Macarthur is once again in the national spotlight. With the expansion of the Hyundai A-League, Macarthur will now be the fulltime home to a professional sporting team. One May 15th our new Football Club held an official launch before a packed house at The Cube. That day the club revealed their colours, logo and first coach. Afterwards I caught up with Gino Marra, Macarthur FC Director.
1. Why the Bulls are a perfect fit for Macarthur
Gino Marra is a man on a mission and extremely passionate about bringing professional football (soccer) to Macarthur. When I asked Gino why Macarthur is a perfect fit he replied ‘Macarthur FC is based in the fastest growing region in Australia. More capital investment than any other area in Australia. The only catchment with over 750,000 people without a professional sports team. It’s got football smarts and is backed by locals’.
Not only will locals be able to cheer a local team the entire season, this will also give children sporting heroes locally to look up to and try to emulate. Gino was quick to point out ‘We have 3 strong local associations with approximately 60 local clubs, 10 NPL Clubs and 2 State league teams. This allows all levels of football to work together and grow the game and provide opportunities for boys and girls to dream of one day playing for Macarthur FC’. He added ‘We will also work on development with local football so it’s a win-win for all’.
2. Embracing Macarthur
A great deal of thought and meaning has gone into the club logo which is summed up perfectly on the club’s website.
‘We are loyal, tribal, proud, hard working, and inclusive. Our bull demonstrates our physical power and our club name is strong, stable and synonymous to our region. Our club name, bull and three stars are enclosed, embodying our association partners, our community and our vision – with strength and endurance.
The black and white represents people from every culture and the touches of ochre pay homage to the Dharawal heritage’.
This is backed up by the announcement that Australia’s first indigenous football academy will be established by the club.
3. Good for local business
This is a wonderful opportunity for Macarthur businesses. Macarthur FC will be displaying a positive image of Macarthur. Their home ground being Campbelltown Sports Stadium will mean many football fans coming to Macarthur on a regular basis – very good for local business.
There will obviously also be many sponsorship opportunities coming up, from ground signage to all levels of jersey sponsorship, all will regularly be visible to a national audience, and particularly well noticed locally. I asked Gino about the opportunities for local business and he replied, ‘We are all about community, we want to see as many goods and services sourced from our region as possible’. Macarthur FC has already forged a strong
relationship with Campbell town Chamber of Commerce and their many member businesses. I know that the club is in discussions with a number of local businesses forming relationships that will be a very positive two-way street.
4. Aiming high
Macarthur Bulls FC are setting the bar very high from the start. The club has already announced the current Matildas coach Ante Milicic as their first coach. When I asked Gino about goals the club is setting, he replied ‘This is a club that aspires to be the biggest club in Asia and the A League. We want to win championships and make our community proud. We will bring in the right people to do the job and that has been evident with excellent appointments such as Ante Milicic as Coach, Archie Fraser as our CEO & Rabieh Krayam as our Chairman. There will be other key appointments which will confirm what we are about’.
5. Getting involved
The club is already generating a lot of excitement and gaining a strong following. Gino urges people to become involved with the new club ‘Get online and register so we can communicate directly. Spread the word that the Macarthur FC juggernaut is about to take off’. People can register their interest at www.macarthurfc.com. au and start following the club now. There is also a Macarthur FC Bulls Official Supporter Group on Facebook.
In Summary
It is an exciting thing for a professional sporting team to be setting up from scratch in our region. From the pride this brings to Macarthur, as well as opportunities for local businesses to be involved on a bigger stage, and the encouragement this offers for our prospective sporting stars of the future Macarthur FC looks to be a great part of our region.
Rolf Fuchs is a Success Coach at Fox Coaching and a Director at Campbelltown Chamber of Commerce. He can be contacted at rolf@foxcoaching.com.au or on 0404 840 506.
