Since Southern Expansion began the process to join the A-League, both Sydney FC and the potential new club have been engaged in a war of words, with the Sky Blues publicly opposing the bid.

The issue is to do with Southern Expansion's geographic grab which encompasses three regions including St George, Sutherland and Illawarra.

Sydney FC Chairman Scott Barlow has described the southern model as “deeply flawed,” claiming it would cannibalise the club's supporter base with around 32 per cent of their fans hailing from the St George and Sutherland Shire areas.

Even so, Sydney FC CEO Danny Townsend told FourFourTwo that the club has no fears that Southern Sydney based supporters will desert the Sky Blues.

“Let’s be clear, we don’t think those fans will move,” Townsend told FourFourTwo.

“We’ve got a great fan base, they are a loyal fan base, and they will continue to support us no matter what happens with expansion

“We’ve always said that expansion needs to serve parts of the country that aren’t currently served by A-League teams, and there are plenty of them.

“If we are going to expand the A-League let’s go and serve the population that doesn't have the privilege of going to watch an A-league team.

“Let’s not go and wedge another club where there is an existing team. So, it’s not a concern about the loss of fans – that’s not going to happen.

"We feel it’s the duty of the A-League to go and expand the footprint...that’s our philosophy around expansion.”

Sydney FC have backed the Macarthur bid over Southern Expansion, saying it is more strategically located in relation to the home grounds of the Sky Blues and Western Sydney Wanderers .

In response, Southern Expansion CEO Chris Gardiner labelled claims of cannibalising Sydney support, "ridiculous".

Gardiner added that Macarthur did not have the population base to meet FFA criteria.

But Townsend wasn’t backing down regarding Sydney's preference.

“We are about servicing part of the country that doesn’t have easily accessible A-League football,” he said.

“The Macarthur region and Campbelltown are both a long way from Allianz and Parramatta stadiums.

“So, if we are going to expand another team into Sydney, we are just pointing out the simple common sense solution.

“The Macarthur Region is going to be one of the biggest population bases in the country in the not too distant future. So give them an opportunity to grow with that community.

"As an A-League club we have really homed in on our environment, but we are just 13 years old.

“With rugby league and AFL clubs, some are centuries old and have grown with the community.

“We’ve not had that fortunate position (but) a team out of Macarthur could do that right now if they  joined the A-League."