Western United FC

In August 2018, the Western Melbourne Group was one of the eight teams that the FFA had accepted in the official bidding phase, as part of the new expansion process. Four months later, the bid's success was announced, along with the bid from Macarthur FC. Western Melbourne played home games at Kardinia Park in Geelong for its first two seasons, while building its stadium and training centre in Tarneit, with completion expected in 2021.

On 11 January 2019, Western Melbourne Group announced John Anastasiadis as senior assistant coach for the club's debut season. On 24 January 2019, the consortium announced that John Hutchinson would also join the club as an assistant coach.

On 31 January 2019, Western Melbourne made its first player and marquee signing Panagiotis Kone ahead of its inaugural season. On 12 February 2019, Socceroos defender Josh Risdon became Western Melbourne's first Australian signing.

On 13 February 2019, it was announced that the club would be called Western United Football Club after a public vote was held through the Herald Sun newspaper. The club's colours of green and black were also chosen via the same public vote.

In May 2019, Western United announced partnership with sports brand Kappa. Two months later, the club unveiled their inaugural jerseys for their first season in the A-League, featuring green and black stripes.

On 2 June 2019 the Director of Football for Western United, Steve Horvat presented Geelong representative players with their kits for the 2019 Country Championships. Horvat additionally announced the club would set up a Geelong-based academy by 2021.

On 28 May 2022 they became A-League champions, defeating defending champions Melbourne City in the 2022 A-League Men Grand Final. Their Grand Final win saw Western United became just the second expansion side ever to win the A-League Championship, the quickest expansion side to win the championship, the first team since to triumph in their first grand final appearance since Brisbane Roar in 2011, and one of just two teams to have won the championship after finishing outside the top two, with Melbourne Victory first achieving this feat in 2018.

The 2022–23 A-League season saw Western United become the first A-League champion in 6 years to fail to qualify for the A-League finals, with the club finishing the season in 7th place on 32 points, with a final tally of 9 wins,5 draws and 12 losses.

In October 2023, it was announced that Western United had been given approval from the Wyndham City Council to play home A-Leagues matches at their training ground, the Wyndham Regional Football Facility, in the 2023–24 A-League season, with the venue to serve as Western United's temporary home stadium until the Wyndham City Stadium is completed.

The 2023–24 A-League season started promisingly for Western United, with the club recording a 2–1 win over Melbourne City at AAMI Park. However, this was followed by a run of 6 consecutive losses, with this losing run halted with a 2–1 win over Brisbane Roar. Western United eventually finished the season in 11th place, their worst league finish to date, ensuring that the club missed finals for the second straight season.

On 1 May 2025, it was reported that the club was subject to a player registration ban by FIFA, effective until the January 2027 transfer window. Media reports indicated that this was due to a dispute with former player Aleksandar Prijovic.

On 2 May, the club's owners announced that KAM Melbourne would acquire a majority stake in the club, subject to the approval of Australian Professional Leagues and Football Australia. Later that month the club was served with breach notices by both their men's and women's teams over unpaid wages. It was reported on 2 August that the club lost $11 million in the 2023/24 financial year, with liabilities exceeding assets by more than $55 million, and a deficit of more than $12m for the preceding period. By this point the proposed KAM Melbourne takeover had not eventuated and then they formally pulled out on 27 August.

On 29 August, the club's parent company WMG Football Club Limited was placed in liquidation, after a Federal Court order. However, the club attempted to argue that it found "a fresh $15 million investment to pay off their debts" and simply needed an adjournment to resolve the situation. Later that day, Western United appealed the decision.

On 8 August, the First Instance Board of Football Australia determined that Western United had failed to meet the criteria to hold an A-Leagues license. The renewal of the club's license was rescinded, with the club subsequently ejected from both Australian Professional Leagues (APL) competitions – the A-League Men and the A-League Women. Appeal by the club followed, with the Football Australia appeals body set to rule on it on 25 August 2025. The APL in the meantime restructed the schedules for the 2025–26 A-League men's and women's seasons to exclude Western United, with the expectation that they will be omitted before mid-September. On 2 September, Football Australia's Appeals and Entry Control Body (A&ECB) adjourned its decision on the matter of Western United's licence until 9 September.

On 6 September, the club, APL, Football Australia, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) and Wyndham City Council agreed a resolution of United sitting out the 2025–26 seasons, with the stipulation that all players will be released from their contracts, irrespective of the outcomes of any appellations. The club maintained the commitment to return to the competitions after a year on hiatus. The decision received harsh criticism from the PFA president Beau Busch, who described it as a "let down [of players] by governance failures and false promises". On 10 September, the A&ECB determined that the club's appeal had to a new hearing, and in the interim the previous licence withdrawal has been set aside.