Capital Club Takes Matters Into Own Hands
One of Canberra's premier football clubs has decided to stop waiting for the long-promised A-League Men's team and has instead forged its own pathway to professional football. Canberra Olympic has launched a groundbreaking partnership with Western Sydney Wanderers, creating new opportunities for the capital's young football talent.
The collaboration comes at a critical time for Canberra football, with the city's A-League Men's bid remaining in limbo despite advanced discussions earlier this year. The partnership aims to fill the void left by the absence of professional pathways for local male players.
First Success Already Achieved
The partnership has already yielded tangible results, with 120 young footballers from Canberra Olympic participating in the first successful training camp with the Western Sydney Wanderers Academy. The camp saw players travel up the Hume Highway to train under the A-League club's high-performance coaches.
The memorandum of understanding between the clubs was signed in October and represents a strategic move to address the gap in development pathways for Canberra's aspiring professional footballers. This is particularly crucial given that only Canberra United's women's team currently plays in the top flight, and the Canberra United Academy was axed in 2023.
Leo Exarhos, Olympic's general manager, expressed the club's frustration with the stalled A-League Men's bid process. "We've been waiting, but we were probably at the point where, in the interim, we can't sit on our hands," Exarhos told The Canberra Times.
Mutual Benefits for Both Clubs
The partnership was facilitated by Olympic's technical director Sam McLoughlin-Wilden and offers significant advantages for both organisations. While Canberra Olympic gains access to professional coaching expertise and development pathways, the Wanderers now have direct access to previously untapped talent from the Canberra region.
Exarhos highlighted the critical nature of the partnership for player development. "After nationals, which is the 15-16 age group level, there's not a lot, so we're trying to enhance that opportunity. We don't have a pathway for the boys, so anything in this space is trying to fill that gap and it is really important."
The partnership also addresses what Exarhos calls the "aspiration gap" - where young players need to see professional environments to understand what's possible. "Our boys and girls go to Wanderers, they'll see what a professional program looks like and aspire to it, but if you don't see it, then you can't aspire to it."
Historical Connections and Future Plans
The relationship between Canberra Olympic and Western Sydney Wanderers isn't entirely new. In a twist of football fate, it was the Wanderers who beat the Ivan Slavich-led "A-League4Canberra" bid in 2012 when the Western Sydney club was awarded an A-League licence.
Back in 2013, the clubs faced off in a pre-season friendly at the AIS Athletics Field, with the Wanderers winning 3-1 before 1,900 spectators despite poor weather conditions. That match featured Japanese superstar Shinji Ono for the Wanderers and current Capital Football chair Angelo Konstantinou as goalkeeper for Olympic.
The current MOU is initially set for one year, after which Olympic will re-evaluate the arrangement. However, Exarhos is keen for a long-term partnership and revealed plans to build relationships with additional Sydney clubs to provide more game opportunities for young players.
The partnership extends to both male and female players, with the Wanderers offering to take in any players they identify as having potential. This comes at a time when Canberra United's A-League Women's team faces uncertainty beyond the 2025-26 season, with licence owner Capital Football wanting this to be their final season in charge.
Meanwhile, Canberra Olympic is also planning to establish a northern arm of its club at Harrison next season following Gungahlin United's collapse. The club believes the Wanderers partnership provides additional incentive for juniors seeking pathways to elite levels to join their program.
As Exarhos summarised: "It enhances the pathways and opportunities for all players in Canberra. When we identify talent, it's really hard to tell them what the next step is until now. We've been looking for that next step, and didn't have it."
