Capital Football chairman Mark O'Neill is adamant Australian soccer is "not in crisis" despite a clear division between the governing body and three of the game's biggest stakeholders.
But the man behind Canberra's bold A-League bid, Jeff Williamson, says Football Federation Australia has "a huge amount to do" to move the sport forward as it remains locked in "a state of flux".
FIFA appears set to take over Australian soccer with national federation chairman Steven Lowy failing to force through his desired congress model.
Lowy's motion to reform the Football Federation Australia Congress fell short of the threshold to be passed at the governing body's annual meeting on Thursday afternoon.
O'Neill says "the dynamic of Australian football has certainly changed" in regards to levels of communication but says it will be business as usual for Capital Football.
O'Neill believes the dialogue is "clearly demonstrating a level of rigour and a difference of opinion, which is not unhealthy" as Canberra looks to establish itself on the professional scene.
"From a Canberra perspective, our relationship with all of the stakeholders has been positive and constructive, and that includes FFA," O'Neill said.
"We have National Youth League, we continue to explore options for A-League matches in Canberra and the possibility of an A-League team in Canberra.
"Whilst there's nothing formal about that, we continue to explore our options. We need to ensure whatever we do in that space is sustainable moving forward.
"At the moment it's just leaving all of our cannon fodder dry. Nothing of what happened compromises or influences that in any way.
"The current television rights agreements deal with the expansion of the A-League, and our involvement in that is something that we'll continue to pursue with interested parties over the passage of time.
"It's not something Capital Football can auspice as a member federation. We are aware of some interest in the community about an A-League bid and we'll engage with them and work with other stakeholders including government."
Williamson is leading a 12-person consortium behind a push to have an A-League franchise based in Canberra, maintaining there is an appetite for elite soccer in the region that would see a club thrive.
But the FFA still has no firm plans to expand the league despite continued rumblings about promotion and relegation being implemented, and Williamson wants to see more stakeholders recognised.
Williamson says the fact A-League expansion wasn't high on the agenda at Thursday's meeting was a problem and it has left those pushing for expansion and a second-tier competition in a holding pattern.
"There is no existing plan that has been released unfortunately. Obviously there's an issue that Canberra would love to see move ahead," Williamson said.
"There is a huge amount to do. A lot of issues will still be unresolved even after [Thursday]. One of the problems with [Thursday's] meeting is that those issues aren't really on the agenda.
"Capital Football has been behind us since we got going. I know they would love to see an A-League team in Canberra.
"It's going to be interesting where we go from here. Hopefully these governance issues get sorted out so people can start concentrating on moving football forward."
As expected, the A-League clubs and the NSW and Victoria state federations voted against the motion for FFA's preferred Congress model, one also bitterly opposed by the players' union.
Lowy needed a 75 per cent majority to expand the membership that votes on the FFA board by the end of Thursday - FIFA's deadline.
Seven of the nine state federations voted in favour but swing state Victoria stuck to its guns in opposition.
The matter will now be referred to FIFA, which will decide whether to remove Lowy and his board and install a normalisation committee to temporarily run the sport.
With AAP
