BALLARAT Red Devils chairman Duncan Smith has started the push to bring an A-League soccer team to Ballarat, amid reports Australia’s top league looks set to expand.
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Smith, who was crucial in bringing Bahrain to Ballarat for a training camp before the Asian Cup later this month, said the next challenge for soccer in Ballarat was to create an A-League side in the city.
He has called on the City of Ballarat to lead the charge, insisting it is very much within the realms of possibility for the city to have its own team in the near future.
Football Federation Australia chief executive officer David Gallop revealed the A-League was looking at adding another two teams to the competition by 2017.
Gallop has claimed big cities are the priority, but Smith says there should instead be far more focus on bringing elite soccer to regional areas such as Ballarat.
The Reds chairman said there was a lot of work that needed to be done to bring Morshead Park up to standard, but that it was very achievable.
“We have a stadium here in Ballarat that right now would struggle to get an A-League match based on that it probably only holds around the 6000 supporters,” he said.
“But in saying that a second stand on the Pleasant Street wing that would take the capacity to around the 10,000 mark would be needed and should be a priority.
“People never thought we would get a new stadium in Ballarat and we did. People never thought Ballarat would be in the NPLV and we did. People never thought we would get an Asian Cup team staying here and Bahrain is coming in two weeks.”
Smith said it was not yet determined if the Red Devils or a new team would lead the charge to be Ballarat’s side in the A-League.
“For a city this size, Ballarat deserves a team playing on the national level and we don’t have one,” he said.
Football Federation Victoria zone development officer for north Wimmera (which encompasses Ballarat) David Broadbent agreed with Smith.
“It’s certainly not a pipedream, it’s realistic in the near future,” Broadbent said.
“The A-League has talked about expanding with games into regional areas, so why can’t we have our own team?”
When contacted by The Courier, an FFA spokesman said the league would consider bringing games to Ballarat if Morshead Park was upgraded, but would not comment on the prospect of Ballarat getting its own side.
patrick.nolan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
