New Zealand Football released its competitions review on Friday with a 10-team competition being mooted from the 2016-17 season and beyond.
Franchises or clubs seeking a place in the competition will also have to field a side in the National Youth League.
Southern United board chairman Aaron Joy welcomed both the review and the outcomes.
''It was very needful,'' he said.
''We all went up to Auckland at the end of last season. They listened to us and from that New Zealand Football have got a good picture of the whole competition going forward. They've put some big efforts in and managed to get some TV coverage for us this season, which is an awesome development.''
This season's entry has also been helped by Trillian Trust covering the $45,000 fee for the premiership sides and the $20,000 fee for the youth teams.
''That has been an absolute blessing,'' Joy said.
New Zealand Football will put in place stringent criteria for franchises and clubs hoping to gain a two-year licence for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
The licensing criteria will focus on the applicant's training and match-day venues, coaching qualifications and medical support, the governance and its legal and financial positioning.
''It's been happening within the federations where clubs can qualify for a club quality mark,'' he said.
''But what they're doing now is bringing it into the franchises, which is a good thing.
''We welcome that and I've been busy working on the criteria of all the different areas for that. Going forward, it can only get better, in my opinion.''
Joy is confident of Southern United making every criteria point within the next few years to give the franchise a strong case when New Zealand Football sifts through the applicants.
''They're going to give preference to the eight franchises first, but it's one of those things - if we don't meet criteria satisfactorily, any franchise could get dumped,'' he said.
''As we've seen with other teams in national league competitions, if they go out, getting back in is very difficult. It would be the same for football. We deserve it to our region to do our best to remain in the league.''
The screening of 32 premiership games this season is a big boost for the franchises as well, Joy said.
''Now that TV is involved, we'll get more interest from sponsors.''
An ASB Premiership without a team from the deep South is an unpalatable prospect for Joy.
''It's a lot of work. But we're prepared to put in the work,'' he said.
''It's not for us, it's for the region. At the end of the day, the region benefits and we can't afford not to have two teams [premiership and youth] in the national league. We can't afford that at all. It's New Zealand's top amateur competition, so we have to be in it.''
