Werribee City will not be seduced into chequebook football, even after landing a plum spot in the top tier of the new National Premier League Victoria (NPL), according to club president Sam Panebianco.
The Bees will face Victorian soccer powerhouses Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne after being installed in the top 14 for the inaugural NPL season starting next month.
For the past three years, the Bees have focused on youth development, blooding homegrown players and young up-and-comers who took them to promotion in state league 1 last campaign.
Panebianco forecasts more of the same during the initial three-year NPL licence run.
“We structured ourselves over the last three years to keep on developing youth and we’re going to continue on that path,” he said.
“I know some of the bigger clubs are paying big money for players, but we’re sticking to our guns.
“As long as in the three years we’ve
got the licence we continue to develop and be competitive, we’re not too fussed where we’re going to end up [in the standings].”
The Bees’ bid for an NPL licence was backed by the Italian Sports Club of Werribee.
The improvement of facilities at Galvin Park, including plans for a grandstand, are supported by the Wyndham City Council.
The club has four new grounds that are “state of the art”, according to Panebianco, and its coaches, from the juniors right through to the seniors, are all accredited.
With a solid foundation in place after three years of hard work, Panebianco
was thrilled to have been accepted into the upper echelon of the NPL for year one.
“I’m ecstatic and so is the whole club,” Panebianco said. “We couldn’t have wished for a better result.”
Promotion-winning coach Nino Ragusa has been retained as head coach and will double as the club’s technical director. “He’ll be doing both roles, which I think is fantastic … he’s promoted quite a few of the young kids into the senior squad,” Panebianco said.
