By Charlene Macaulay
The west will be home to a new A-League soccer team after scoring one of two new Football Federation Australia expansion licences.
The Western Melbourne Group and Macarthur-South West Sydney clubs were given the green light following an FFA board meeting on Wednesday, December 12.
The Western Melbourne Group is expected to make its debut in the 2019-20 A-League season and will train and compete at Geelong’s Kardinia Park while its home ground, the multi-million-dollar Wyndham Stadium, is under construction in Tarneit.
The 15,000-seat stadium – which has been fully funded – will be built on Wyndham council-owned land at 1160 Sayers Road, Tarneit, and is expected to be ready for the opening round of the 2021-22 A-League season.
It will include elite training pitches, sports medicine facilities and a gym. Residential and commercial development is planned for the surrounding area.
FFA chief executive David Gallop said one of the key strengths of the Western Melbourne Group bid was its proposal to build Australia’s first soccer-owned and soccer-specific stadium.
“The prospect of a facility owned by football for football will be a significant new milestone for the game in Australia,” Mr Gallop said.
“Football-specific stadia have been extremely successful in league expansion in other parts of the world and we are excited by the prospect of such a facility in Melbourne.”
FFA chairman Chris Nikou said the two bids chosen were located in some of the biggest growth corridors in Australia and presented long-term growth opportunities.
Mr Nikou stressed the decision was “not a full stop for the expansion process”, with the FFA keen to eventually expand to 14 teams.
Western Melbourne director of football Steve Horvat thanked the group’s partner, Wyndham council, for its hard work and commitment to the bid. The bid also had the support of Brimbank, Maribyrnong and Melton councils.
“[The council’s] vision from day one in identifying our future home has been a cornerstone of our bid,” Mr Horvat said.
“Most of all, we thank the people of western Melbourne for daring to dream and giving the bid team the energy and drive to make this happen.
“Football is all about the fans and Western Melbourne will be fan-centric in everything we do.”
As previously reported by
Star Weekly, the Western Melbourne Group has already been chatting to possible marquee player recruits to ensure the new club has a strong player base.
Mr Horvat said the Western Melbourne Group had started preliminary planning for building Wyndham Stadium and expected to turn soil on the project within 12 months.
