Gippsland United future is bright
Warragul United will officially merge with Gippsland FC and Latrobe Valley WFC after all three clubs voted in favour of the move on Thursday night.
With all three clubs holding their respective meetings with members on the night, a 75 per cent threshold was required for the merger to proceed. More than 90 per cent of attendees at Warragul United’s vote were in favour, while the votes at the other two clubs were unanimous.
The new club, known as Gippsland United, will wear Warragul United’s red and black colour scheme for all home games at Baxter Park. For away games, the men’s team will wear Gippsland FC’s blue strip, while the women’s side will wear Latrobe Valley WFC’s teal. Additionally, the new club’s badge is strongly reminiscent of the current Warragul United logo.
Warragul United secretary Paul Sheehan described the support on Thursday night as “overwhelming.”
“We’ve had nothing but positive feedback from the community over this move, and to be honest it should have happened a long time ago,” he said.
“It’s a bright future ahead for us.” Mr Sheehan said it was especially pleasing that Gippsland United will carry on the near-60-year history of Warragul United through both its colour scheme and badge, as well as having its many life members carry over to Gippsland United.
“We’re rich in history at Warragul, so that was very important to us. Our history had to be retained,” he said.
“It had to have a lot of Warragul DNA.”
Mr Sheehan said the next move was for the new board to get together and allow members to have their say on the direction of the new club.
“Bring on the hard work.”