The Melbourne-born midfielder has thrown his support behind the new Team11 bid which was launched in Dandenong on Thursday night.

Irvine played for Endeavour United as a youngster and was raised in Melbourne’s south-east, not far from the proposed home base of the club, meaning he knows the region well.

A third Melbourne club in the A-League appears a strong possibility, with South Melbourne mounting their case during the week, despite Football Federation Australia (FFA) declaring expansion won’t happen until the 2018/19 season at the earliest.

Foundation club Melbourne Victory averaged crowds of more than 22,000 in the 2016/17 season but Heart and City, who solely play at the centrally located AAMI Park, have perennially struggled in terms of attendances.

City’s best-ever attendance average was 11,047 in the 2015/16 season, while Heart never exceeded 10,000 fans per game.

Irvine backed the South-East Melbourne bid’s ability to appeal to a different market or as FFA CEO David Gallop famously put it, “fish where the fish are”.

“That gap from the city is important,” Irvine told FourFourTwo.

“The South-East of Melbourne is so diverse and it’s got a completely different market to the clubs based in the more central areas.

“It is like its own little city out there. It’s got so much to offer and hopefully in the next little while they can get things moving off the ground.

“It’s definitely something I’d like to stay involved in.”

Irvine featured in a video used by Team11 supporting the bid upon Thursday’s launch, along with Langwarrin product and fellow Socceroo Bailey Wright.

Former Socceroo Vince Grella is the bid ambassador, while the launch was attended by local club representatives, members of local councils, local business leaders, State Member for Dandenong Gabrielle Williams MP and Victorian Premier Hon Daniel Andrews MP.

More than local 35 clubs were represented at Thursday’s launch, covering more than 65 per cent of the region’s registered players.

Last month, the mayors of Greater Dandenong City Council, City of Casey and Cardinia Shire Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing to work together to bring an A-League/W-League Club to the region, which shows the bid is well credentialed.

Irvine said since his involvement with Team11 he’d been thoroughly impressed.

“I’ve been very excited from what I’ve heard over the last few weeks,” he said.

“The prospect of an A-League side in the area where I grew up is so exciting and I know exactly as you can see with the bid and how many people have got behind it, it’s got serious potential.

“The diversity of the area and everything which goes along with it could link to some serious success and hopefully a lot of support from the community.”