When the Western Sydney Wanderers come to Glen Willow next weekend, they hope it’s the beginning of making Mudgee a home away from home.
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With accommodation booking up and some of the A-League’s most passionate supporters heading this way, the town is set for the ‘full Wanderers experience’ as the club prepares to take a match for full competition points to a regional area for the first time.
With Mudgee having just completed the first year of its arrangement with the St George Illawarra Dragons to bring their Charity Shield and an NRL round match to town, and the NSW Waratahs bringing a Super Rugby trial in 2017, the A-League clash will be the third major sporting code to hit the Glen Willow turf in recent times.
WSW senior corporate partnerships executive, Nicholas Cakovski, was in Mudgee last week and said that because of that they’re hoping to put on a good show as they’re also flying the flag for their sport.
There’s 600 [football] participants here, so why not give back to a community that doesn’t get to experience the Wanderers on a week-to-week basis.
- Nicholas Cakovski
“We want to give people that experience that they get in Sydney, because a Wanderers game is second to none in terms of the atmosphere and our very active support group who sing and chant for the whole 90 minutes – it’s just the passion that’s they have for the team and the sport in general,” he said.
“And that’s why we’re out here, we want people – even those that’ve been to the NRL and Rugby Union games – to experience how football is different.”
Furthermore, the local game against the Brisbane Roar is the side’s first home game of the season proper and therefore counts for their season tally.
“In the past when we’ve gone to rural areas it’s only been trials or friendlies, so this means a lot to us not just because of the community but for the points as well.”
The match is our community round, so it is an actual A-League match it’s not a trial, and it does count.
- Nicholas Cakovski
The Wanderers have given the canteen rights to local football club the Mudgee Wolves, and will be holding coaching clinics and a ‘Schools Cup’ competition in the week leading up.
Mr Cakovski is also confident the region should receive a financial boost akin to that seen during the other codes’ visits, given that Wanderers fans will travel to see their team play.
“The majority of our members and fans that travel to attend the game want to stay the night and experience what Mudgee can offer,” he said.
