SOCCER
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Football South Coast will finally be in a strong position to fight a fair fight for A-League inclusion if the Labor Party is elected to run NSW.
Labor has promised $58.6 million in funding for the Illawarra and is committed to providing the region with a state-of-the-art 'Home of Football' complex at West Dapto.
"Football South Coast and the whole of the football community welcomes the State Labor party's commitment through their infrastructure fund for the West Dapto Home of Football," FSC chairman Eddy De Gabriele said.
"Clearly this has been a long journey and we've had a number of starts and stops, so we're obviously sitting back and seeing where this is going to take us and whether the State Government will make some sort of pledge."
Member for Shellharbour, Anna Watson, believes football deserves a permanent home in the region.
"For too long the Liberals have treated football just like football - kicking it around for political purposes but leaving the sport with no real infrastructure or hope," she said.
"We are giving the fastest growing sport in Australia and the Illawarra a new home in West Dapto."
An impressive stadium with modern facilities would boost FSC's bid for A-League inclusion immeasurably.
"What it means for Football South Coast and the region is that it gives us credibility and it also puts us on par with other regions," De Gabriele said.
"We're applying and competing with one hand tied behind our back at the moment but, despite that disadvantage, we hosted the Iraq-Iran game, we got the Sydney FC versus Newcastle game here, we had the All-Stars here for five days and we had the Matildas games.
"We brought all those games here with one hand tied behind our back and just about blindfolded. Imagine our position if we were fighting with two hands."
De Gabriele said the region had a lot to offer and they were happy to provide more information justifying the need for the complex.
"It's not what could we do or what might happen, it's more about what we are already doing, because all our competitions and camps and registrations are going through the roof."