Fans of A-League team Western United are still holding out hope the club will be saved, after its licence to compete in the top tier competition was stripped by Football Australia. Local communities say it's more than just a club and they're worried about what its end could mean for the future of soccer in Melbourne's west.
00:00It's a Sunday in Melbourne's West, and the soccer's the name of the game.
00:08Local club Tarnese United playing host to teams across the western suburbs.
00:15As players and parents come to grips with the news, its affiliated club Western United has lost its A-League licence and is on the brink of folding.
00:23It's heartbreaking. It is. It's really devastating. Everyone involved, the community, the kids.
00:28They mean so much to us, especially that they are our local club.
00:32I was hoping to play for them, and I'm just so sad to see them leave.
00:35Since claiming the A-League men's title just three years ago, the embattled club has struggled with its finances,
00:42failing to meet payments to players and staff, while a FIFA ban has stopped the club from registering new players.
00:47Fans are hoping a long-delayed takeover by American investors may still help save the club.
00:52They really need to get the ownership deal sorted. That solves all the issues with the capital coming in.
00:58It fixes the issues with delayed player payments, the outstanding debts.
01:03While they also worry about what the club's collapse would mean for budding soccer stars in the West.
01:08There are a lot of kids here that want to make it to high levels, and Western United is like an anchor to them.
01:14Losing that academy, losing the whole Western United football club is going to be a big loss for us.
01:21I haven't seen a club with so much raw talent in my life.
01:24Western United says it will appeal this decision, while fans say there's more than a club at stake,
01:31with plans for a 15,000-seat stadium in one of Australia's fastest-growing areas now thrown into doubt.
01:38This is an investment into the future of Australian football.
01:40The West deserves its own team, and Western United is that team.
01:43Fans united in their message to Football Australia.
01:46Just give us a go. Let us back in. Give us our license.
01:49Forever West!
01:50Papel West!
01:50Papel West!
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