A team of plumbers, gardeners, teachers and accountants will take on one of Australia’s biggest professional football clubs after Kingborough Lions United drew Melbourne Victory in the Hahn Australia Cup round of 32.
The Kingston-based NPL Tasmania side learned its fate on Monday night during a live draw watch party at the Salty Dog Hotel, where more than 200 members, players, volunteers and staff gathered.
Coach Jon Fenech said the room erupted when the club was drawn at home against the A-League heavyweights.
“When they pulled our name out for a home draw, it was great, but then they pulled out Melbourne Victory, probably one of the biggest teams in Australia,” Fenech told Pulse.
“Knowing that they would come down here to Kingston was very exciting.”
Fenech said the club had 48 hours to confirm its home ground, Kitchen Centre Park, as the venue and was working with Kingborough Council, Football Tasmania and Events Tasmania to bring it up to standard.
The Lions qualified for the national stage by winning the Lakoseljac Cup three weeks ago, their first ever major trophy.
Kingborough are currently second in the NPL Tasmania competition and unbeaten in the past 12 matches.
All of the club’s players hold full-time jobs outside of football.
“We’ve got everything from plumbers, gardeners, to teachers, accountants,” Fenech said.
“We’ve got white collar, blue collar.”
Fenech, who has been coaching the side for 18 months, said the match was not just about his club but the broader Tasmanian football community.
“There was an opportunity to try and bring an A-League team to Tasmania,” he said.
“They don’t come that often.”
“We’re just gonna go in there and embrace the opportunity in the moment and enjoy every second of it.”
The club boasts around 770 members ranging from under fives to over 35s, making it the largest in the state.
Fixture dates, ticketing and further match details are expected to be announced in the coming days.
The news comes after Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff was recently in Melbourne pushing to bring NRL and A-League games to the state – with the Melbourne Storm and Melbourne Victory firmly in his sights.
He held meetings with representatives from both clubs in a bid to secure regular season matches in Tasmania.
