The battle to land new A-League licences has taken a major twist, with two of the three Sydney bid teams joining forces in an effort to secure their future in an expanded national competition.

South West Sydney Football Club and United for Macarthur were among the 10 aspirants shortlisted by Football Federation Australia five weeks ago, as were Southern Expansion, an entity seeking to represent the area spanning from the St George region down to Wollongong.

Secrecy: South West Sydney bid head Gino Marra. Credit:Simon Bennett

However, Fairfax Media has learnt that the South West Sydney and Macarthur hopefuls have decided to combine and form what will effectively be a super bid for a start in the A-League for the 2019-20 season and beyond.

The deal has been cloaked in secrecy. South West Sydney director Gino Marra declined to comment when contacted on Sunday and calls to United for Macarthur bid chairman Chris Redman were not returned.