Incoming chairman Chris Nikou has blown fresh winds under the expansion process, with his new six-strong board likely to meet on December 12.

It's understood an internal deadline of Christmas has been set if the league is to add teams for the 2019/2020 season - making the issue an early acid test of the new board's resolve.

"If we can push it along so it's in place for the following season that would be my preference," Nikou told Melbourne radio station SEN on Wednesday.

"It is possible. I don't want to commit definitively.

"Yesterday we had three new directors to come on board who don't have a lot of visibility as to where the bids are at.

"We're in the fortunate position of having six very good bids that tick a lot of boxes. The (new directors) are getting a detailed dive into the merits of those bids."

FFA opened a fresh expansion process earlier this year, attracting 15 expressions of interest that have been whittled down to six by A-League chief Greg O'Rourke.

O'Rourke, with consultants Deloitte, completed a diligence process on the final bidders, but momentum stalled on a pledged October announcement of two new teams given the sport's governance debates.

The news has invigorated the bidders - particularly frontrunners Team 11 from Melbourne's south-east, and the south-western Sydney bid - and should excite stayaway fans that have seen the same 10 teams compete for several years.

The latest team to join the competition, Western Sydney, entered the league in 2012 on just six months' notice but have become a football powerhouse.

The Wanderers became champions of Asia in 2014 and have reached three A-League grand finals in six seasons.

Nikou said existing A-League clubs were in the loop on the need to grow the league, preferably for the 2019/2020 season.

"All fair minded people understand the need for expansion," he said.

"In the ideal world we probably would have got there sooner than we have."

Nikou has also landed a blow for gender equality on his first day in the role, insisting the new FFA board treat guidelines for the number of female directors as law.

The board can appoint three directors to join the six elected members, and Nikou has flagged adding women and ex-players.

"Because of our commitment to the 40-40-20 principle, of that three, two will be female," he said.

"We're plotting the skills of the directors that were appointed and the incumbents and we'll plug some gaps ... another area that I'm interested in is ex-players and having their voices heard."