Football Biggest Supporters Base will Prove why the West is

The sport's biggest supporter base will prove why the west is best

Michael Cockerill
September 18, 2009

WHETHER it is announced today, tomorrow, or in the next week, the A-League's next team will come from western Sydney. Fact. The task now confronting Football Federation Australia is to make sure it works.

After a tumultuous fortnight, in which leading bidder Joe Meissner fell at the 11th hour and another ''bid'' fronted by Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill evaporated after being linked to slain standover man Michael McGurk, it was back to the drawing board for the FFA at the worst possible moment. How the bid process imploded so spectacularly remains a moot point.

But implode it did, and the FFA knew it had to act fast. Out of the ashes has emerged a team which will be funded partly by the governing body, partly by private investors, and partly by ANZ Stadium. Who knows, perhaps this was the model they wanted at College Street all along.

What matters now is that western Sydney will become the competition's 12th team next year, and it's too important an opportunity to waste. Even if rumours of a later start to season 2010-11 (October) are true, that still leaves barely 12 months to get a club, and a team, up and running from scratch.

The FFA likes to use the example of Wellington Phoenix, who had only three months to get going. Different circumstances, different market. Western Sydney may be the jewel in the crown of football in this country - the biggest player base, the most mature fan base - but it's a jewel which needs to be polished.

In that context, there could hardly be a better figurehead than Ian Rowden - a former player, a successful businessman, a man with worldwide contacts but a deep understanding, and empathy, with the local game. The race against the clock won't scare Rowden. It will enthuse him. The former Young Socceroos defender is exactly the man to pull all the pieces together.

Some of the details are being fined-tuned on the run. What is known is that, for the first time, ANZ Stadium is ready to take a direct stake (believed to be 25 per cent) in a professional sporting team. The stadium effectively subsidises many of its tenants, but until now hasn't become a part-owner of a team.

It's doing so because it believes in the long-term future of the A-League, and football generally. With a bare summer schedule, the stadium sees big potential for a western Sydney team. No doubt the stadium will try to leverage its investment to get more internationals, and perhaps some A-League finals. Which is fair.

Significantly, however, it doesn't seem the stadium will be overplaying its hand. The new team will play less than half its fixtures at Homebush Bay. Perhaps as few as five, depending on how the draw is constructed.

Those games will be the big drawers - the derbies against Sydney FC, the visits of Melbourne Victory, Central Coast Mariners and perhaps Gold Coast United. The top tier will be closed, reducing capacity to 42,000 to try to generate atmosphere. This year the stadium hosted 22 NRL games for an average crowd of 17,515. It's not unrealistic to expect an A-League team to draw similar numbers.

That means the majority of fixtures will be played at smaller venues, probably at Parramatta Stadium, although Penrith and/or Campbelltown might get the odd game. Western Sydney wants to be the ''people's team'', so it's taking the game to the people - something Wests Tigers have done with great success in recent years.

Whatever the case, the advent of a western Sydney team is hugely exciting. Maybe the most exciting thing to happen to the competition so far. Of all the new teams, western Sydney is the one with the demographic, the geography and history to take the A-League to the next level. Bring it on.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/football/a-league/the-sports-biggest-supporter-base-will-prove-why-the-west-is-best/2009/09/17/1252780408322.html

What really pisses me off is this bit; "Out of the ashes has emerged a team which will be funded partly by the governing body, partly by private investors, and partly by ANZ Stadium. Who knows, perhaps this was the model they wanted at College Street all along."

If all that was stopping our bid was money, then how come we were never offered financial assistance from the FFA.

I think we all know the reason why............!

Pittodrie Boy wrote:What really pisses me off is this bit; "Out of the ashes has emerged a team which will be funded partly by the governing body, partly by private investors, and partly by ANZ Stadium. Who knows, perhaps this was the model they wanted at College Street all along."

If all that was stopping our bid was money, then how come we were never offered financial assistance from the FFA.

I think we all know the reason why............!

That part has angered me the most in this bid process. If we knew this all along, then they should've told Canberra, Tasmania and South Coast to just piss off.

far out, the FFA are the biggest hypoctrites, this bidding process is a sham, a complete sham.

we were never getting in this time, maybe they just wanted to look at other bids like us for future expansion possibilities?

oh well there goes our chance for who knows how many years