Wangaratta City Football Club is set to celebrate a monumental milestone this weekend, marking 75 years of rich sporting history, community connection, and regional footballing success.

The club will commemorate its 75th anniversary with a Gala event on Saturday evening, followed by a blockbuster local derby on Sunday against Myrtleford, bringing together generations of past and present players, committee members, volunteers, and supporters.

Reflecting on the significance of the occasion, Wangaratta City FC president Brett Aggenbach said connecting with past players and reliving historic moments remains a vital part of the club’s deep roots in the local community.

“We have received many emails and messages from past players who are very excited to hear we are celebrating our anniversary in this format,” he said.

As per club historian Sam Sgarioto’s findings, Wangaratta City was founded in 1951 as 'The Rayonaires'.

The club was created to provide European migrant textile workers with a sense of community and recreation through their shared love of football.

Beginning on a grass patch behind the mill, the team won an undefeated double in its inaugural season, quickly sparking regional interest and paving the way for development of the world game in Wangaratta and the North East.

Aggenbach said as well as past greats, the club was excited to be welcoming back their current day stars, Sebastian Pasquali and Poppy O’Keefe, who have exploded onto the national stage.

“Although the Albury Wodonga Football Association is a community league, we take pride in our juniors who progress through alternate pathways to pursue professional careers,” he said.

“We are looking forward to hearing about their progression from humble beginnings at Wangaratta City FC to inspire our young members.”

Aggenbach said the club has reaped the rewards of a concerted focus on their youth and junior development in recent years led by Raff Molinaro, which has seen membership grow past 500 registered players and participants.

“This focus is already reaping benefits across our Sunday league teams with an extremely strong cohort of junior players and new coaches pushing into our senior teams and creating a dynamic pool of home grown players and a fantastic culture at the club,” he said.

The celebrations carry onto the pitch on Sunday for a classic showdown against traditional rival Myrtleford Savoy FC.

Wangaratta City originally helped establish the Myrtleford club decades ago to reduce travel for migrant workers in the Ovens Valley and the rivalry has fostered ever since.

“We are very proud of our heritage, but there will be no love lost when Wang plays Myrt this Sunday,” Aggenbach said.

The 75th Anniversary Gala will be held on Saturday 8 August from 6:30pm at the Wangaratta Turf Club’s Oaks Room.

The semi-formal event includes dinner, a welcome drink, live entertainment from Paris Zachariou, guest speakers, and a silent auction.

Tickets are $95 and can be purchased online via Humanitix: https://events.humanitix.com/wangaratta-city-football-club-75th-anniversary-celebration