Tasmania’s hopes of having its very own Hyundai A-League team took another step forward today, with senior Football Federation Australia representatives in town to discuss the future of the sport in the state at a Community Summit this evening.
Football Tasmania Chair, Bob Gordon, today met with FFA Chair Chris Nikou and FFA CEO David Gallop in Hobart.
“More people play football in Tasmania than any other sport. It’s not just the World Game, it’s Tasmania’s game and for the Hyundai A-League to be a truly national competition it needs to have a Tasmanian team,” Mr Gordon said.
“Football is increasing in popularity in the State. While other sports are struggling to find enough players to put on the park, our challenge is finding enough parks for our players. In fact one in five households in Tasmania are directly involved in football.”
Mr Gordon said that Football Federation Australia has long been on the record as supporting a Tasmanian team and that today’s meetings were an important opportunity to show FFA that Tasmania is ready.
“It’s important to show Chris and David that Tasmania has the facilities, the players, the networks and the support to make an A-League team successful. With Melbourne and Sydney being awarded their third licences, Tasmania is well and truly next in line as the A League continues to grow and become stronger.”
Mr Gordon said that the FFA had also meet with other key stakeholders, including the State Government during its visit, which coincided with the launch of the new Parliamentary Friends of Football Group, chaired by David O'Byrne and Jacquie Petrusma.