A GROUP of ex-Chelsea footballers have come together to lend support to the bid for an A-League side based in south-east Victoria.
Tony Selak is leading a band of half a dozen former players who have invested in the ‘Team 11’ bid to help their cause for admittance into Australia’s top soccer league, the A-League.
“I played my junior soccer at Chelsea through until under-16s. When I found out about Team 11 we were asked if we’d like to be involved,” Mr Selak said.
“We are so excited by the concept. Having grown up in the area, having young families, we really saw it as an exciting opportunity for the area and a way to give back to the community. Sometimes you get swept up in the excitement, but it never dissipated. There’s a bit of excitement and we think it will be great for the whole region.
“We want to create a football factory. We want to create a club that is conducive to bringing through young local talent. We want something that has really strong community involvement, is financially viable, and which has the community’s interests at heart. These are important concepts and principles by which the club will be run.
Chelsea’s soccer club went on to merge with Dandenong City in 2008.
52 clubs from the south-east region have flagged their support for the bid, including the Mt Eliza, Mornington, Mount Martha, Western Port, Langwarrin, Seaford, Skye, Aspendale, and Chelsea soccer clubs. Peninsula Strikers and Southern Stars have also given the bid their tick of approval.
The fate of the prospective A-League side, which would play its home games out of a proposed stadium in Dandenong, was set to be decided by October 31. A board shakeup at Football Federation Australia saw that decision delayed.
The new board has outlined that they wish to make a decision by Christmas. Team 11 is one of eight bids competing for two spots in the league.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 21 November 2018