More than five years after Western United received an A-League Men licence, the club will finally play in Tarneit, albeit in a training ground rather than its long-awaited stadium.
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United confirmed on Tuesday they had been given the go-ahead by Wyndham City Council to play games out of their 5000-capacity 'Regional Football Facility'.
That will start with an A-League Women game against Newcastle on March 17, with the club saying ALM games and NPL Victoria clashes would follow.
No dates for other matches have yet been supplied.
A key reason United's bid to join the A-Leagues was successful was its promise to deliver a purpose-built, 15,000-capacity football stadium, which was expected to be in play by 2022-23.
That timeline has been consistently pushed back as the ALM team has lived a nomadic existence, playing home games in Geelong, Ballarat, Footscray, at AAMI Park and even Tasmania, while training at the Tullamarine base of AFL club Essendon.
United are adamant the larger stadium will yet come to fruition, but did not provide a date on Tuesday, but were delighted to have the smaller ground ticked off.
"This is a momentous milestone for everyone involved in the project," United chairman Jason Sourasis said in a statement.
"It allows us to move into our permanent home, playing out of only the second rectangular stadium in the state of Victoria that is approved to play A-League Men and A-League Women games."
United's ALW team sit second on the table by a point while their men's team are bottom of the ALM.
"It's such a privilege for myself, the players and all the fans who've joined our journey of building a football club to share this significant milestone of moving into our new headquarters and playing a home match for the very first time," ALW coach Kat Smith said.
ALM coach and former Socceroo John Aloisi added: "Our boys are so eager and excited to get to Tarneit, create our home and just start sharing football experiences with the local community.
"The preamble is over, we're coming home now."
Australian Associated Press
