14 august 2018, federal act minister, andrew leigh, made public his support for the canberra and capital region a-league bid. leigh spoke in the act federation chamber about how the bid reflected the community, encouraged people to put their name to the cause and stated how the canberra region is the largest in australia that lacks presentation in the a-league. mr leigh went on to praise the work of the bid team in their preparation for the final submission on august 31.