As WA government looks set to bring Serie A game involving AC Milan to Perth, some football fans are not happy

As far as football clubs go, there are very few bigger than Italian heavyweights AC Milan.

They've been champions of Italy 19 times, champions of Europe seven.

A look at its alumni leads you to some of the greatest players the game has ever seen — Andrea Pirlo, Paolo Maldini, Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit.

If you had said a decade ago they would play a Serie A game, an actual top-flight Italian football match, in Perth, the laughter would have been deafening.

But that, it appears, is exactly what will take place next February, when Milan (purists like to drop the 'AC') swaps the snow for the sweltering confines of Perth Stadium to take on Como.

What's at stake? Three crucial points in the race for the Italian league title.

It still needs final sign-off from FIFA and Football Australia, but UEFA — the game's governing body in Europe — overnight reluctantly agreed to give it a green light.

Sports minister 'all over' it

You have to hand it to WA Treasurer and Sports Minister Rita Saffioti, who travelled to Italy in August to try to finalise the deal.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, WA Premier Roger Cook confirmed she was the driving force.

"I think that you will find that as the minister for sport she is all over this particular development," he said.

Ms Saffioti, who can frequently be seen supporting the ailing Perth Glory, has incredible powers of persuasion.

It's one thing to lure European football giants like Manchester United and Milan for a pre-season friendly or two in the milder climes of July.

But to snare Milan mid-season, for a 16-hour flight to the most isolated capital city in the world, in what could very well be 40-degree heat, is something else.

Milan's average maximum temperature in February is 11 degrees Celsius. Contrast that with the 31.7C February average in Perth, and it may be a bit of a shock for manager Massimiliano Allegri and his men.

Aiding Ms Saffioti in her quest was the fact Milan were looking for somewhere else to play the game, given its hallowed San Siro Stadium was being used for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

But they could have found somewhere closer to home.

Commercial arrangement

It begs the obvious question: how much will the WA government spend on it?

Perhaps Milan needs the money — after finishing eighth in Serie A last season they went without the riches on offer in the UEFA Champions League, and even the handy pocket change up for grabs in the lesser Europa League.

Their airfares, presumably, will be covered by the club's principle sponsor Emirates.

For Perth's football fans, what was paid won't matter. Just as the UFC nuts don't stress about how much of their taxes were purloined to bring another Sunday morning bruise-fest to town.

The chance to see one of soccer's most successful clubs in a game that matters will be too good to pass up.

Although not everyone feels that way.

Fan group Football Supporters Europe said it was looking at measures to counteract the proposal, saying "football belongs in its communities and should remain accessible to supporters, not exported to far-off stadiums on the questionable lure of commercial profit".

The Football Supporters Association of Australia echoed that position, saying "domestic league fixtures are intrinsically linked to their home territories".

But in a globalised world, where the NFL frequently takes its billion-dollar show on the road, are they out of touch?

'Worldwide exclusive'

The head of the WA Tourism Council had no qualms.

"An official match as part of the Italian league for points would be not only an Australian exclusive, it'd be a worldwide exclusive and we'd certainly be pulling in interstate and international guests here into Perth to watch this amazing match," Evan Hall said.

He said it presented an opportunity to market WA as a tourist destination to people around the world, through the Serie A's significant TV audiences, and called on the state government to invest in further promotion.

Which it no doubt will.

The match was originally slated on the Serie A fixture list for February 8.

That would place it a week before what the government hopes is a successful rebooting of the State of Origin concept, when WA meets Victoria.

Without even factoring in an Ashes series in the cricket, WA's summer already looks like being a blockbuster for sport — with, almost unthinkably, AC Milan as the headline act.

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