Football Wagga has spectacularly lashed out at Wagga City Council, claiming repeated calls for assistance and funding for community soccer fields and facilities are falling on “deaf ears”.
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In a statement submitted to The Daily Advertiser, Football Wagga (FWW) spokesman Tim Barter branded the code as being at “crisis point” and criticised Wagga City Council (WWCC) for failing their “obligation” to aid the city’s fastest growing sport.
“Wagga soccer is at a crisis point with available fields for club games and training at capacity,” Barter said.
“Our competition has reached a point where it can no longer grow without immediate additional playing fields. Our committee and members have constantly requested WWCC to assist in this matter but it has sadly fallen on deaf ears. Incredibly, the space is available to create new fields and amenities, but nothing has eventuated.”
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The region’s governing soccer body has rapidly expanded since 2014 – registered player numbers have increased from 1900 to more than 3000 in 2018 – and grant submissions for soccer-related developments have proved difficult to obtain.
Funding requests to upgrade Gissing Oval and Rawlings Park through the ClubGrants scheme in 2015 and 2016 proved unsuccessful and Barter said WWCC’s offers of “in principal support” for a synthetic football field and further upgrades to Rawlings Park weren’t enough to keep the code in good health.
“In the last 10 years, there has been no expansion in playing fields (and) it is the obligation of WWCC to assist the community in meeting the demands of the largest participation-led sport in the Riverina,” Barter said.
Council documents obtained by The Daily Advertiser reveal that while no field expansion has occurred in the past decade, WWCC has made significant investments in the code within that time frame.
Since adopting the Citywide Soccer Development Strategy in 2012, WWCC reports estimate more than $1,891,000 has been spent on soccer-oriented projects including drainage, lighting and amenity upgrades at Rawlings Parks and Duke of Kent Oval as well as canteen upgrades at Gissing Oval and further works at Equex Centre (FWW’s grand final playing venue).
Responding to The Daily Advertiser’s inquiries, a council spokesperson said FWW had, in addition to significant funding and infrastructure support, also received WWCC’s assistance in the development of grant applications and strategic planning documents.
“Council will continue to support all sports within the city and will partner with local, state and national sporting organisations along with state and federal governments in the delivery of infrastructure projects,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also stipulated two locations for potential field development – Rawlings Park North and Northern Sporting precinct – had been examined by council staff, who in turn relayed this information to FWW.
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