After more than 110 years, East Warrnambool Football Netball club is disbanding
Unmet league conditions and a council lease refusal have forced the hand of a century-old football institution.
Zara Cuthbertson
July 07, 2025
The East Warrnambool Football and Netball Club will officially disband at the end of 2025, bringing to a close more than a century of grassroots sport.
The club has not fielded a team since 2019, initially entering recess through 2020 and 2021 during the Reid Oval redevelopment, before COVID extended the break to 2022.
Throughout that time, committee members aimed for a return to the competition in 2023.
That bid ultimately failed due to league requirements East Warrnambool was unable to meet. The Warrnambool and District Football Netball League required the club to field teams in all junior and senior grades of football and netball, with nominated coaches and players.
“The club believed it could meet the requirements for senior football and all senior and junior netball, but not junior football, despite a focus on rebuilding in the East Warrnambool area,” club treasurer Julie Scoble explained in a statement.
“However, the dates for nominations were not realistic as most players and coaches were involved with other clubs.”
The league also required council confirmation of long-term access to Reid Oval or another home ground.
But the club said Warrnambool City Council would not provide this until East Warrnambool had re-entered the league, even though it still had three years remaining on its lease.
“In other words, the council would not consider approval for use of the oval until the club was accepted by the league, and the league would not approve re-entry until there was council approval,” Scoble said.
After withdrawing its request to rejoin the competition in September 2022, the club remained active as a social group, until the final blow came this year, when council refused to renew the clubrooms lease beyond 2025.
“The clubrooms were built and developed by members and we are very disappointed at the lack of communication and clarity from WCC as to what is happening to them,” Scoble said.
Formed in 1907, the club’s history includes premierships in 1967 and a record-breaking 143-point grand final win in 1995 — still the largest margin in WDFNL history.
A farewell lunch will be held at Reid Oval on July 12, honouring the club’s past and its 1995 premiership players.