Ballarat appears on the verge of securing a place in the state’s top women’s soccer competition, despite missing out on the most recent round of licence approvals.
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Football Federation Victoria has provided positive feedback to the Ballarat Eureka Strikers following a failed bid to be part of the 2017 Women’s National Premier Leagues season.
It is the second time the club has submitted an application to join the elite statewide league, which was launched with the inaugural season this year.
South Melbourne was granted the most recent licence last week.
FFV’s interim chief executive Cathy Acocks, in a document sent to the Eureka Strikers, said the broader Ballarat region is a strategic priority for WNPL growth.
“...we will continue to work with the club, the BDSA (Ballarat and District Soccer Association) and local stakeholders to grow participation numbers with a view to including Ballarat Eureka Strikers in WNPL competition in the future,” the email read.
“Whilst Victoria’s WNPL competition currently consists of nine clubs, our goal is to continue to strategically grow the competition in line with overall growth in female participation numbers and the existence of sufficient talented juniors.
“Accordingly, we are keen to see continued interest and growth in women’s football within both NPL and community clubs.”
In her email, Acocks said FFV would like to arrange a meeting with the Eureka Strikers and BDSA.
“(This will be) to discuss potential participation, operational and engagement targets for the club and the region which can be agreed to with FFV and, once achieved, lead to the club receiving a WNPL participation licence,” the email read.
Specific feedback was provided to the Eureka Strikers on the assessment measures that were addressed in the club’s most recent application.
FFV said that it was an “excellent application, which was well presented in all areas”.
“The facilities and council support were particularly strong,” the summary stated.
“The key issue was around junior female participation numbers in the region. It is recommended that the club continues to work closely with the FFV to address and, provided it does so and meets established and agreed criteria, is granted a WNPL licence.”
