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It wasn’t all that long ago we were salivating at the prospect of Tim Cahill coming to the A-League, packaged nicely with a new franchise in the Sutherland Shire.
Some months later and any chance of Tim Cahill calling Cronulla home looks about as likely as Ned Zelic being picked to bat at three for Australia.
Hopes for a team in Sydney’s south, though, remain very much alive.
President of the Sutherland Shire Football Association Wayne Schweickle is confident of a franchise being established in Sydney’s south, even if not exclusively in the Shire.
Speaking on Sutherland Shire Radio on Friday, Schweickle said a local A-League side is well within the realms of possibility.
“There have been some conversations over the last 18 months or so heading in this direction, with positive conversations involving Football South Coast, the St George local football association, local council and Football Australia,” Schweickle said.
“By collectively working together, we should be able to come up with a solution that sees an A-League team based somewhere in this area.”
With over 18,000 registered players, the Sutherland Shire Football Association is one of the largest in the country. This, coupled with a strong grassroots network in surrounding areas, may just tempt the powers that be to cut ties with the Wellington Phoenix in favour of a 10th Australian club.
Hopes across the Shire are that a potential team would both showcase local talent, and become a community icon on par with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
“It’s the locals identifying with something local that they take ownership of and take pride in, it builds and grows from there,” Schweickle said.
“If it comes to the Sutherland Shire, that’s a great thing.”
Sydney FC’s trips to Wollongong whet the appetites of southern football fans, and left them wanting more than the occasional fixture.
The potential team has already received the green light from Sutherland council, with a strong feeling that the community is ready to get behind a professional football team.
“You think of the monetary value it would bring into the local community, to the local businesses. If it was in the Sutherland area and we looked at a facility, it may be Remondis Stadium,” Schweickle said.
Football fans in the Shire are territorial creatures, and breathing life into a local team would set Australian football down a bold, yet exciting path.
If the FFA’s problem with the Phoenix is that it doesn’t benefit Australian football, then a side in the Shire is the solution.
For a long time, the Shire has been a one-code, one-team town. The community’s affection for the Sharks is undeniable, but success has been slow to come. An A-League venture would tap into a very hungry market.
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