By Aaron Cordy
BUILDING on the strong ties between the City of Greater Shepparton and Melbourne Victory FC, the pair announced that Shepparton will host a Victory Women’s Ninja A-League fixture against Newcastle Jets in 2026.
Melbourne Victory played a pre-season friendly against the Goulburn Valley Suns at Shepparton Sports City in 2024 and was back to take on Green Gully SC for their NPL match in 2025. The Round 16 fixture on Saturday, February 7, at John McEwen Reserve, will be a highlight for not only local female soccer players, but all soccer fans in the region.
Melbourne Victory Managing Director, Caroline Carngegie, is excited by the prospect of playing a Women’s A-League game in Shepparton and continuing to build on the strong support of the community.
“It’s so exciting for Melbourne Victory to be at Shepparton again. And I think we talked last year, of how this was the start of a longer-term partnership that we wanted to have with Greater Shepparton City Council and surrounding areas to really make sure that we can highlight football,” said Caroline.
“Being here is really part of our strategy to make sure that we are the club for all Victorians, which we’ve always tried to position ourselves, and really make sure that we can hero our club and football, build a really strong base and connection to Melbourne Victory.
“It’s not just about one match last year, one match this year. It’s about how we can help develop the community and develop our sport together.”
Mayor Cr Shane Sali is proud to continue growing the relationship between Greater Shepparton and Melbourne Victory.
“We want to actually forge that really strong partnership. So, when Melbourne Victory are thinking about getting into the regions, they come into our region, they’re coming here to the Shepparton Sport City,” said Cr Sali.
“This is a professional game. It’s going to be for points. We’re going to be expecting over 1000 people to be here. Also, a team from Newcastle is travelling here. So you have people visiting our region, not only the ones living in Victoria, that are supporters of Melbourne Victory. We’re going to get Newcastle supporters here as well. I think that’s really important that we get to show off not only our city, our region, but our amazing facilities.”
For local female soccer players, the opportunity to see some of the country’s best athletes running around their home deck will show them what is possible for them to achieve that dream. Shepparton South FC player Sofia Stojanovski remembers Melbourne City visiting the region when she was younger, and what it meant for her as a young player.
“That was a good opportunity, because they had [Stephanie-Elise] Catley, [Ellie] Carpenter, all the big Matilda’s names come down. Now it’s good to see victory come down with the women’s team. They’ve got huge stars. I coach a young girls’ team. They’re my age when Melbourne City came. So it’s good that they have the same opportunity,” said Sofia.
