Spirits were high in May after what may turn out to be the last night of A-League football at Ironbark Fields, when a Noah Botić hat-trick against Adelaide sent Western United to the semi-finals. There had been financial concerns swirling in the months preceding, but in the post-match function among sponsors and friends the club’s chair Jason Sourasis appeared untroubled.
The former AFL player agent and dealmaker is known to be personable, and he was at his attentive best as he entertained the Sydney-based mother of his star striker with a promise of flights down to Melbourne for the following week’s semi-final.
At that moment, the club he helped conceive appeared to have a future. Investment by a US-based group had just been announced, and Western United were chasing a second A-League Men’s title. Sourasis’ star striker was on the verge of a Socceroos call-up.
Yet from the moment the lights went out in Tarneit that night, the outlook for Western United has soured. Within days, the club was bundled out of the A-League Men championship race by crosstown rivals Melbourne City and Botić moved at the end of his contract to play in Austria.
The takeover by the prospective owners has stalled, and Western United – a club that promised a new vision for football in Australia, with a dedicated football stadium and their own suburb nestled in a growth corridor – is within days of collapse.
Rewind seven years and Western United represented hope. They had been chosen, alongside Macarthur, in an expansion process run by Football Australia as the A-League looked to rekindle growth ahead of the decoupling of the club competition from the national governing body.
The bid involved more than a football club. Melbourne’s west was growing, and Wyndham City Council found an ideal partner in the A-League aspirants. The club would provide an anchor for a phased development on the western fringe of Tarneit to help build land values in the area, and would oversee construction including residential and commercial real estate as well as the jewel of the bid, a football-dedicated 15,000-seat stadium.
Former Socceroo and Western United director Steve Horvat described the ground as a “game-changer” when former FA chief executive David Gallop announced the new franchise in 2018. The timing was awkward, given it came in the days before the A-Leagues were granted independence. But FA awarded the licence in consultation with other clubs, and few would argue it was in error.
Sports stars like Scott Pendlebury and Jack Ziebell, contacts from Sourasis’ time working in AFL football, as well as tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis and basketballers Dante Exum and Chris Goulding, came on as investors to lend the project legitimacy and startup capital. So while the club was at that stage literally an empty paddock, the choice was made with the long-term in mind.
Covid saw to that. Midway through the club’s first season – during which Western United reached the men’s semi-finals and once drew more than 10,000 fans to Geelong – the virus shut down Victoria and suffocated the state for the next two years. Investment crucial for development of the precinct and stadium dried up, and the club has struggled to build momentum in the years since.
Under new coach John Aloisi, its 2022 A-League Men’s championship was an on-field triumph, but not enough cared. Attendances dropped the following season, and the club was barely drawing 3,000 to each home match during a financial year in which the club lost $12m. Documents lodged with Asic in July revealed liabilities exceeded assets by $55m. Fifa has banned the club from registering players due to unpaid wages, and former midfielder Riku Danzaki raised during court proceedings this month that late payments were one consideration in his decision to chase a windfall by betting on himself accruing yellow cards.
The vulnerability for the club has always been to see through the uncertainty – and limited cash reserves – of the short-term with a focus on the long-term vision, but some creditors have run out of patience. Lawyers will appear in court on Thursday at the latest hearing as part of a winding up process initiated by the tax office. It also involves the Victorian state revenue office, the local distributor of kit supplier Kappa and a marketing agency.
The court has previously heard the creditors seek in excess of $10m, and there is little evidence the mooted investors will be able to deliver the reported $100m investment that will clear the club’s debts. The most this group, known as KAM Melbourne, has paid so far as part of the deal announced with much fanfare in May is $1,500.
A Football Australia regulatory process has already stripped Western United of their licence to play matches two weeks ago. The outcome of the club’s appeal of this decision is due at the end of this week, conveniently after the court hearing, however the club has a right to appeal again to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
If the KAM Melbourne deal never eventuates, there will be implications for many cascading from what will soon come. The APL is currently working on a backup draw in case the coming season – due to start in two months – won’t feature Western United. What the rest of the year looks like if the club takes the licensing decision all the way to CAS is not clear.
The future of the public-private partnership with Wyndham City Council is up in the air. The council has been forward in making it known that the land on which Ironbark Fields sits remains in council’s hands. But they have commissioned former state minister Justin Madden to prepare a report by the end of September on how to handle the situation, and the council is “deeply committed to this unique initiative”, according to Wyndham corporate services director Mark Rossiter.
Western United’s players are also in limbo. Their senior professionals may struggle to find another club with such a short turnaround, and the collapse of the club’s junior pathways will interrupt the development of many.
Then there are the club’s fans. Western United’s Facebook page was updated with a post of photos of players in pre-season training last week, captioned simply “building”. The responses were quick: “Building what?” “A stadium?”
“I wish people would keep their negative comments to themselves,” another replied. “If you were a supporter you wouldn’t think this was a joke. Some of us are trying very hard to stay positive and want to hang on to the club we love.”
