Western Melbourne Group will enter the competition in season 2019/20, with Macarthur South West Sydney entering the competition the following season 2020/21.

In deciding to expand the competition in this manner, the FFA Board accepted the recommendations of the FFA Senior Executive. Two Directors, Remo Nogarotto and Joseph Carrozzi, recused themselves from deliberations and decision-making on the matter.

Football Federation Australia Chairman, Chris Nikou, said it was an exciting time for football and the level of interest in joining the A-League from prospective bidders highlighted the huge potential for the game in Australia.

“We have seen unprecedented interest from bids to be part of the A-League and we are excited about our two new expansion clubs in Sydney and Melbourne.

The win took Persija to 62 points, pipping PSM Makassar by just one point to the title.

The title means Persija will play in the preliminary round of the 2019 AFC Champions League, where they will try to navigate into the group stage after falling short in 2018.

Winning the Emperor's Cup for the seventh time means Urawa have sealed a place in the group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League.

Urawa, the 2017 AFC Champions League winners, missed out on this season's campaign after failing to qualify.

The club, who announced ten Cate's appointment on social media, said the Dutchman will take charge of the UAE Pro League side this coming week.

The former Barcelona and Chelsea assistant coach replaces Romanian Laurențiu Reghecampf, who was relieved of his position in late November.

Three second half goals secured Daegu their first ever honour since being founded in 2002.

Daegu, led by Brazilian head coach Andre Luiz Alves Santos, will now make their debut appearance in the 2019 AFC Champions League. They will be in Group F, facing Chinese Super League runners-up Guangzhou Evergrande, Australian A-League final series winners Melbourne Victory and a winner from the play-offs.

Hosogai, who began his professional career with Urawa Red Diamonds in 2005, assisted the club to numerous titles such as the J.League, Emperor’s Cup and the Japanese Super Cup in 2006, including the 2007 AFC Champions League.

In 2011, the midfielder made his move overseas to German club Bayer 04 Leverkusen before transferring to Hertha BSC two years later. After a stint in VfB Stuttgart, Hosogai returned to Japan, playing for Kashiwa Reysol in 2017.

More commonly known as Mauricio, the 30-year-old has an extensive record of playing in Brazil’s top tier league, Campeonato Paulista, where he earned his first league title in 2008 with Palmeiras.

Mauricio is also no stranger to clubs outside of Brazil, having played with Portugal’s Sporting CP and securing the Taca de Portugal in the 2014/15 season, before transferring to Italy’s Lazio.

His career as a professional footballer has seen him on loan to various clubs, but he has also proven himself to be an essential part of a team and assisted those clubs in clinching domestic titles, namely for Spartak Moscow of Russia in 2017 and Poland’s Legia Warsaw in 2018.