Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

That's good—I wish our captain and all Australian players the very best.

In the Casey region in my electorate of Holt, there is growing interest in the world's great game of football. I'm delighted that Team 11 is submitting a bid to be one of the two new A-League teams for the 2019-20 season. Under the plan, Team 11 is looking for funding from both the Victorian and Australian governments to build a stadium with an initial seating capacity of between 12,000 and 20,000 people at a proposed site next to the Dandenong train station.

Team 11—and I'm sure the member for La Trobe will support this as well—is also wishing to obtain funding for an elite centre of excellence to be situated at Casey Fields in the Cranbourne East part of my electorate of Holt—even the new Holt. The facilities would include a natural turf pitch with floodlighting, a grandstand for approximately 700 people, three synthetic football fields, one natural turf football field, change rooms, fitness training and recovery facilities, and administration offices. These facilities will provide a development pathway for players in Melbourne's south-east.

Given that the Socceroos are participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and noting the growing—the exploding!—level of interest in football in our region, I hope that Football Federation Australia will give the people of the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne the A-League team that they want and deserve, and I'm sure the member for La Trobe will support me!

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