United for Macarthur and South West Sydney FC bids merge
THE United For Macarthur and South West Sydney FC bids for an A-League team have united as the one-time rivals look to put themselves in pole position for a place in the expanded A-League.
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THE United For Macarthur and South West Sydney FC bids for an A-League team have united as the one-time rivals look to put themselves in pole position for a place in the expanded A-League.
The two bids have formally announced they would merge to form the Macarthur South West United Football Bid at Campbelltown Stadium this evening.
It’s a match they are hoping propels the region onto the national sporting stage when Football Federation Australia announces which two teams will enter the competition in the 2019-20 season in October.
The bid will now be headed by co-chairmen Chris Redman and Gino Marra.
The proposal also includes W-League and National Youth League teams.
Campbelltown Sports Stadium would continue to be the home venue under the revamped proposal.
Mr Redman and Mr Marra told the Macarthur Chronicle both bids had been prepared to go it alone but decided they would be stronger together.
“Everybody down here knows there’s a very compelling case for an A-League team as a regional sporting team,” Mr Redman said.
“Both areas had good merit in their own right but knew that by combining there was an overwhelming opportunity.”
Mr Marra said the merger made the bid “unstoppable” and had plugged any weaknesses the bids had as separate entities.
“What’s very important is that we have an FFA and AFC approved stadium ready to go,” he said.
The bid team believes the region’s population warranted serious consideration for expansion.
“We are the only 500,000 plus region, 646,000 as of today, that doesn’t have a professional sports team,” Mr Marra said.
“If it’s good enough for the state and federal governments to spend $200 billion in infrastructure out here and bring houses, then our community needs something.
“We need a team that will bring the community together and be something that we can all be proud of.”
If successful, the club plans to undertake a community engagement drive similar to that of the Western Sydney Wanderers.
“We’ll hold forums and get the community engaged in choosing the colours and team name but we don’t want to pre-empt anything yet,” Mr Redman said.
The bid has the support of former Socceroos Brett Emerton and Nick Carle as well as billionaire Lang Walker, Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly councils and local businesses.
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Walker Corporation spokesman Chad Walker said the combined bid would benefit the entire region.
“We supported the United For Macarthur bid to ensure the community and in particular the football community in the southwest had an A-League team that they could call their own, and after this announcement today we are one step closer to achieving that,” he said.
Campbelltown Mayor George Brticevic said the joint bid would place the region in the strongest position possible to secure an A-League team.
“It will also create a nursery for young players across the entire Macarthur and southwest Sydney region to give them every possible opportunity to develop their talents and reach the elite level of their chosen sport without having to travel outside the region,” he said.