A-League: Macarthur FC Bulls prepare for second title tilt

The Bulls shocked the A-League with an inspired inaugural season which ended 90 minutes short of a grand final berth, despite launching during a global pandemic. Now they plan to unleash their full potential.

As the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe, the owners of southwest Sydney-based Macarthur FC came together and spoke about the challenges of becoming the only professional sporting organisation in Australia, if not the world, to launch in such a climate.

During the discussion, one of the owners of the A-League’s youngest club stopped and said: “We’re on the dance floor, we might as well dance”.

And dance the Bulls did, under the guidance of Ante Milicic, finishing just 90 minutes away from earning a chance to compete for championship glory in their inaugural season.

The new kids on the block are preparing to reach their full potential, on and off the field, as the world opens up for the 2021/22 A-League Men’s season.

The Bulls take the field in February. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

A SUPER-SIZED COWBELL?

Club chairman Gino Marra said there was an air of excitement around the organisation as cowbell-ringing fans prepare to return to Campbelltown Stadium in November.

The fans could soon be in control of a super-sized cowbell, located on the top of the hill, with the club in talks with Campbelltown Council to make the concept a reality.

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The cowbell concept, which elicited strong reactions from fans and TV viewers, was the brainchild of a fan during the early formation of the professional organisation.

“From there we thought, ‘oh geez, that actually works’ and the brand and the Bulls started,” Marra said. “I can tell you, the players love it well not the visiting players. Our players like it and it gives them some motivation.”

The original vision for a “carnival atmosphere” and “activations” at the suburban stadium could be a reality this season, as Covid restrictions and crowd caps are loosened.

VACCINATION POLICY

The Bulls have refused to implement a vaccine mandate and echoed the familiar line of following the advice from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL) and government health advice.

When Marra was asked if the club would encourage players to be vaccinated, he responded: “we are encouraging players to make their own decisions”.

The club chairman said no issues of player vaccination had been raised with him and he was unaware of the percentage of players in the squad who had been vaccinated.

’WE TOOK THE ADVICE’: PRICE DROP FOR MEMBERS

Bulls fans, and travelling supporters, were vocal about the price for memberships and tickets on a number of occasions during the inaugural season.

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Marra said the club has listened to the feedback.

“Our first year we were trying to find our touchpoints and where we were with memberships and we took the advice and have made changes,” he said.

“We want to see the stadium full on game day and those prices reflect that.”

BULLS CHARGING INTO SCHOOLS

As Covid restrictions ease, the Bulls are set to charge into dozens of southwest Sydney schools as part of the Bulls in Schools community initiative.

The program sees players, alongside Macarthur FC staff, promote health, wellbeing and education with the club aiming to visit every school in its catchment area at least once.

“Their the type of things we want to build,” Marra said. “Programs like Bulls in School don’t just help from a community perspective, but also builds the Macarthur FC brand over a long time so those kids in primary school remember us going, and eventually they got kids and we build from there.”

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Marra confirmed the club’s Charles Perkins Soccer Academy, whish aspired to foster football development in indigenous communities, was no longer proceeding.

The academy was launched with Macarthur FC in 2019 under a previous ownership model and administration structure.

“Charles Perkins was more a national program and our view on things is, unless it is in the southwest, it doesn’t have importance to us,” Marra said.

“We need to concentrate on our multicultural and indigenous communities in the southwest. There’s no use promoting programs which are in Far North Queensland and the community expects us to concentrate on their kids, rather than kids in another community.”