A YEAR after Bathurst Regional Council took the first step in forming what may be a long-term relationship with the Western Sydney Wanderers, a date has been announced for the club's Carrington Park clash.
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As speculated by the Western Advocate back in September, the Wanderers' A-League Women's clash against Canberra United will be played on Saturday, November 18 at Carrington.
Council said in a statement on Friday morning, October 13 that the match will form "part of the Wanderers' commitment to the Western NSW region and will see the club deliver benefits to the Bathurst community through a range of school and grassroots programs to drive and support football participation".
"This is the first ever A-League Women's fixture to be played in Bathurst," mayor Jess Jennings said.
"It's a fantastic follow-up to the Women's World Cup that we all loved and gives such a brilliant boost to girls and women's football locally.
"Bathurst is an events city and having sports matches like this demonstrates that our city has the resources, facilities and capacity to host large-scale events establishing Bathurst as a must-visit destination in regional Australia."
Western Sydney Wanderers CEO Scott Hudson, meanwhile, thanked Bathurst Regional Council and the Bathurst community for supporting women's football.
"Following the recent success of our Schools Cup in the region, we are eager to continue to engage with the local Bathurst community to deliver programs and support football participation to have a lasting impact in the region," he said.
Councillors agreed - at an extraordinary meeting held on June 29, 2022 to adopt the council budget for 2022-23 - to put $200,000 towards bringing the Western Sydney Wanderers to Bathurst after a submission made by councillor Ian North.
Councillor North told the Western Advocate the day after the council meeting that he had made initial contact with the Wanderers about three years previously when he was deputy mayor and, though COVID had caused disruptions in recent times, the lines of communication had remained open.
In terms of the $200,000 that council was committing, Cr North said there were millions of dollars in potential economic benefits to be realised if the Wanderers came to the city each year.
While Bathurst now has a date for the A-League Women's match, the city will have to wait to find out when the next Penrith Panthers match will be played at Carrington Park as part of the long-term deal with the NRL club.
The date for the Penrith game in Bathurst is revealed when the NRL draw is released.
