In Summary
- Council partners with Melbourne Victory to bring a pre-season friendly match against Goulburn Valley Suns to Shepparton on 7 September 2024.
- The event will mark Melbourne Victory's first encounter with Victoria's highest-ranked regional football club at Shepparton Sports City, highlighting the region's elite sports facilities.
- The partnership underscores Melbourne Victory's commitment to engaging with regional communities and bringing top-tier football to all Victorians.
- The match strengthens Greater Shepparton's reputation as the sporting and events capital of regional Australia, with tickets to be available soon via Try Booking.
It will be Melbourne Victory’s first encounter with Victoria’s highest ranked regional football club, facing the Suns at the region’s elite sports precinct, Shepparton Sports City. The match will also see Victory engage with local community clubs as the country’s biggest football Club transcends on Greater Shepparton.
The announcement was made earlier today at the Shepparton Sports Precinct main pitch, with Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Cr Shane Sali, Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie and Operations Manager of GV Suns, Jacqui Stojanovski all in attendance.
Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor, Councillor Shane Sali, highlighted how significant this event is for the region and congratulated everyone who helped achieve this result.
“Our community has a proud football history. This is a huge coup for not only football fanatics to enjoy but for those who enjoy seeing elite sporting talent in our own backyard,” Cr Sali said.
“We are all very excited to see Melbourne Victory play against our own local talent. We pride ourselves on bringing world class events to our region, and this will be no exception. It will be a remarkable experience for our local aspiring footballers to witness some of the best players in Australia.”
Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carnegie, said the match once again reaffirms Melbourne Victory’s commitment to representing all Victorians and bringing the world game to regional communities.
“We are thrilled to be working with the Greater Shepparton City Council to bring Melbourne Victory’s Men’s side to Shepparton. Melbourne Victory’s commitment to football in Victoria has been going strong for 20 seasons and the opportunity to bring the Club closer to football fans and players in regional areas is enormously important to us, as football citizens in this state and in our community,” she said.
“Shepparton Sports City is an elite, multi-sport facility that has hosted a range of A-League pre-season and AFC sanctioned matches and we’re looking forward to bringing Melbourne Victory’s A-League Men’s side there for the first time.
“We hope this is the first of many initiatives we can implement with the Greater Shepparton City Council in the future as we look to host more A-League Men’s and Women’s opportunities in the region and also provide a connection to our teams, our fans and our partners/business community for the people of Greater Shepparton.”
Cr Sali said securing partnerships with organisations like Melbourne Victory and hosting events like this adds to the region’s reputation of being the sporting and events capital of regional Australia.
“I want to thank Melbourne Victory for their faith and commitment to our region. We are extremely excited to form this partnership and we look forward to seeing some incredible outcomes for our community into the future,” he said.
“I also want to acknowledge Council’s Events team for their tireless work behind the scenes. Without them this event for our community would not be possible. I encourage all to get along to the match in September.”
Melbourne Victory takes on Goulburn Valley Suns on Saturday 7 September 2024 at Shepparton Sports City. Gates open at 5pm, with kick-off from 6.30pm. Tickets will be available via Try Booking, with details to be shared on Council’s social media platforms in the coming weeks.
