From the river to the mountains: the club logo for Western Sydney Wanderers FC.
Cocka-hoops: Aaron Mooy models the new jersey.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC was today officially unveiled as the Hyundai A-League’s newest club at a media launch at Parramatta Stadium.
The Wanderers Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman and inaugural Head Coach Tony Popovic presented the club’s first three player signings - western Sydney products, Aaron Mooy, Tarek Elrich and Kwabena Appiah-Kubi.
The players were wearing the Wanderers home strip, designed by inaugural apparel sponsor Nike.
The red and black hoop jersey with white shorts and black socks provides Western Sydney Wanderers FC with a distinctive identity in the Australian sporting landscape.
The official club logo was also unveiled, incorporating the key elements of the Western Sydney landscape; the mountains, valleys and winding river system that runs throughout the region.
The badge captures the unity and intertwined multicultural community that the Wanderers will represent.
Executive Chairman Lyall Gorman said today’s announcement was a landmark occasion for western Sydney, for the game of football and for Australian sport.
“The arrival of the Wanderers in the Hyundai A-League is a truly monumental event,” Gorman said.
“Football’s heartland will have its own team in the national competition.
“The sons and daughters of western Sydney’s rich football heritage will get to represent their region on the national stage and beyond across Asia and the world.
“Even more important is that this club will be different – it will be powered by the proud people of the west.”
Gorman said the club would play "some" home games at Parramatta Stadium, with stadium negotiations still ongoing.
Campbelltown Stadium and Penrith's Centrebet Stadium are other options.
Today’s announcement was the culmination of a three month collaborative process between Football Federation Australia and the Western Sydney football community.
More than 1,000 fans attended seven fan forums across the region and more than 15,000 people completed an online survey to help define the name, colours, culture and values of their football club.
The six western Sydney football associations and NSW Premier League clubs from the region were active partners in the process.
The new jersey is a reflection of the colours chosen to represent the region by the fans with Nike designing what is sure to be a standout jersey in the Hyundai A-League for the 2012/13 season.
Dubbed as “Australia’s newest, oldest club” in deference to the long history of football in the region, the Western Sydney Wanderers FC have, through their name, a linkage to the first ever game of football played in New South Wales on 3 August 1880 between the King’s School and the Wanderers in North Parramatta.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC will play its first match in the Hyundai A-League on Saturday, October 6 against Central Coast Mariners.
What do you think of the club's choice of logo and colours?