Soccer clubs merge to form Kingsley Westside Football Club

TWO northern suburbs soccer clubs are merging to give juniors more opportunities to play in the State league.

Kingsley Soccer Club and Westside Football Club started discussions to merge in mid-2017 and worked together to develop a new club called Kingsley Westside Football Club.

The Kingsley club started in 1990 and was based at Chichester Park in Woodvale.

After being crowned amateur league champions this year, it has been promoted to the Football West State League Division Two for the 2020 season.

Westside formed in 2000 and is based at Bramston Park, Burns Beach with a majority junior football along with a men’s social team that played at McNaughton Park in Kinross.

The juniors had a successful 2019 season across multiple teams with the under 18s division 1 winning the Smarter Than Smoking Junior League, under the guidance of junior technical director Paul Menlove.

With Kingsley men’s teams accepting promotion into State league, both clubs saw an opportunity to provide junior players a pathway through to both league football and senior men’s football.

“We are excited to see Westside’s junior talent filter through to the senior teams and provide them with an opportunity to develop further in a State league environment,” senior president Rob Andrews said.

Junior president Mark Nelson said the merger would strengthen the club’s commitment to provide skills acquisition and development programs that helped juniors realise their football aspirations.

Football West life member and former board member Rob MacKay will be the new club’s interim chairman.

The club will hold a junior registration day on December 8 at Bramston Park, Burns Beach from 10am to 1pm.

State league open trials continue in December on Thursday nights at Chichester Park, Woodvale.

Visit the club’s Facebook page for more information.