the A-League Men's team the ACT's been waiting years for, but one Canberran has opened a pathway for the capital's young guns to make it there.
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Canberra's Kaz Patafta became Brisbane Roar chair and chief executive this year and while he's desperate for his home town to get its own men's team, he's also keen on providing a pathway to Queensland.
Up to four youngsters will be given the chance to train with the Roar in January, opening the door to also play some games while they're up there.
The news comes as work continues in the background to lock in an owner for a Canberra team.
The A-Leagues hoped that could be finalised in the first half of December to allow a Canberra team to begin signing players when the transfer window opens in the New Year.
Patafta's always been passionate about Canberra, which was why he turned his gaze to the ACT when he took over at the Roar.
He was in the process of finalising the players who would go to Brisbane.
"Obviously I'm passionate about football in Canberra and youth development," Patafta told The Canberra Times.
"But now being in this position and we're looking at revamping our whole youth team academy structure here at the Roar, and there is a real emphasis on being strong on defining our DNA - which is about nurturing young talent.
"Being from Canberra and Canberra's still not in a position to have a senior pathway [for the men] through to A-League, and hopefully that comes online soon, but there's no reason I'm not going to be looking at the talent coming through Canberra.
"To start that off we're going to have three to four young players that will come into our youth system in January for a trial.
"Having that pathway out of Canberra is going to be a big opportunity for some young players."
Patafta said the pathway wasn't just open to men, but women as well.
He pointed to Canberra United's 5-1 A-League Women victory over the Roar on the weekend as proof of the depth of talent that was coming out of the capital.
The Brisbane boss returned to the ACT over the weekend to watch the game at McKellar Park.
He will continue to tap into Canberra even when they announce an ALM side.
"Canberra sometimes is neglected, but historically there's so much great talent that comes out of the city," Patafta said.
"Being Canberran and now being in a position where we can put emphasis on scouting networks, on scouting young players, it's really a target.
"I think it's only good if there is a Canberra team. That's not going to change our strategy - we'll be wanting to identify the best players and for me it's about as many players as possible having an opportunity to being exposed to first-team and senior football."