The Wellington Phoenix will base itself in Wollongong for its 2020/21 A-League season.
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We’re excited to be based here and we’re looking forward to our first home match on 2nd January at WIN Stadium (versus Sydney FC), when we can play in front of a Wollongong crowd for the first time.
The club has received an extremely warm welcome since relocating to Wollongong for a three week pre-season camp, basing itself out of the University of Wollongong (UOW), and will continue to utilise this campus as a training base throughout the season. The club has also confirmed that it will play their home matches at nearby WIN Stadium in Wollongong.
Wellington Phoenix Head Coach, Ufuk Talay, alongside players David Ball and Alex Rufer, met with members of the community on UOW campus grounds today, as an opportunity for the team to get to know the club’s regional partners and members of the community.
In attendance alongside the Phoenix were representatives from UOW, City of Wollongong, WIN Stadium, Football South Coast and Destination Wollongong, who have all committed to partnering with the club for the A-League 2020/21 season.
Talay says he has been impressed with UOW and their provision of world-class facilities and support to the club, as well as the relationships the club has formed with the various regional partners.
“The team here at UOW has been great, very accommodating and have made us feel at home – their training grounds are top-notch and provide us with everything we need,” says Talay.
“Some of the players will now move into their own accommodation around the Wollongong area, while others will choose to stay at UOW for the sake of convenience.
“We’re excited to be based here and we’re looking forward to our first home match on 2nd January at WIN Stadium (versus Sydney FC), when we can play in front of a Wollongong crowd for the first time.”
Wellington Phoenix General Manager, David Dome, says that the city of Wollongong represents a wonderful ‘alternative’ home base for the club in Australia, and the players and staff have been made to feel very welcome so far.
“The City of Wollongong has been very welcoming to us, as have Destination Wollongong, WIN Stadium, Football South Coast and of course UOW – they’re keen to ‘adopt’ us for the season and we’re extremely grateful to them for their ongoing support.
“We want to build a base of fervent Wollongong fans this season who will cheer on the Wellington Phoenix – or the Wollongong Phoenix as we’re being called – and we’ll reward them with some fast, entertaining football and another run at the A-League Finals.”
The Wellington Phoenix A-League 2020/21 campaign kicks off on 29 December 2020 versus Brisbane Roar, followed by its first home match against Sydney FC on 2nd January 2021. Tickets to Phoenix home matches will be on sale from 7 December 2020.
