Perth Glory confirm temporary move to Macedonia Park for 2022/23 season

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Perth Glory has announced that the club’s ISUZU UTE A-League team will play 10 of their 13 home games of the 2022/23 Season at Macedonia Park, Stirling.

As a result of ongoing stadium renovations at their regular home ground HBF Park, the Glory has been forced to relocate to a temporary home. The side will then return to HBF Park for three regular-season home fixtures beginning on March 10.

“We have been confronted by a unique set of challenges caused by circumstances completely beyond our control,” Glory CEO Anthony Radich said in a statement.

“Being informed so late in the piece of the unavailability of HBF Park for an additional six home games beyond the original four has severely delayed and thrown our season-planning into disarray.

“Our Members and fans were our primary consideration throughout the decision-making process and there is no perfect outcome.

“We have worked tirelessly to ensure that our Members, partners and fans are able to attend games at a venue which is of a rectangular orientation and fit for football.

“As well as needing a rectangular venue, we wanted to avoid having to play “home” fixtures on the east coast given that our Members, partners and fans have been deprived of normality in terms of home games for the past two years.

“Obviously there are major financial implications for our club and we are discussing with the State Government potential compensation for loss of access to HBF Park.

“We’re pleased to say the State Government is looking to provide significant financial support, match day/event and temporary infrastructure support to enable us to host home matches at Macedonia Park.”

A-Leagues Commissioner Greg O’Rourke was quick to emphasise the importance of Glory not being forced to relocate home games yet again.

“The impact of this construction delay is considerable on Perth Glory, its Members, sponsors and corporate partners,” he added via press release.

“It was vital to ensure they were able play in their home city.”

Significant temporary infrastructure improvements will be made to render Macedonia Park fit for A-League football, including the addition of temporary seating to build its capacity, pitch renovation, additional parking and a temporary lighting upgrade and the State Government has agreed to assist in implementing these improvements.

This work, however, will take time to complete and as a result, Australian Professional Leagues (APL) has had to amend the club’s season fixtures.

The original first two home games of the ISUZU UTE A-League Men’s campaign, v Central Coast Mariners on Sunday October 23 and v Brisbane Roar on Sunday November 13, will be rescheduled at Macedonia Park for later in the season, thereby ensuring that the club retains its 13 scheduled home fixtures.

The first home game will now take place on Saturday December 10 at 7.30pm WST against Western United.

The game against Central Coast Mariners on Saturday October 23 will be reversed and played instead at Central Coast Stadium, while details regarding the new scheduling of the Sunday November 13 meeting with Brisbane Roar are to be confirmed.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

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Image Credit: Shutterstock

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

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Image credit: BBC

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s positive impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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