With the expansion of the A-League something that seems to be drawing ever closer, Wollongong is a region that has constantly put its hand up for a spot among the top clubs in the country. But would the giving of a license be the right move on the part of the FFA?
When the FFA released their 20 year ‘Whole of Football’ plan in May, they highlighted that “every major Australian centre with a population over 500,000 has the market size to host an A-League club.” This line of reasoning seems to suggest that clubs should be centered more squarely in larger cities, where higher population bases can financially back a local side. Naturally this has raised a few issues in regards to the prospect of a Wollongong-based side.
Based on 2014 projections from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, roughly 290,000 people live in the Wollongong region and by 2017 (the next suggested expansion period) this population is expected to be just over 300,000. While this is still some two hundred thousand off the FFA’s suggested half a million population base, it must be noted that Wellington (394,000), the Central Coast (312,000) and Newcastle (308,000) all have population bases that fall well under the FFA standard all while pulling in an average 7 to 9 thousand fans per game.
Attendance is no doubt the big issue the FFA is trying to solve here and this is clear in their desire to test out prospective expansion spots with exhibition games and league matches. In the season just passed, the round 14 match up between Sydney FC and Newcastle was played in front of just under 12,000 fans in Wollongong at WIN Stadium and most recently an exhibition match between Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix drew just under 3,000 fans at the same venue. While these numbers are very encouraging for Wollongong as a prospective expansion area, attendance is not the only issue that the FFA is looking to solve.
The FFA demonstrated in the ‘Whole of Football’ plan that any new entrants to the A-League will need to meet several criteria, not least limited to “funding, football development, stadium capacity and facilities” and it is clear that Wollongong is in the process of meeting these criteria for a 2017 push. With the newly branded Wollongong Wolves leading the push, the city is making several advancements in order to hit these criteria.
Wollongong is a city that has a large footballing culture embedded into it as a result of migrants after the Second World War and this multiculturalism is still prevalent today in the city, with local clubs like Albion Park White Eagles and South Coast United still maintaining much of the heritage that caused the clubs to be formed in the 20th century. As a result, football at the grassroots level has been reasonably strong in the Wollongong region. It has produced players such as Scott Chipperfield and Mile Sterjovski in the past and currently has over 11,000 registered players at the grassroots level and with Tim Cahill opening a football academy in the region in 2009, the area is steadily growing the sport at the base level.
While Wollongong has been growing support, the Wolves have also been making steady advances as a club in order to prepare for the next expansion period. This includes a permanent move to WIN Stadium at the start of 2015 and a move to Thomas Dalton Park where the facilities are in the process of being upgraded. With the projected creation of elite football facilities in West Dapto, both the club and Wollongong are looking to push the region to the next level in football and development.
The move to WIN Stadium has allowed for the club to grow substantially in the last two seasons, with just over 5,000 people watching the Wolves take on the Central Coast Mariners in the FFA Cup in 2014 at WIN while also seeing the club steadily improve in the NPL, moving from 7th in 2014 to a 5th place finish in 2015 – the team’s best placing since 2012. For a club that is steeped in history (with two NPL titles and an Oceanic Champions League trophy to their name), Wollongong are making the right steps towards significant growth as a club and this can only be seen as encouraging in the eyes of the FFA.
For all of its positives, Wollongong is still being rejected by some schools of thought, as many believe that there are better options in Canberra, Geelong, Ipswich or even a return to North Queensland or Gold Coast. With others thinking that Wollongong should be merged with a bid from the Sutherland Shire, there are several ways that the FFA could take this bid. However, as the date of expansion gets ever closer, there is genuine excitement at the prospect of a Wollongong side.
A return to the big table would be a welcome sight for the Wolves, a club that for all its history, has largely been shunned in the post-NSL days. While the FFA seems to be warming up to the idea of a Wollongong-based club, thanks in part to the encouraging attendance figures, there is still a long way to go. But for now, there is only the hope that one day the Wolves will get to perform miracles on the national stage once more and echo their 2000 NSL grand final comeback and forge a return to the glory days of football in Wollongong.
