Let them in: South Melbourne just showed the A-League what it has been missing

October 11, 2026 — 4:00am

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.

No gift articles left

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

The A-League starts next weekend. South Melbourne Hellas, as it stands, are not in it.

That surely has to change.

In the two decades since this famous old club was tossed out of Australia’s top division and banished to the state leagues, there have been plenty of words spoken about what it could do for the sport if it were restored. But words are only words; now, we have feelings, sensations and memories, the vivid images to match, and they are all undeniable.

After Saturday night, Australian soccer will never be the same again.

Coach Sinisa Cohadzic said it best after steering the four-time National Soccer League champions to a stirring 4-3 penalty shootout win over Melbourne Victory, just a few moments before a handful of his euphoric players dumped a bucket of orange sports drink over his head.

“What else can I say after this result? Not just the result in itself, but look at the atmosphere, look at the support of this club behind it,” Cohadzic said.

“We’ve really got to be putting a blind eye if we don’t give opportunity to clubs that [have] got a set up like South Melbourne does.

“I really cannot find any excuse not to see this club play in the A-League: support, infrastructure, resources, people are passionate, and there’s people that have history at this club, and that history makes the passion what you’ve seen tonight.”

Well, there’s one obvious reason why South might not get to play in the A-League: the current asking price for a licence fee to participate is........

© Brisbane Times