Macarthur FC have taken a major step towards becoming Sydney’s first professional football club with its own formal catchment area after reaching agreements with three local associations covering 28,000 amateur players.

While the Bulls are yet to kick a ball, they have begun to draw up the battle lines of the city’s grassroots football allegiances with their commitment to the three district associations, which could lead to a catchment similar to that of NRL clubs in Sydney.

In place of a single youth academy, the A-League newcomers are set to build a direct pathway from 90 grassroots clubs to its professional tier.

Ante Milicic was announced as the coach of Macarthur Bulls, the A-League's newest team. ninevms

Junior players in the Southern Districts, Bankstown and Macarthur football associations will come under the umbrella of Macarthur FC’s development network after those associations signed MOUs with the expansion club.

As part of those agreements, the Bulls are set to provide professional coaching assistance, coaching education and talent identification to all three associations while using their National Premier League clubs for their youth development.

“We want to discover how we can invest in the game so benefits are felt right across the board. As a Hyundai A-League club, of course we will support the local associations and clubs with coach mentoring programs, but this agreement is much more than that,’’ Macarthur FC chairman Rabieh Krayem said.

“It’s about consulting and working together in partnership to create new aspirational pathways and opportunities, along with tackling issues such as the cost of playing in the NPL. Working together will only make us stronger and more cohesive.’’

The agreements buck the trend of A-League youth development, with clubs moving towards their own academies from under-13s up to the under-20s, selecting the best players in those respective age groups.

Instead, Macarthur will not pluck talented youngsters from grassroots clubs in their catchment but will allow them to continue playing for their clubs, assisted by coaches from the A-League club.

While most A-League clubs will have one team competing in their respective NPL competitions in each age group, this agreement will see three NPL teams come under the Bulls’ guidance up to the under-20s age group.

The club hopes to have a large base of young players to call upon, growing its talent identification pool while having an influence on the style, manner and quality of coaching available to players in their region.

Of the combined registered player base of 28,000 across the three associations, more than 2160 of those are playing in the NPL.

Outside of players, there are more than 10,000 registered participants being either coaches, managers or referees across Bankstown, Southern Districts and Macarthur.