Western United is on the brink of folding after the A-Leagues club was stripped of its licence to compete in Australia’s professional men’s and women’s competitions. Champions of the A-League Men in 2022, the Melbourne-based club has been suffering financial turmoil in recent months, with players and staff paid late in April, May and June and with a FIFA ban due to a dispute with former star Aleksandar Prijovic blocking them from registering new players. Jason Sourasis, the club’s chairman, had been hoping a planned takeover by American investors KAM Sports would end the uncertainty over Western United’s future, but the process has dragged on - and now Football Australia’s first instance board, an independent body tasked with club licensing, has forced the matter to a head by effectively booting them out of the A-Leagues. The first instance board met on Thursday night and “determined that Western United FC has failed to meet the criteria required to be granted an A-League license,” a spokesperson for Football Australia said.