FOOTBALL Wagga has confirmed they have held initial talks regarding luring more A-League Men's and Women's matches to the city.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Despite torrential rain throughout and lightning also putting the match in doubt, over 1000 people watched the Sydney FC-Newcastle Jets women's pre-season trial at Equex Centre in November, 2019.
It proved there is a strong appetite for top level football in the city, and Sydney and Newcastle had initially set up a deal where a women's and men's pre-season match would be alternated between Wagga and Dubbo each year.
A follow up men's match has been impossible thus far due to COVID, but Football Wagga president Tony Dobbin is hopeful it will become a realistic chance when vaccination rates are sufficient for regions to fully re-open.
Dobbin also said they hadn't given up hope of snaring an fully-fledged season fixture, following in the footsteps of NRL's Canberra Raiders who have played two matches for premiership points in Wagga over the last three years.
IN OTHER NEWS
"Absolutely (we'd like to get more games)," Dobbin said.
"We've had a few initial talks with Sydney FC, and they're still very keen to keep playing in the Riverina and keep that momentum going.
"They were talking about holding a gala day before everything shut down just to keep their presence going out there.
"The big danger is, for instance, if we get a game and all of a sudden there's a local government area lockdown it creates some issues, but they're definitely keen to come here again.
"For a trial match we could hold it probably as late as March, but if it's a fully fledged match it will probably be in mid-winter.
"Newcastle would probably be the likely opponent if it happens. We'd like a Sydney team against a regional team.
"Both teams were very impressed with the turnout (two years ago), they both said it was a bigger crowd than they'd have normally despite the conditions."
Dobbin also confirmed they have opted not to hold an awards night this year.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters