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WA soccer in line for $500,000 grant

World soccer’s governing body is considering financial assistance for a proposed $15 million WA administration and training headquarters in Balcatta.

An official from FIFA’s development office in Kuala Lumpur was in Perth this week to make an initial assessment of the local soccer authority’s application for a $500,000 grant to kick-start the project.

Jeysing Muthiah was impressed with the scope of Football West’s plans, which include the establishment of a boutique stadium with artificial surface, three full-size pitches and office space that could also be used by Perth Glory.

Land at Vasto Place in the City of Stirling is the preferred site but FW, which is seeking Government funding for the project, has also received positive responses from other local councils.

FIFA’s Goal Project funding scheme is used to assist member associations develop facilities and up to seven countries will receive a grant at next month’s allocation. FW could receive funding as early as the next distribution in October.

“FIFA’s development philosophy is if you do, we do, so you have to be proactive; you have to take the initiative,” Muthiah told The Weekend West.

“The plans that they have are very good and they want to use it not just for Perth Glory or some national teams coming down for training but also for community football, which fits very well with FIFA.

“We want the pitch to be utilised a lot and not just by the top level teams but also for the community teams and for grassroots football for boys and girls, for development, coaching and referee courses.

“The more you utilise this we find it’s worth putting the Goal Project funding into this kind of facility.”

Football Federation Australia’s John Boultbee was in Perth with Muthiah, who also made provisional assessments of sites in Tasmania and Victoria.

Muthiah said all three Australian projects could receive Goal Project funding but not concurrently and FFA would decide the order of the allocation.

FW chief executive Peter Hugg was confident WA would benefit from Goal funding by early next year.

“We were very pleased with the hearing we got from both FIFA and the FFA and clearly they understand our requirement and needs,” Hugg said.

“Not only do we need a home for administrative purposes but more significantly this will provide teams from the State, around the country and the south-east Asian region to come to Perth and train in a high performance environment.”