All we saying, is give us a home.

Last Thursday morning (04/03) we woke to the news of yet another last minute fixture change, something we've all become used to this season. It turns out that nobody seemed to think scheduling a match to be played at an athletics stadium 3 days after a major athletics carnival (the Victorian track and field championships) had ended was a bad idea. And so because of a failure to anticipate such a scenario it was fans yet again who were left to suffer as we weren't allowed to attend the new venue because there was “no time” to get a Covid safe plan approved.

And I say fans left to suffer again because we already suffer in the biggest way – we have no permanent home ground. Each season we're like a bunch of nomads wondering from one venue to the next, nearly all of which are way out in the suburbs with poor public transport connections that can nearly an hour to get to even if you drive. The match on Thursday night was our 4th different home venue this season (and would've been even if it had been played at Lakeside Stadium as originally scheduled). To put that into perspective clubs only have 6 home games a season (excluding finals). In round 2 when Victory played a home game at C.B. Smith Reserve in Fawkner, it became the 13th home venue used in our history. This is not something unique to Victory fans either – prior to the start of this season Melbourne City have had 5 different home venues in their short history, Sydney FC 14, WSW 8, Adelaide 4, Brisbane 13, Canberra 5, Newcastle 9.

The reason we started Victory Vikings wasn't with the primary goal of providing active support for the team, but rather to create a community of people who loved the team but for a variety of reasons didn't want go on their own. In other words, create a shared identity. And what's the most powerful force in creating a sense of identity in the context of sports – the home ground. A home ground is more than just the place you go a few times a year to watch your team play, it's a safe space where for a few short blissful hours you can go and escape from whatever frustrations might be going on in your life. It's the calming sense of pre-match rituals - whether that be meeting friends at the same pub each time for a pre-match drink/feed, parking in the same spot each time, catching the train and counting down the number of stops until it's time to get off. It's walking to the ground and catching the first glimpse of the ground and remembering the first time you saw it (or maybe you're seeing it for the first time). It's looking around the ground and remembering moments from matches past - both good and bad (Melina Ayres rockets, the multiple penalties not given in a semi final loss).

The challenges facing women's sport are well known but finally over the last few years women's sport is being paid attention to but there's still a long way to go. Those of us who follow women's sport are committed to helping it grow and this is especially true of W-League fans. We want nothing more than for the incredible women who sacrifice so much to pursue their dream of playing professional football to be rewarded with large crowd support. But without a permanent home ground this is a virtually impossible task. We all know how resilient the Australian WOSO fan community is but with every passing year playing home games at a range of different venues you wonder how many fans just give up because it all becomes too hard, especially as they get older and other commitments such as starting a family and work get in the way.

Of course we love the players but just like coaches and administrators they come and go - it's the fans who are always there. So is it too much to ask to have a place we can call home?