Open letter and response to Maribyrnong City Council Budget 2026/2027

To our community,

This week, Maribyrnong City Council adopted the 2026/2027 budget without funding for the Hansen Reserve Pavilion development.

I know I speak for many when I say this decision hurts.

When our club was founded in 2017, one of the first documents we looked to was the City of Maribyrnong’s 2017–2021 Strategic Plan. On page 12, under the objective of building “healthy and inclusive communities”, Council committed to assisting community sport and recreation clubs to increase usage and to provide modern, innovative facilities that support community engagement.

That vision mattered to us then, and it still matters to us now.

Footscray is at its best when it finds ways to include all people. There is no one stereotypical Footscray person. There is a diverse, creative, multicultural and generous community of people who want to belong, contribute and take part in something bigger than themselves.

That is what our club has tried to build.

Footscray Rangers has always believed that organised sport is more than recreation. At its best, it is a vehicle for belonging, inclusion and social change. It brings together people from different cultures, backgrounds, ages, genders and life experiences in a shared spirit of community.

In 2017, I sat in the Maribyrnong City Council offices as a young person and shared a simple vision: that Hansen Reserve could become home to a soccer club for everyone. A club for boys and girls, women and men, multicultural youth, refugees, people with disability, families, volunteers and the wider Footscray community.

At the time, that vision was small. We had 16 people.

Today, with the work of many extraordinary volunteers, that vision has grown into a club of more than 450 players, countless volunteers and over 1,000 community members. Along the way, we have won awards, attracted national recognition, partnered with community organisations, and built programs that support women and girls, refugees, young multicultural men, people with disability and families across the Inner West.

We have done this despite significant barriers.

We have worked around ageing facilities, limited storage, inadequate lighting and a pavilion that does not meet the needs of the community now using Hansen Reserve every week. We have continued because we believed the facilities were coming. We told our members that. We believed it too.

That is why this week’s decision is so devastating.

After almost a decade of advocacy, community development, volunteer labour, stakeholder meetings and collaboration, the Hansen Reserve Pavilion remains unfunded in the adopted 2026/2027 budget.

This is not just about bricks and mortar and a ‘clubhouse for people to hang out in’. It is about safety, dignity, access and belonging. It is about whether young people, women and girls, families, volunteers, people with disability and diverse communities have facilities that reflect their worth.

Our club has become one of Football Australia’s leading community clubs through the Club Changer Program. We have been featured through national football programs, participated in university research into inclusion and belonging, and welcomed major figures in world football to Hansen Reserve to see what our community has created.

But the true measure of the club is not recognition. It is what happens every week.

It is the child with a disability who finds confidence through football.
It is the refugee family who finds welcome.
It is the young woman who sees a place for herself in sport.
It is the volunteer who gives their weekend to make others feel safe.
It is the community that gathers at Hansen Reserve and feels, that they belong to Footscray.

My time as a leader of this club is coming to a close. While I may not be here to continue this advocacy in the same way, I know there are people in our community who will continue to make the case clearly, respectfully and powerfully.

The next 12 months are vital.

We need our members, families, volunteers and supporters to keep asking questions. We need to respectfully ask our ward councillor, Cr Pradeep Tiwari, Mayor Mohamed Semra, councillors and Council’s Infrastructure Services team when the Hansen Reserve Masterplan will be delivered, and when our community will receive the safe, fit-for-purpose pavilion it has long been promised.

We also need to keep telling our story.

We need to show, clearly and consistently, that investment in Hansen Reserve is not simply investment in a sporting facility. It is investment in community safety, social connection, mental and physical health, inclusion and pride in Footscray.

While the promised build will not begin this year, the value of this club has not changed.

To our members, families, players, volunteers and supporters: Council’s budget decision does not define your worth. It does not define the importance of what you give to Footscray every week.

We are a place of belonging.
We are a place of dignity.
We are a place where people are seen, welcomed and supported.
We are a club for all people.

And that is still worth fighting for.