$35 million for football centre of excellence
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
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By Tom Smithies
March 18, 2008 12:00am
A $35 MILLION home for football is expected to get the green light within weeks, to be based at ES Marks Field at Moore Park.
Morris Iemma's Cabinet is set to approve the national centre on government-owned land shortly.
It will house cutting-edge medical facilities, a museum of the game and hall of fame, training facilities for the national teams and an administrative centre for Football Federation Australia.
Almost two years after The Daily Telegraph revealed that planning had begun to give the sport a national centre of excellence in this country, FFA chiefs are just waiting on final approval from the State Government.
While the FFA won't discuss the project until it has been officially approved, Government sources have said it has the Premier's backing and the transformation of ES Marks Field will be ratified at Cabinet level "sooner rather than later".
The centre would be a major boost physically and psychologically for the sport, bringing together the administration and high-performance arms of the governing body under one roof.
Currently, training facilities for the national teams are spread across various unsatisfactory locations around Sydney.
The centre demonstrates that the sport has achieved enough of a foot-hold in society to justify the investment of millions of dollars.
Yesterday, a Government spokesman would only say talks had taken place.
"The State Government has had ongoing discussions with the FFA to see how a home of football could be established in Sydney, and ES Marks Field is one possibility that is being considered," he said.
But it's believed FFA chiefs are hoping the project will get public approval around the time of the FIFA Congress in May, to demonstrate to 2500 delegates and sponsors that the game is laying concrete foundations here - in this case literally.
The congress is the FFA's chance to impress FIFA's "parliament", with delegates from every member nation, sponsors and foreign media descending on Sydney for several days.
When the plans were first revealed two years ago they were to be underpinned by a grant of almost $700,000 from FIFA.
Facilities are set to include a 6000-capacity stand for hosting Olyroos and Matildas fixtures.
Last week, FFA CEO Ben Buckley convened a round-table discussion with various Socceroo alumni including Charlie Yankos, Doug Wendt and Kimon Taliadoros and a major element was the creation of a hall of fame and also a museum to celebrate the game's past.
At the moment the "hall of fame" extends only to a dusty row of framed certificates in the FFA's entrance corridor.
A plethora of former players and officials have masses of memorabilia that the FFA would like to see housed in a formal setting.
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
* Font size: Decrease Increase
* Email article: Email
* Print article: Print
* Submit comment: Submit comment
By Tom Smithies
March 18, 2008 12:00am
A $35 MILLION home for football is expected to get the green light within weeks, to be based at ES Marks Field at Moore Park.
Morris Iemma's Cabinet is set to approve the national centre on government-owned land shortly.
It will house cutting-edge medical facilities, a museum of the game and hall of fame, training facilities for the national teams and an administrative centre for Football Federation Australia.
Almost two years after The Daily Telegraph revealed that planning had begun to give the sport a national centre of excellence in this country, FFA chiefs are just waiting on final approval from the State Government.
While the FFA won't discuss the project until it has been officially approved, Government sources have said it has the Premier's backing and the transformation of ES Marks Field will be ratified at Cabinet level "sooner rather than later".
The centre would be a major boost physically and psychologically for the sport, bringing together the administration and high-performance arms of the governing body under one roof.
Currently, training facilities for the national teams are spread across various unsatisfactory locations around Sydney.
The centre demonstrates that the sport has achieved enough of a foot-hold in society to justify the investment of millions of dollars.
Yesterday, a Government spokesman would only say talks had taken place.
"The State Government has had ongoing discussions with the FFA to see how a home of football could be established in Sydney, and ES Marks Field is one possibility that is being considered," he said.
But it's believed FFA chiefs are hoping the project will get public approval around the time of the FIFA Congress in May, to demonstrate to 2500 delegates and sponsors that the game is laying concrete foundations here - in this case literally.
The congress is the FFA's chance to impress FIFA's "parliament", with delegates from every member nation, sponsors and foreign media descending on Sydney for several days.
When the plans were first revealed two years ago they were to be underpinned by a grant of almost $700,000 from FIFA.
Facilities are set to include a 6000-capacity stand for hosting Olyroos and Matildas fixtures.
Last week, FFA CEO Ben Buckley convened a round-table discussion with various Socceroo alumni including Charlie Yankos, Doug Wendt and Kimon Taliadoros and a major element was the creation of a hall of fame and also a museum to celebrate the game's past.
At the moment the "hall of fame" extends only to a dusty row of framed certificates in the FFA's entrance corridor.
A plethora of former players and officials have masses of memorabilia that the FFA would like to see housed in a formal setting.
