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Melbourne City taking advantage of Geelong's football passion

The A-League doesn't look like supplying the next Cahill anytime soon. (AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Roar Guru
23rd April, 2017
18

Melbourne City are slowly but surely winning the hearts of Geelong’s football fans. More and more kids (and adults) are wearing the sky blue and white jersey around town and the club is making a concerted effort to build its relationship with the region.

The Victoria Patriots’ working group announced in January they would be bidding for a new Geelong A-League licence. A-League expansion was a hot topic at the start of the season, however interest has been lukewarm at best since the FFA met with A-League chairmen in February.

After all the initial excitement, fiscal reality has set in, meaning expansion hopefuls such as Geelong have had to temper their ambitions.

Meanwhile, Melbourne City have made significant strides into the booming Geelong market. The club offered discounted memberships for Geelong fans in the 2016-17 season and this will continue for the 2017-18 campaign. Kids in Geelong were offered $30 memberships for the current season and adults a 20 per cent discount, opportunities which were grabbed with open arms by local football fans.

This sort of gesture shows how serious City are about growing their brand in the region.

The number of registered football players in Geelong in 2017 is set to increase significantly from the record number of 3712 in 2016. It is a smart move from Melbourne City to take advantage of the increasing appetite for football in the region. With A-League football’s popularity growing and being more accessible, there is every chance Geelong people will grow impatient waiting for their own club and will jump on board the City bandwagon.

Showcasing the appetite for football in the region, more than 90 kids turned up for a school holiday clinic in January at Myers Reserve despite only a weeks’ notice.

“That just showed us how much passion there is for football in Geelong,” Melbourne City membership and ticketing sales manager Travis Davidson said. “There is plenty of enthusiasm in the region.”

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Melbourne City ran a beach soccer tournament at Eastern Beach in Geelong in mid-January which proved very popular and there are plans to make this a regular event. City have also been active in encouraging Geelong football fans to come to matches.

There were two opportunities provided this season for Geelong girls to be mascots and ball girls at a Melbourne City W-League home game, including the grand final replay against Canberra. The young girls had a ball meeting female stars such as Erika Tymrak and Tegan Allen, with a few signing up to become City members and some even signing up to play football for the first time.

City’s 2016-17 W-League championship trophy was also on show at Geelong Galaxy United’s WNPL home game against Calder in Torquay earlier this month. Young girls from the region were shown what they could aspire to.

Breakwater Eagles kids also had the opportunity to play at half-time of an A-League game between City and Western Sydney Wanderers at AAMI Park during the previous season. City’s efforts to support Geelong football has well and truly been appreciated by local fans.

“It’s awesome that Melbourne City actively encourage soccer at the grassroots level in Geelong by holding skills clinics and fun days for juniors,” Geelong resident and City fan Fran Cunningham said.

“They obviously value their Geelong supporters with discounted memberships for fans willing to travel to Melbourne to watch them play. Providing more opportunities for Geelong kids to be ball boys/girls at both W-League and A-League matches and a willingness to mingle and sign autographs when in Geelong running clinics would be even better.”

City have also invited Geelong clubs to be part of their Club City program, which aims at building even stronger relationships with local clubs. By joining the program local clubs have the chance to access matchday opportunities for their juniors, clinics for local kids, coaching programs for local coaches and invitations to be part of City gala days. So far Geelong Region Football Committee (GRFC) clubs Breakwater Eagles, Bell Park, Elcho Park Cardinals, Golden Plains and Surfside Waves have taken up this opportunity.

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The next step for Melbourne City is to bring both A-League and W-League games to Geelong. There is no reason why City can’t bring pre-season or FFA Cup games to town. While more difficult to do, there is also the possibility of bringing some A-League home games to Kardinia Park, a superb and modern facility.

City’s W-League team could play home games at Kardinia Park or even at Banyul Warri Reserve in Torquay, home of Geelong Galaxy United, to take advantage of the growth in female football in the region.

Geelong is capable of having its own A-League team one day down the track, and many locals will be hesitant to have a part-time club here, but for the moment cheering on Melbourne City is a very good alternative.

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