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Three years ago, the Women’s World Cup promised a new dawn for football in Australia. Record crowds, unprecedented funding, and widespread media coverage signalled a turning point for the domestic game, offering a vision for what football could look like if women were its driving force.

The hope was that this groundswell would be funnelled into the A-League Women, accelerating it towards full-time professionalism and putting it back on par with the thriving women’s leagues in Europe and North America.

But the opposite appears to be happening. Barely a month after hosting the Women’s Asian Cup, the ALW is facing yet another crisis. Having lost one team in Western United before the season began, the league may be about to lose another in Canberra United, the country’s only stand-alone professional women’s club.

It has been a slow and painful few years for a once-great team. Founded in 2008 as part of the inaugural W-League, the three-time premiers and two-time champions have been responsible for the development of dozens of Matildas, maintaining one of the highest average fan attendances, as well as hiring the most women coaches of any club in Australia’s top-flight competitions. It was a glimpse into a future now being brought to life elsewhere in the world.

But as women’s football has evolved and the funding required for ALW teams has increased, Capital Football – the last remaining member federation to run a professional side – has struggled to keep pace; their meagre resources stretched thin as they simultaneously try to support their grassroots of the game.

The result has been multiple seasons of uncertainty for Canberra United, with players and staff signing on to single-season contracts, not knowing whether it will be their last. Indeed, the only reason Canberra has been able to field a team at all over the past two years is thanks to emergency injections of state government funds combined with a community fundraising effort.

“Resolving the ownership situation as swiftly as possible is critical to giving players clarity over their futures,” the Professional Footballers Australia chief executive, Beau Busch, says. “More broadly, football must move from a cycle of perpetual reaction to maximising its enormous potential, as set out in the PFA’s vision, Ready For Takeoff.”

Two years on from Capital Football first admitting that they can no longer run the team, exactly what has been happening behind the scenes to save the club? How much of a priority has this been for those who can do something about it? And how much longer can this uncertainty continue?

“We’re in meaningful conversations with multiple parties, which we are working hard to progress,” the Australian Professional Leagues chief executive, Steve Rosich, says. “Our focus is on securing a new, long-term owner for the club, and we will explore all other options with Capital Football and the ACT government over the coming weeks.

“We understand the urgency and that this is time-sensitive for players, partners and fans. We will provide a further update to the Canberra United community as soon as an outcome is reached.”

Guardian Australia understands there are two Australian-based investors currently circling Canberra United, who were redirected to the capital by the APL after losing the race to buy the Central Coast Mariners.

However, neither investor wants to purchase United as a women’s-only club: both want to introduce a men’s team at some point, as per the APL’s expansion strategy announced three years ago.

But what would such a takeover mean for this iconic women’s club, and its history, culture and fans? Are there really no other parties interested in owning a stand-alone women’s side in an era when clubs just like theirs are flourishing overseas? Who is telling (and selling) their unique and empowering story?

And what happens if a new owner isn’t found by July, when next season’s fixtures are finalised? The APL could step in to run United in the same way they did the Mariners recently. Or the APL could support the community to stand up an independent entity to run it on their behalf, potentially supported by the remaining funds from the ACT government.

“Canberra United is a highly valued club with a proud history and a strong supporter base, and it deserves a sustainable future in the A‑League Women,” the ACT sport minister, Yvette Berry, says.

“The ACT government remains committed to supporting women’s sport and professional football in Canberra, but long‑term success for the club relies on stable ownership, strong governance, and effective day‑to‑day operations. Funding alone will not secure the club’s future.

“The ACT government expects the APL to continue working proactively with Capital Football to progress the transition to a new ownership model that provides stability and confidence for valued players, fans, and the broader football community.”

The Matildas have shown that women’s football should not be considered the future of the game in Australia: it is the present. If the A-Leagues have any hope of halting their slow decline, supporting its women – starting with Canberra United – is a crucial part of that. Because if this club is allowed to disappear into memory, it will signal that the A-Leagues are unable to take football where the rest of the world is already going.