Rita Saffioti will visit Milan to try seal the deal on world-first WA soccer coup with Italians

Perth could host a world-first event next year, with Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti meeting top Italian football executives in Milan this week to try and seal the deal on an official league game being transferred from Italy to Perth. The meeting between the Sport Minister and senior football officials in Milan comes as speculation intensifies that a deal is close to being reached with the WA Government that would see Italy’s Serie A become the first European league to play for points on foreign soil. The Milan visit is part of a week-long economic mission to Italy and Sweden which will see Ms Saffioti also meet with the Webuild Group, who will build WA’s new $1.8 billion Women and Babies Hospital, as well as Confindustria, NHOA Energy, Saipem and Energy Dome to explore opportunities in energy storage, battery systems, engineering and chemical supply. The Transport Minister will also visit Volvo’s electric ferry-manufacturing facility in Sweden, where she will pick up ideas to transfer to Perth’s new electric ferries which she announced during the State election campaign. The Sunday Times understands AC Milan is looking to host a home game in Western Australia with their home ground, the San Siro, off limits as it hosts the Winter Olympics in early 2026. Having built a strong relationship with the WA Government in recent years with two successful off-season tours in Perth, it’s understood AC Milan have led the charge to bring an official game to Perth. It’s speculated the game would be against Como, an up-and-coming team now owned by an Indonesian business. However, the game in Perth would still need to be sanctioned by FIFA. Ms Saffioti was tight-lipped about her discussions with Serie A officials this week but told The Sunday Times before she flew off to Europe on Saturday that exploring future opportunities to bring world-class sporting events to WA was a part of this week’s overseas mission. “During their visit to Perth last month, they commentated on how incredible our playing and training grounds are — so I’ll be particularly keen to see what their facilities and training centres are like, and see what further we can do to make our exceptional grounds and facilities home to visiting sporting teams across a range of codes. “At every opportunity, I will be talking up WA’s offerings for major sporting teams and any potential future opportunities that could add to WA’s growing major event reputation.” Ms Saffioti said her European mission was about diversifying WA’s economy, focusing on economic infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing, and sport. “As we embark on the construction of the new Women and Babies Hospital, I’ll have the opportunity to meet with the owners of Webuild, the main contractor for this important infrastructure project,” she said. “Metronet on Swan is progressing well as we roll out the plans to electrify our locally made ferries. It’s key to learn first-hand from Sweden’s Volvo Penta on the successes of ferry electrification and how they’ve navigated a sophisticated ferry system over time. “The evolution of our commitment to electric buses is underway and these two programs of work really highlight the strength of our government’s Made in WA plan to invest and made more locally.” Ms Saffiioti said she would also be visiting the Port of Gothenburg in Scandinavia to observe their “sustainable shipping and green energy solutions.”