APIA Leichhardt’s honorary president Tony Raciti hopes the Festival of Football is creating a new expectation for premier football matches in Australia.
The Festival of Football centres around the women’s and men’s National Premier Leagues NSW fixtures between former National Soccer League powerhouses APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic. It is a coming together of football in the Inner West with a day of action starting at 9:00 am and finishing at 9:00 pm.
This year, in its third edition, it will feature a round twelve clash in the NPL NSW Men’s and a round seven fixture in the women’s on Sunday 23rd April at Lambert Park.
Raciti explained one of the key goals of the event is encouraging greater support.
“It takes about three months of genuine hard work, preparation and patience to make it all come together,” Raciti said.
“We felt as two historic clubs, we should not just sit back, and we should actually try and market the game because back in the heyday these two clubs would have got 15, 20, 25 thousand spectators.
“When we ran it two years ago, it was all worthwhile. It was great for the vibe and the atmosphere within the club, the profile of the club, the branding of the club and football in general.”
The 2023 season in the Football NSW competitions has gotten off to a flyer with plenty of goals and drama across the opening few rounds. It continues a trend in the competitions of providing excitement and entertainment over its history. However, Raciti believes the crowd numbers can be drastically improved.
Raciti said marketing fixtures as events with other facets to them rather than just a game of football will help boost attendance numbers. He explained that matches in the Australia Cup at Leichhardt Oval are seeing far more people through the gates than regular league fixtures because they are an event.
With a view to the materialising National Second Division, Raciti said hosting events like the Festival of Football should happen every week.
“We know that the market’s there, but they want a lot more than what we’re currently offering,” Raciti explained.
“If you run an event for those 14 home matches and create a varying event every home game, you will pull the crowds in.
“This festival of football proves you can do it on a one-off basis.”
Key to making the Festival of Football an event are initiatives such as a legends’ game, including former Socceroos as well as involvement for the young players currently in the Skills Acquisition Programme. In addition to the football, there will be over 20 food stalls and cultural elements such as music.
Raciti pointed out that this wasn’t just an event for the fanbases of APIA and Sydney Olympic, but the wider community.
Further, with numbers continuing to grow in football in the inner-west, particularly with junior registrations, Raciti said an event like this also demonstrates the clubs’ pathway for young players.
“We know there’s good local interest, so I’m not just relying on the existing APIA fanbase,” he said.
“The new parents of four and five-year-olds are blown away with what’s involved at both grassroots elite and all the varying levels.
“A lot of these parents have just registered a few months ago. They really don’t know that much about it and then they see all this activity on this particular day, and they’re just blown away by the whole day and the whole concept.
“They can see that there is a fantastic pathway for their children.”
With over 4000 attendees last time, Raciti said he hopes it gets to the stage in the future where tickets are all sold out a week before the event.
With the event expected to be sold out, pre purchased tickets guarantee reserve seating.
Tickets can be pre purchased here https://apia.football/fof23 with children Under 16 Free.
Feature by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
