Horvat believes Geelong will be ready in 18 months and with a process of town forums, having its own boutique stadium the bid is looking to emulate the success of the Western Sydney Wanderers.

Head of A-League Greg O’Rourke said the success factors required for entry into the A-League includes government support and involvement, player numbers, interest from the broader community and investors.

Horvat said that the bid has been working on these measures for over a year.

“They are all the criteria that we are focusing on,” he said. “We started having discussion not only with the FFA but councils and governments over 12 months ago. Our club model is going to be one where there is a wide and diverse shareholding base underpinning the financial stability of the club. 

“Geelong also has far and away the largest percentage growth in the state of Victoria of participants in the game. The latest figure is over 20% growth and the next figures that come out will be greater growth than that."

Under the working title of the Victoria Patriots FC which Horvat insists will not be the final name the ABC commentator said the response since the bid went public has been extraordinary.

“It’s been nothing short of phenomenal,” he said. “Our bid is based in Geelong however we are mindful that there are growth areas in all areas of Western Victoria. Not only in population but in numbers who are playing the game. We see there is really a lot of untapped areas in the west of Melbourne, regions like Ballarat, Bendigo the surf coast, Colac.

“We want to be inclusive of the whole region and we are not looking to take away from the Victory and Melbourne City they have done a fantastic job. We want to add and create something new and add value to those clubs and add value to the league and what we are trying to achieve will do just that.”

Standing in Geelong’s way to be Victoria’s third A-League team are South Melbourne and Dandenong and Casey but Horvat said their bid stands out because of future stadia plans.

“The thing that I’m really excited about is working with companies like Populous which are one of the premier stadium designers in the world,” he said. “We’ve already got draft plans of a boutique purpose built stadium with training grounds and facilities which would really service the whole region not just Geelong but the whole region of Victoria.

Horvat also revealed that the consortium will make more announcements about who will be joining the bid which will include past and present Geelong national team representatives.

 “I’ve had discussions with current and former Socceroos who have originated from this region,’ he said. “Growing up and playing football in this region and playing a lot of my senior football in the western area of Melbourne created so many opportunities for me.

“I’d like to give something back and be able to be part of a group that brings the highest level of football in this country to this region so they can have a club they call their own and support in the A-League.”