On Tuesday, Welsh, who ended a turbulent short-lived spell as the face of FFT a year ago, announced he had been in talks with up to three A-League clubs to fill the void left by Melbourne Victory and play matches in Tasmania.

He said he had also been in discussions with several venues, including Launceston’s Aurora Stadium, and suggested a 2015-16 fixture would soon be announced.

However, FFT yesterday counter-attacked saying the reason it knew nothing of the push was ‘‘because there is no truth to the claims’’.

A federation press release quoting CEO Mike Palmer described Welsh’s announcement as a ‘‘publicity stunt’’ and sought to ‘‘dispel any rumours and speculation around potential A-League matches coming to Tasmania next year’’.

It stated: ‘‘There will be no regular season A-League matches in Tasmania in the 2015-16 A-League season’’ adding the claims were ‘‘in no way legitimate’’.

Football Federation Australia confirmed there have been no formal discussions around bringing fixtures back to Tasmania.

‘‘I have been assured by FFA that the approval of A-League games in areas outside the traditional match venues is dependent on the co-operation of the state member federation, the state government and the local football fraternity to ensure the success of the event and long term benefits for football, not through private third-party promoters,’’ Palmer said.

‘‘Football Federation Tasmania regularly talks to FFA about a range of football development matters, including A-League matches in Tasmania, but we want to take a co-ordinated approach and have a long-term strategy, not a one-off event that may not bring lasting benefits.’’

Palmer said FFT had no involvement with Welsh’s marketing company ‘‘nor would we consider any in the future’’.

Welsh responded on Twitter saying if he was going to do a publicity stunt he would have said Chelsea was playing Manchester City in Tasmania.

City of Launceston general manager Robert Dobrzynski yesterday confirmed he was "engaging with a wide range of stakeholders" in order to get more content at Aurora Stadium.

‘‘It is a magnificent facility and a key objective for the council is to ensure there is greater diversity of use across major sporting and cultural areas. Soccer is certainly an important part of this and we are hopeful that our various discussions result in dividends in the near future.’’