Canberra soccer clubs are calling for the end to cluster venues, deeming it "almost dangerous", but Capital Football says a survey suggested the majority of clubs were not opposed to it continuing with a relatively "even" divide.
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A letter demanding home and away games tells a different story, with 77 per cent of clubs involved in cluster venues signing it at the end of last season.
The main concerns voiced by the 25 clubs include the limited sponsorship opportunities, loss of club atmosphere, equality calls from the state women's league, and player safety due to the quality of the fields; as a lot of heavily-used junior fields only fit the bill to host.
Cluster venues are used in the women's state league, men's masters and women's masters competitions.
UC Stars Football Club has 13 teams affected by it. And co-president Silvio Miceli said it took away the atmosphere for clubs and fundraising opportunities on match day, but the ramifications went further than that.
"One of the attractions to play at UC is that we have the best grounds in Canberra. The women have never played at UC since I've been with the club, which is like 25-plus years," he said.
"So that's really sad that they haven't been able to play on campus.
"Some of the cluster venues are actually almost dangerous ... they have potholes, and just poor maintenance which does lead to injuries from time to time. So obviously from a safety perspective, they're not amazing, either."
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The peak body conducted a survey, with 17 clubs responding, in the middle of 2021 about cluster venues. The results were not released publicly and therefore the letter with signatures was put together by club's to demand home and away fixtures in 2022.
Last week it became apparent cluster venues would be used once more, when the draws for all three leagues were released.
Capital Football chief executive Chris Gardiner said pitch management last season presented equal challenges for all fields, but they were looking at ways to manage the demands on cluster fields.
Cluster venues were introduced to promote women's participation in the game, and Gardiner said for his reason it was not considered in the men's state league.
He said, however, they intended to review cluster venues and hold extensive consultation with the community league's committee within the next three months to "make an informed decision" on it well in advance of the 2023 season.
"The data made available to the board from [the survey] has not suggested that a majority of the clubs were opposed to the use of cluster venues, with the divide being relatively even, whilst acknowledging that some clubs were strongly opposed," he said.
"It is important for Capital Football to balance its view on how best to promote game participation, especially to grow women's participation, against the commercial interest of individual clubs."
ANU Women's Football Club has 12 teams affected by cluster venues. Secretary Alice McNeill said the game had to look to the future, and the women's state league could support home and away fixtures.
They first raised concerns back in 2020 about the quality of fields. She said it raised player safety concerns, as she had witnessed injuries caused by the pitch quality, and also hindered the club's possession playing style.
"We are unable to run merch stores or canteens, or put up banners for sponsors because we don't get to play at home. So we lose that ability to raise money for women's football because we are not able to, given the circumstances that we're in, whereas men's [state] clubs are able to do that," she said.
"With women's football becoming more and more part of the public eye, it feels like we're not able to capitalise on that as a club. And then just equity between men and women ... the men's state league and the women's state league are treated completely differently.
"We haven't had any solid reasons at all from Capital Football as to why that is."
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