Football Federation Australia (FFA) and Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) have decided to move the Hyundai A-League 2017/18 Round 9 fixture between Western Sydney Wanderers FC and Brisbane Roar FC – scheduled for Saturday 2 December 2017 – from Spotless Stadium to ANZ Stadium.
The Head of the Hyundai A-League and Westfield W-League, Greg O’Rourke, said that the decision to change the venue was made now to provide fans, broadcasters and other partners with confidence that the match will be played as scheduled with minimum interruption to the schedule.
“Following discussions with both clubs, both venues and FOX SPORTS we felt that it was important, in the interest of competition integrity and certainty, to advise all stakeholders of the decision to change venues as soon possible,” said O’Rourke.
“As we mentioned yesterday, it is unfortunate that the playing surface at Spotless Stadium was not ready for this weekend’s fixture despite all the work of the venue team to achieve such after pitch renovations. Considering the other events scheduled at Spotless Stadium in the coming weeks and the uncertainty of weather we did not wish to risk that the round 9 match could also be in doubt.”
“This decision will ensure that all stakeholders are fully prepared for the match,” concluded O’Rourke.
Given a number of WSW home fixtures following Round 9 were already scheduled at ANZ this will see the next five WSW home games played at ANZ Stadium, including the next Sydney Derby.
The next match scheduled at Spotless Stadium will be in Round 20 when WSW hosts Newcastle Jets on Friday 16 February 2018.
FFA will announce new scheduling details for WSW’s Round 7 fixture against Wellington Phoenix, which was postponed yesterday, in due course.
