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What was the first thing South-West Sydney FC Bid chairman Gino Marra did when Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced that the club had progressed into the second and final phase of the current expansion process for the A-League? “To be honest, I had a bit a cry, turned my phone off and had a sleep,” he said. “It had been a big couple months and we had put everything into that document. “Our small team had been working 35-hours-day, eight days a week putting everything into the bid document. “We were confident we would get through because our message is clear: the south-west is the home of football.” South-West Sydney FC, which encompasses Bankstown, Liverpool and Fairfield and covers all of Campbelltown, Camden and Wollondilly, is one of the 10 remaining bids in the running for one of the two coveted licences to join the A-League in the 2019-20 season. The club have built their bid on community. They have the passion of a group of people who have spent years on the barbecue on a Saturday and setting the nets at 6am and leaving when it is dark. That’s because they have. Marra has been secretary of the Southern Districts Soccer Football Association (SDSFA) for several years. He knows how important to have a club in south-west Sydney to provide a pathway for local players. “South-west Sydney is the only 500,000 plus population region in Australia that has no sporting side playing full-time in their region,” he said. “We are going to be a million people by 2022 in south west and there are around 25,000 registered football players male and female in south-west Sydney, with over 70 clubs and more than 3600 players playing NPL football. “Our plan is to have all the local NPL clubs have a direct feed into it. Marconi, Bonnyrigg, Sydney United, SD Raiders, Camden Tigers, Macarthur and Bankstown players will have a direct pathway to the A-League.” Former A-League player and SD Raiders techincal director Nick Carle knows first-hand the importance of greater opportunity through a larger number of clubs in Australia’s elite domestic league. Carle, who is an ambassador for South-West Sydney FC’s bid, made his senior debut for Sydney Olympic in a 14-team NSL aged just 15 and scored the winner on debut against Marconi in a Sydney derby. South-West Sydney FC have also named two community ambassadors in SDSFA president Andy Favaloro and former Macarthur Football Association chairman Rob Laws. They have also been approached by several local companies to be corporate partners of the club. The latest to come on board this week are HR Macarthur and STM (Sydney Trucks & Machinery) as a sleeve sponsor. It’s all part of their vision to “build a club and not a franchise”. "And we are doing so with a combination of local people, local money, and local football knowledge, involving people in the bid whose number one passion is football,” Marra said. “The big thing for us is the team is backed by south-west Sydney. Every investor is a successful south-west business person and are crazy for the game of football. “The whole thing has to be reflective of what south-west Sydney is – and that is a team and an area that is reflective of new beginnings, people starting off, people starting businesses and people being successful. “I see it at Southern Districts every day: football brings people and cultures together. It will be great for the area if we have a team which feels like its your team and everyone gets behind it. “The biggest thing is the community of south-west. We want the team and the club that is reflective of community.” In a wide-range interview, Marro touched on variety of other topics including: Where will the club be based? “It will be based in south-west Sydney and the final location will be revealed in our final bid document. What I can say is different aspects of the club like the women’s and NPL training and games and the senior team training will be held across south-west Sydney.” Will the club be associated with Wellington as reported? “That was blown out of proportion. I’ve got some good friends over there and we had some talks but we will be 100 per cent based in south-west Sydney.” What will be the club colours and name? “We are going to be holding community forums to ask the people what they want the team to called, the colours and logo and that process has already started on Facebook.” Have you dreamed of a round one local derby against the Western Sydney Wanderers? “I have and it’s exciting to think there can be nine great derbies with Sydney FC thrown in as well. The Wanderers are a fantastic club and have done great things for the A-League and we hope have opportunity to match them off and on the field.” What’s next? “We’re hoping we can put a document together for south-west Sydney that will deliver a team to the region. Final bids are due by August 31 and the announcement of the new licences is planned for October 31.” How have you found the bidding process? “I can't fault the FFA and its lead advisers Deloitte. The have been transparent and open.” FFA chief executive David Gallop said the process remained highly competitive. "FFA's job is to get the best outcome for the A-League and football as a whole," he said. "That means granting licences that will complement the existing A-League clubs, link back into fans and the football history in their local community, help to develop football pathways for more players, increase interest from sponsors and broadcasters, have solid financial backing and operate sustainably.”

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