The Wānaka director of football dared to dream big and today gets to see his team line up for their first home game in the Southern League.
It is an exciting time for football in Central Otago, after Wānaka won a playoff series against Waimakariri United last year to make the leap.
Wānaka, who were awarded the playoff spot after finishing second in the Southern Premier League when winners Mosgiel declined, had several logistical hoops to jump through, but their dream has become a reality.
Sippola, who will lead the team alongside Thomas van Hees, said they had a good preseason across the past six weeks.
Most of the players arrived on February 20 with 12 new players joining a core group returning from last year.
Among the new recruits are Georgetown University footballers Blaine Mabie and Ronan Dillow, of the United States.
Mabie, who was Georgetown’s captain, and Dillow, a striker, will be key in Wānaka’s lineup, Sippola said.
They have also added two players from Wellington Phoenix academy, a couple from Wellington’s Ole Football Academy — where Sippola was a director previously — and a couple from Christchurch United’s academy.
"We’ve gone through three of the best football academies in the country and just found some players there that might have fallen through the cracks, but definitely make us better," Sippola said.
"Then we’ve got a good, strong squad from last year returning as well."
Jake Thompson will also step up as captain this season.
On December 20, Sippola said the squad was "slim pickings" and did not know what to expect, but he was thrilled with the way it had panned out.
"I didn’t know if I’d really be able to draw players to this part of the world.
"It’s been a good exercise of learning for the club ... you can attract some really good football players to this part of the work and this is probably the first time, I would say, in the history of Central Otago where we have people moving to this area to actually play football."
Sippola feels football is on the rise throughout New Zealand.
Hosting the Fifa Women’s World Cup in 2023, the All Whites qualifying for their third World Cup this week and Auckland FC being the top team in the A-League was proof, he said.
"So if you kind of zoom into Central Otago ... it shouldn’t be a big surprise to people that we have a national league club here.
"It was just a matter of time, whether it happened in 10 years, or 15, or this year.
"I think that’s what I’m most excited about is just changing the landscape of football in this part of the world, because it’s still perceived as a rugby [area]."
Having a flagship team in the Southern League could help a cultural shift with football, but Sippola encouraged more of the region to back their vision and they were always looking for more hands on deck.
"I’d like to see more support from that wider community and recognition of what we have here.
"Because if you would go back like 10 years, the kids that were playing football in this part of the world couldn’t have dreamt of having, you know, the captain of Georgetown University here.
"There are really cool times for football, but I don’t think people realise it because they’re not aware."
Wānaka played about four preseason games and looked strong.
They line up against University of Canterbury — who finished ninth with three wins last season — at the Wānaka Recreation Centre this afternoon.
