The Phoenix haven't ruled out a return to Wollongong this season, as the A-Leagues club continues to prepare to relocate from New Zealand to Australia next week.
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Wellington spent the majority of their 2020/21 campaign in the Illawarra, training at the University of Wollongong and playing home games at WIN Stadium, due to travel restrictions.
The ongoing effect of COVID means that the Phoenix will now start their upcoming season based in NSW, with the club yet to confirm whether they will base their men's and women's teams.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Wellington general manager David Dome was asked where the sides would play home games in Australia.
"If we end up relocating to Wollongong, it will be WIN Stadium," Dome said.
"But with the A-League Women's, there will be opportunities to play at other stadiums around Australia with other A-League Women's teams, but we're investigating those options now.
"We expect an updated draw potentially later this week. We've been working very closely with the APL (Australian Professional Leagues) to make sure there are as many opportunities for double headers as we possibly can. And if our A-League Men's team can come back to New Zealand, we will bring our women's team back at the same time."
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The Phoenix arrived in the Illawarra last November for a pre-season camp ahead of their 2020/21 campaign. They then returned home in June following a 3-0 win over Macarthur in the last round.
Speaking to media last month, Phoenix head coach Ufuk Talay said they hadn't ruled out returning to Wollongong this season.
"We're looking at the right time to go over there where we can firstly set up a good environment for our players and staff to do our jobs properly," Talay said.
"We know we'll be based in NSW and we're currently looking at a few spots. But, for me, the biggest point is our training facility needs to be up to scratch for us to be able to do our work. At this stage, if there's something else that we can find in Wollongong that's up to the standard that we need for us to be successful, I'm not going to say no (to a Wollongong return)."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
