ON April 30, 2023, a record crowd attended an Australian women's club soccer match.
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And by the end of the year, councillor Ian North would love to see a crowd that could challenge it, right here in Bathurst.
Western Sydney Wanderers has confirmed that it will bring one of its A-League Women regular season matches to Bathurst in 2023.
While no date or opponent has been confirmed for the fixture, it's likely the match would be played in October or November.
Mr North said he's hopeful of a bumper at the game later this year.
"When I go back to when we started with Panthers, you've got to build it up," he said.
"But I would think we could get up to 8000-9000 people straight away because the interest in football in regional NSW is massive.
"For the community to see two champion teams play, I think we could get a crowd of 9000 straight away."
If Bathurst could hit an attendance of 9000, it would make it one of the best attended crowds in the history of the A-League Women.
This year's A-League Women grand final between Western United and Sydney FC back in April attracted an attendance of 9,519 at CommBank Stadium, a record attendance for an Australian women's club soccer match.
Mr North said he pursued a relationship with the Wanderers because he sees the club as a "family".
"The Wanderers are a family and here in the Bathurst region, I'm proud of everyone working together," he said.
"When I went down there, I met the coach and the players and I looked at the facilities.
"They care about their youngest kids to the retired champions and that's what it's about.
"It's a family. I guess you say they're running their trade and we're running our trade as council. It's a perfect match."
The Wanderers finished the A-League Women regular season in seventh, out of 11 teams, with all but one of its nine regular season matches played at Wanderers Football Park, the headquarters of the club, at Rooty Hill.
Bathurst native Cushla Rue is currently on the books for the women's team, while it is captained by Grenfell local and Western NSW FC junior Clare Hunt.
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