Soccer stakeholders’ milestone year

FORMER Perth Glory captain and Football West boss Jamie Harnwell sees enormous opportunity for the round ball code in the months ahead.

With fewer than 100 days until the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia, the clock is ticking on the completion of the $45.96 million State Football Centre in Welshpool.

The soccer hub is expected to be one of two training sites used by the international teams descending upon Perth for the five world cup games to be held in Western Australia in July and August.

“It’s almost like the perfect positive storm with the State Football Centre, the recent men’s world cup and the performance of the Socceroos thrusting football into the eyes of the nation,” Mr Harnwell, Football West’s chief executive, told Business News.

“Then we have the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Matildas, who are one of the most recognised sporting brands within Australia playing a home world cup.

“Perth having the opportunity to host games in such a big international tournament for the first time with some of the best players in the planet is a great opportunity.”

The State Football Centre is expected to give soccer – which has among the highest participation numbers in WA – its first permanent home in the state.

The 16-hectare site will feature a two-storey building with high-tech fitness, equipment and recovery rooms and a 700-capacity grandstand.

The grandstand can be expanded to 4,000 seats for occasional special events, according to state government management agency VenuesWest.

The centre is also expected to cater to grassroots, community and high-performance football programs through two competition and training pitches and three five-a-side pitches.

The hub will house Football West’s administration offices and will be co-managed with VenuesWest.

VenuesWest chair Mary Anne Stephens (left), David Templeman and Sherif Andrawes. Photo: David Henry

Football West chair Sherif Andrawes said securing a home for soccer had been a long time coming. “For 120 years football hasn’t had a home in WA and now it has,” he said.

“This is really meaningful. “For a sport that’s the biggest participation sport in WA, this is absolutely fabulous.” The State Football Centre’s near $46 million price tag blew out from the original $32.5 million cost estimate announced in 2020.

Sport and Recreation Minister David Templeman said $46 million was a great investment in the game of football [soccer] and all parties wanted the centre to be the best and to get it right.

“Cost escalation has been part of a number of projects, but the government recognises that you’ve got to make sure you deliver quality, and that you deliver what is needed, not only now, but for the future,” he said.

“I’m just so impressed by what we have here, and I just know that this is going to be a magnificent stimulus for the game of football.

“I know that the next Sam Kerr, for example, is already out there playing in community sport, probably coming up through the ranks, and this centre is going to help us produce more of those young women and young men for the game.”

Football West reported a rise in participation figures in its 2021 annual report, with 106,000 registered and affiliated members.

That number was up from 96,000 members in 2020.

The sport’s governing body brought in $6.8 million in revenue in 2021, down from $9.6 million in 2020.

After expenses, it recorded a $1.5 million deficit in 2021, having reported a $2 million surplus the previous year.

Football West climbed to fifth on the Data & Insights list of sporting organisations, jumping ahead of Netball WA.

The top four positions on the Data & Insights rankings were maintained by Racing and Wagering Western Australia, Western Australian Cricket Association, WA Football Commission and Surf Life Saving Western Australia.

Mr Harnwell said a spike in participation was already becoming evident this year.

“At the heady heights we’re at about a 20 per cent increase [with participation] now on last year, and that’s across both traditional mainstream competitions but also our programming as well,” he said.

“We see a lot of growth through the social side of football, the five-a-sides, the kickabouts and the skill training programs.

“But it’s important for us to remember that football isn’t the type of activity where people just train twice a week and play the weekend.

“It’s a part of the community across every evening, every morning, during the day or however people want to consume the game, and there are so many different variations that we need to be very conscious of.”

Mr Andrawes said the centre would help address the challenge of accessing facilities.

“In the past we’ve had to beg, steal and borrow various grounds around Perth, but now we’ll have somewhere we can use whenever we want, how we want, for anyone who wants to use it,” he said.

An additional two community soccer pitches are on the cards for the State Football Centre’s future development.

The proposed pitches would be made available for community group usage, junior clubs and for Football West’s charitable programming.

Mr Harnwell said there was space to develop a wider community hub in the future.

“There’s space there to grow the game across the site itself, as well as hopefully develop some complementary activities in the surrounding blocks of land to have a hub sort of environment,” he said.

“It’ll not just about the football, but people can come to that area, stay for a few hours and enjoy all the different elements that will be there in the future.

 “Across the road there’s a lot of undeveloped land that hasn’t necessarily realised its full potential.

“That was part of the initial investment process and thought process behind locating the centre there and helping to generate further investment into that area.”

Jamie Harnwell at the State Football Centre site. Photo: David Henry

The soccer hub will have 171 parking bays on site.

There are four bus routes servicing the surrounding area, one of which stops across the road from the centre.

The closest train stations are Cannington and Queens Park, both located 2.6 kilometres away.

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s transport impact assessment report from 2020 deemed the site as having “good/excellent” weekday bus services, depending on the time of day.

But the report also said the time between existing bus services during weekends was generally one hour or more, which could limit the effectiveness of bus connection to the site for weekend training and matches.

Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes said there were no plans and no funding for new routes to the area.

“Four bus routes feed into the local train network and stop in the area immediately surrounding the proposed State Football Centre,” he said.

“Bus stops 13655 and 13656, which are used by routes 202 and 203 and will serve the new State Football Centre, were recently upgraded as part of streetscape works by the City of Canning.”

City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall said improved pedestrian links between the facility and existing bus stops would be provided by the city as part of the development.

“It is our understanding that when major events are held at the centre there will be a requirement to implement an event management plan where public transport will play a key part,” he said.

“General improvements to public transport in the area is a matter that the State Football Centre will need to take up with the Public Transport Authority.”

Mr Harnwell said the limited parking on site was not dissimilar to other venues in Perth.

“We know there are always going to be challenges, and my staff will work closely with the City of Canning across traffic management and event management and making sure that all those things work well,” he said.

“It’s a venue that we want people to come to, and we want them to stay at, so it’s really important that there are those different options for people to attend.”

Jamie Harnwell made his debut for Perth Glory in 1998. Photo: Perth Glory/Getty Images

Year in review

Mr Harnwell succeeded James Curtis in Football West’s top job in early 2022 after holding other roles with the governing body for 12 years.

He previously held several senior roles including chief football officer and head of development.

Mr Harnwell retired as a player in 2011 after 256 games for A-League team Perth Glory (three seasons as captain) since his debut in 1998.

After retiring, he coached the A-League women’s team between 2011 and 2015 and was a Fox Sports commentator for almost a decade.

“[The new role] has been challenging but I’ve had a really good transition and I had a great relationship with James Curtis, who was able to help me before the official takeover,” Mr Harnwell told Business News.

 “I don’t think you’re ever quite prepared for when you have to step up and become the sole person to go to … but I’m feeling much more comfortable now and I’m enjoying the role.”

Mr Harnwell said his experience as a professional sportsman and captain helped build resilience.

“It’s having that inner belief that you’ve been there before, and you know that you can cope with whatever the game and with whatever business throws at you,” he said.

“I’ve always been someone who’s tried to lead by actions and make sure that I’m doing the best I possibly can be and that I’m treating my people as well as I possibly can by giving them the opportunity to shine.”

Mr Harnwell said he planned to capitalise on the upcoming milestone events to further boost participation.

“The State Football Centre is such a key piece of the game now and such a key piece of Football West that we need to maximise,” he said.

“We need to make sure that it’s well recognised throughout Perth, WA, across the country and overseas as a centre of excellence and somewhere that teams and nations can come and base themselves for periods of time as well as cater for the grassroots and the local communities around it.

“The State Football Centre is absolutely one of the keys, but every year is another season so it’s also about making sure that all our members and our football community enjoy their experience and that our staff are supported to deliver a great product and we continue to build the game, especially with the Women’s World Cup coming up this year.”

Football West has been partnering with government bodies to capitalise on the world cup.

“We have been working hard with Tourism WA and with the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries to make sure there’s a legacy from the tournament for footballers, male and female, for years to come across WA,” Mr Harnwell said.

“We’re making sure we maximise the spike in participation that we’re already seeing, and we’ll continue to see, so that our participants have a good experience.

“Then, when the show rolls into town, we’re going to sit back a little bit and enjoy it like everybody else.”

During the pandemic, Football West sent soccer teams to compete in tournaments as a part of its Asian engagement strategy.

In February 2023, for example, three WA teams competed in the SingaCup youth tournament.

Work is ongoing to expand future opportunities in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and China.

“Pre-COVID-19 we had over 20 state teams travelling across Asia competing in different tournaments,” Mr Harnwell said.

“We really want to get that back to full capacity because it provides us with a great opportunity for our participants, as well as that cultural experience.”

He said the governing body was also working with some of the state’s universities to attract international students to WA.

“[We’re also] aligning with education and trying to work with the likes of Edith Cowan and the University of Western Australia to encourage international students to come to WA to study here,” Mr Harnwell said.

“We’re using football as a vehicle to not only entice them, but to make sure that they enjoy their time here.

“We’re also using the sport to get them to feel comfortable, to meet people and to buy into the WA way of life.”