South Melbourne are primed to make a strong case when the A-League releases its bid criteria next year with the club boasting a stadium, strong supporter base as well as drawing NPL crowds of up to 7000.

Papastergiadis and his team spent about an hour with the A-League and FFA chiefs detailing why South Melbourne should be the next club to enter the country’s premier football competition.

“South Melbourne is a club that’s ready, willing and able to participate immediately and we made that point very clear,” Papastergiadis told Outside 90.  

“They listened intently and carefully…we have been working for five years to put ourselves in a position to be viable and put together what we believe to be the best bid in Australia."

And while Gallop and O’Rourke did not discuss what the exact bid criteria would be, Papastergiadis said he covered the points via a video presentation that he believed captured what the A-League required from potential clubs.

“We focused on our football infrastructure and our $7 million stadium deal, our youth development program which is the best in the state, and the fact we get 7000 people to our NPL matches,” he said.

“We demonstrated that the crowds come without cannibalising or eating into the attendances of the Melbourne City or Victory games. “

And of equal importance, Papastergiadis said South Melbourne were in a unique position to link the “past, present and future”.

“We also provide an opportunity for a lot of disenfranchised former NSL supporters who haven’t connected to the game to come back in,” he said.