“From day one we’ve said this has to be affordable for, and open to, people from all walks of life in our catchment area,” said Windley.

“We want to make it absolutely affordable for our kids because we want to be the football factory to promote as many future Socceroos and Matildas and you can’t do that by pricing kids out of the market.”

Windley said Team11’s bid, which claims to represent the south-east of Victoria, including Gippsland and the Mornington Peninsula, would provide teams in all three national competitions: A-League, W-League and Y-League.

However, one concern for the bid is they have not been able to provide a concrete model for their financial sustainability.

This has been a previous issue in both competitions with Central Coast Mariners W-League side folding ahead of the 2010 season due to 'lack of funding' while teams like Brisbane Roar and Newcastle Jets have also seen financial trouble. 

“[Funding] has always been about raising enough money to be self-sustainable for the first four to five years, and hoping we become a sustainable club in our own right,” said Windley.

“Melbourne Victory, one of the few profitable A-League clubs, have shown that — when done right — our market has the ability to host clubs which are financially sustainable.

“There are a lot of common sense approaches we can adopt from day one with a clean slate to capture our large population base.”

The Expression of Interest criteria put forth by FFA showed they would evaluate the following:

Existing financial strength or demonstration of the ability to raise finance sufficient to acquire the right to participate in the A-League and ensure the sustainable participation that contributes to the growth of the A-League.

But Windley has promised Team 11’s bid would include a new stadium built in Dandenong, and would establish their training base in Casey Fields.

“[Our] communities are full of sports-mad people, who right now are absolutely conditioned to head into the city to watch sport,” said Windley.

“But how much easier would it be for them to travel within their own backyard and connect with their local community?”