Aston Villa owners eyeing potential A-League franchise purchase

Aston Villa's owners are looking at a potential purchase of an A-League franchise based in Canberra, as per a report by FTBL.

V Sports have identified Australia as a potential next destination as they look to expand their portfolio of clubs.

Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens have been in charge at Villa Park since 2019 and have invested into the squad. Unai Emery's side are currently sat in the Champions League places in the Premier League.

Aston Villa's chiefs also own stakes in Vitória and have partnerships with Real Union, Vissel Kobe and ZED FC.

Canberra may well have a place in the A-League in the 2024/25 campaign if a funder can be found, along with a club based in the New Zealand capital of Auckland.

APL commissioner Nick Garcia has said: "I’m very positive about Canberra right now. We’re in advanced discussions with a party for Canberra.

“The thing I think it’s important to understand about Canberra is that they have a women’s team already (Canberra United), it’s not a cold start.

"There’s a women’s team, there’s structure around the club, there’s a brand, a lot of that’s stood up. You’re adding a men’s team. It’s not like Auckland.

“The other thing is because there’s been other bids for an A-League licence out of Canberra. So much work and public support has already been done.

"Government support and stuff as well. We’ve got all that. So they’ll move really fast when they’re in.”

Aston Villa signed goalkeeper Joe Gauci from Adelaide United in the A-League in January.