Speaking at his pre-game press conference ahead of this weekend's Melbourne Derby, Vidmar said a seismic and dramatic expansion of the league is the solution to a widely pre-season almost five months long.
Whilst their counterparts in most of Europe are already two months into the 2026/27 club season, A-League clubs Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar are yet to get their A-League seasons underway having had their Round 1 game moved back to a Tuesday night in December to accommodate for United's AFC Champions League 2 trip to Thailand in the middle of the month.
South Melbourne's historic Australia Cup final victory over A-League giants Melbourne Victory has re-opened the conversation around the potential inclusion of existing second-tier football clubs in a bigger national league instead of the tried and failed method of creating new franchises such as North Queensland Fury, Gold Coast United and Western United.
Hellas President Bill Papastergiadis declared earlier this month that South Melbourne would be "ready to go tomorrow" if called upon to fill the A-League licence recently vacated by Western United, pointing to the club's solid foundation of club membership, commercial partnerships and broadcast-quality stadium as evidence that they could make an immediate return to Australia's top-flight after a 22-year absence.
Their Australia Cup victory, in which they at times had Melbourne Victory pinned back in their box, only strengthened their case for 'promotion'.
Despite resistance from a trigger-shy FA to add more teams to a competition that is not currently in excellent financial health, Vidmar thinks now is the time to expand the league by 33% - all with existing and widely recognised NPL clubs.
"I think the narrative with South Melbourne has been really positive. In my view, you need four (more) teams in the league ASAP," Vidmar told reporters on Friday.
"I don't think we have enough games, the pre-season is too long.
"Most of the coaches have spoken over the last couple of weeks that the pre-season is way too long. If we could have 16 teams it would be absolutely perfect."
Vidmar named South Melbourne, Marconi, Sutherland Sharks and Adelaide City - the latter for whom he played 110 NSL games in the 1990s and 2000s - as four suggested additions.
"Bring 'em in. It'll make the competition much better," he said of the quartet.
"I think if you talk to every single player, they'd want less pre-season and more games - absolutely.
"If you had 16 teams, I think 30 games home and away plus finals is more than enough and I think those teams I've mentioned would be absolutely competitive in this competition."
Vidmar singled out Adelaide City, who are back on the national stage after earning an Australian Championships berth through winning the 2026 NPL South Australia title, as one "ideal" club to bring into the A-League.
"It's really good that they're on the national stage again," he added
"I heard the President talk about the number of Socceroos that came through Adelaide City (during the NSL era).
"They would probably be an ideal team, if they had aspirations to come into the A-League. The more the merrier, for me. It doesn't matter (where they come from)."
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
