Ballarat buzzing after the success of the Western United Cup

Ballarat is buzzing after feeling the impact of the Western United Cup last week with three outstanding days of fun football action.

On top of that, Western United has announced that the first three home matches of the Isuzu UTE A-League Men season will be played at Mars Stadium, continuing the Club’s connection with the region.

Some 500 female football players took to the pitch at the Western United Cup, ranging from Under 19’s to Under 21’s and representing a host of clubs right across Victoria, with one squad even coming from Tasmania.

With the support of the City of Ballarat and the Victorian State Government, the tournament was played at the state-of-the-art Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility at Morshead Park, with four pitches in use as well as the main pavilion and an activation area.

Families were treated to a host of food options from the canteen – which was run by Ballarat City FC – and food trucks with dessert options from an ice cream van and the famous churros tent that returned from last year.

That all added to a fantastic, family-friendly atmosphere over three glorious days in the Ballarat sunshine as spring well and truly fell upon the Golden City.

Western United Matchday Operations & Events Manager Steph Leondidis celebrated the success of the tournament.

“To be able to have the Matildas inspire so many people around the nation has been such a huge success. I can’t wait for us to continue growing,” she said.

“The amount of feedback we have received has been absolutely phenomenal. We’re here to make sure these kids have the best experience and are able to love football and play with friends.”

The Saturday was lit up by the arrival of four of Western United’s Liberty A-League Women stars as Emma Robers, Julia Sardo, Natasha Dakic and Catherine Zimmerman dropped in to meet the young players.

The Western women signed autographs, took some photos and spoke to a number of teams as they prepared to head out for matches, leaving hundreds of happy faces across Ballarat.

On the pitch there were competitive matches, talented players and so many young girls having fun playing football with their friends.

There was high drama with late goals and penalty shootouts, and in the end there was a different club that lifted every trophy across the weekend, apart from South Melbourne who won both the Youth Women and Under 11/12 categories.

With a growth of over 150{f7db6ede402d28fb1a12606cc06d4603a4dfa924029062dcec9858e87a1c3778} between the first and second edition of the tournament, Western United is eager to see this tournament continue to develop and become a leading event on the female football calendar.

Next year will get even bigger again and we can’t wait to bring yet more opportunities to young female footballers to shine in Ballarat.