CEO John Tsatsimas pens a letter to the fans before tonight’s Melbourne City match.
Tomorrow marks the three year anniversary since a new club representing Western Sydney in the Hyundai A-League was announced in Glenwood by then Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Three years, for a journey that has witnessed the creation of a club that truly represents our region, our attributes and what it means to be from Sydney’s West.
This period has been one of tremendous growth, one that has experienced the full spectrum of extremes on and off the pitch. To continue to grow our belief is that we need to explore further than our own backyard to realise the full potential of this club and this region.
Over the past two weeks our Chairman Paul Lederer and I have embarked on a comprehensive visit to some of world football’s top clubs; clubs synonymous with success, ingenuity and changing the face of football both on and off the pitch.
A focus on training facilities, player amenities, academy structures, commercial operations and what it means to be an internationally renowned football club were the core elements of our venture.
Over the course of 12 days we visited many clubs in Spain, Germany, England and the Netherlands and learned, listened and discussed with clubs including Borussia Dortmund, Borrusia Mönchengladbach, Reading, Brighton & Hove Albion, Arsenal, Manchester United, Feyenoord, Ajax, AZ Alkmaar, Utrecht, Barcelona and Real Madrid.
This was an opportunity to see the various models at play, best practice models at clubs where only the best is accepted and arguably where modern football was born and nurtured.
This was a best practice expedition, one with learnings that will drive our football club into an even brighter future; one that will continue the building process that will make the Western Sydney Wanderers the strongest football club in Australia.
This is by no means an arrogant statement, this is a statement of intent that we have embarked on together, and said from the beginning is our goal. Western Sydney is the heartland of Australian football in a home that from the owners to our members and fans we want to make greater.
It also served as a valuable opportunity to observe a number of players outlined by our football department to enable us to witness first hand potential additions to the squad for next season.
What excited me most was the way these clubs welcomed us with open arms, with a knowledge of our club and our achievements.
It was incredible to see our Champions League success recognised by some of the biggest clubs in European football. It indicates without question that we are on our way to achieving our goal of being a globally recognised and respected football club.
Three years from no name, no culture, no staff and no players to the path we find ourselves on. While there will always be hiccups and periods where we rightly only focus on the now, a step back will show a much brighter picture.
Our future is one of opportunity to be the best. Most importantly our future focuses our energy on being the pride of Western Sydney. I hope today we can make that pride count on the pitch.
Enjoy the match and let’s prepare for another incredible three years ahead.
John Tsatsimas
CEO NRMA Insurance Western Sydney Wanderer
