Football Australia rejects Western United's A-League return

[p]The 2022 champions were ‌expelled from the Australian top flight ‌last year amid financial problems and following ‌a player registration ban from global governing body FIFA.[/p][p]The club's ownership group staved ‌off liquidation after securing funds to ⁠pay a ‌tax debt by January but are being ​pursued by other creditors over unpaid debts, Australian media reported last ​month.[/p][p]Football Australia said on Tuesday its "First Instance Board" had approved licenses for the ⁠12 existing ​A-League clubs for the 2026/27 season but not [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/western-united/j1EBZq33/"]Western United[/a].[/p][p]"[b]The FIB confirmed all current A-League teams, with the exception of ‌Western United FC, have satisfied the mandatory criteria set out in the Regulations for A-Leagues club licensing purposes,[/b]" FA said in a statement.[/p][embed guid="860d4395-a988-42dc-a744-61489149bf4b" url="https://x.com/Adrian_Arciuli/status/2056571932129235295" social-type="twitter" /][p]Western United will have until Friday to appeal the decision.[/p][p]The club said they were reviewing the determination and appeal rights but ‌stopped short of saying whether they ​would seek to overturn it.[/p][p]"[b]We can ‌assure the community that work continues behind the scenes to stabilise the club and secure a long-term sustainable future for football in Melbourne's west,[/b]" ⁠they said in ⁠a statement.[/p]