Four years after winning the A-League title and pledging a bright future in Melbourne’s west, Western United is auctioning the remaining assets of its football operation.
The former champions’ equipment is being offered to the highest bidder, with lots ranging from giant television screens and espresso machines to gym equipment and shipping containers.
Auction house Manheim is conducting a 96-lot liquidation sale, providing a snapshot of what remains after the club’s ambitious plans for Melbourne’s western suburbs fell apart.
Bidding is due to begin at 10am on December 3 and close at 2pm on December 9. The items are listed in Altona North, Melbourne.
And the catalogue offers considerably more than a handful of spare footballs.
Home entertainment shoppers can bid on an 86-inch LG monitor, along with Philips screens measuring between 50 and 75 inches.
Western United’s equipment is being auctioned after the former A-League champions’ financial collapse
The club’s shipping-container ticket booths are also among the items going under the hammer
Televisions and whitegoods feature in the former A-League club’s liquidation sale
The laundry lots include LG and Samsung washing machines, as well as LG and Speed Queen dryers.
Smeg ovens and dishwashers, La Pavoni espresso machines and a commercial oven and warmer give the sale the feel of a kitchen showroom.
Office contents are also being sold, including desks, chairs, a glass table, printers, an Epson projector and a screen.
Supporters hoping to train like professional footballers can bid on spin bikes, squat racks, dumbbells, barbells and a leg press. The catalogue also includes two recovery baths and a Pilates machine.
Several shipping containers are available, including multiple custom-built units and three listed as 20-foot containers.
The sale represents a dramatic reversal for a club that entered the A-League in 2019 promising a privately owned stadium and a permanent presence in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Western United reached the summit of the men’s competition in 2022 under coach John Aloisi.
Four years on, its equipment is being sold by a liquidator.
Auction house Manheim is conducting the sale on behalf of the liquidator
Recovery baths and specialised player-testing equipment provide a glimpse into the professional football operation
The catalogue contains 96 lots of sporting equipment and general goods
The club’s financial difficulties included a reported $15.5million debt to the Australian Taxation Office, while a proposed $100million takeover by the American group KAM Sports failed to materialise.
Western United did not compete in the 2025-26 A-League season, entering hibernation while initially insisting: ‘This is not a farewell, nor is it a step back.’
The anticipated return, however, never came.
In August, the Australian Professional Leagues terminated the club’s participation agreement, ending its involvement in both the men’s and women’s A-League competitions.
APL chairperson Stephen Conroy said Western United had breached several obligations, including requirements set out in Football Australia’s National Club Licensing Regulations.
The consequences also reached far beyond the club’s senior professional teams.
Football Victoria announced on August 12 that Western United would be removed from all its competitions after the Federal Court ordered WMG Football Club Limited to be wound up due to insolvency.
WMG Football Club Limited was the entity through which Western United competed in Victorian competitions.
Football Victoria said it had considered every available option to help the teams complete their seasons, but the court ruling left no viable pathway.
Registration regulations also left young players unable to join another club during the final weeks of the season.
‘For many of these young players, WUFC has been a significant part of their football journey and we understand how disappointing and unsettling this news will be for them and their families,’ FV chief executive Dan Birrell said.
Western United’s withdrawal also resulted in its matches being removed from the relevant senior and junior competitions, prompting ladder recalculations and creating byes in the remaining fixtures.
