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103-505: The APL has rebranded various aspects of the professional leagues, including renaming and redesigning the logos for the men's, women's, and youth leagues. However, the decision to host the 2023, 2024, and 2025 grand finals in Sydney was met with backlash from fans, former players, and active support groups, with some clubs stating their preference to host grand finals at their home grounds. On 31 December 2020, Football Australia announced that

206-675: A record five A-League Men Championships, four A-League Men Premierships and two Australia Cups . Additionally, the club has won the OFC Champions League once in international competition. Before the 2018–19 season , Sydney FC's home ground was the Allianz Stadium in Moore Park . When the NSW Government announced that the stadium would be redeveloped before the 2019 New South Wales state election ,

309-478: A 1–0 win over Perth Glory. Sydney FC moved into their newly rebuilt Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park ahead of the 2022–23 season , with their return match to the venue coming in a round 1 Big Blue against arch rivals Melbourne Victory , losing 2–3 in a game impacted by heavy rain. Sydney made the semi-finals that season, having finished the season in fifth but having defeated Western Sydney Wanderers in an away derby Elimination Final. Sydney FC managed

412-547: A 1–1 draw at home in the first leg of the semi final against Melbourne City , but were comprehensively beaten 4–0 in the second leg at AAMI Park in Melbourne . The 2023–24 season started with success for Sydney FC, winning the 2023 Australia Cup with a 3–1 victory over Brisbane Roar in the final at home. However, a poor start to the A-League season which saw Sydney FC lose their first three matches without registering

515-502: A 4–0 win over rivals Western Sydney in the Sydney Derby with new striker Bobô scoring on debut. They went on a six-game winning streak from this, conceding one goal. The club also reached the 2016 FFA Cup Final for the first time, losing to Melbourne City 1–0, in a highly controversial match. This did not affect the momentum however, with Arnold's men going 19 games unbeaten before losing to arch rivals Western Sydney Wanderers in

618-589: A 4–1 win. Ultimately, Sydney FC were outplayed in the 2015 A-League Grand Final , defeated by Melbourne Victory 3–0 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium . The following season was significantly less successful, finishing seventh in the league despite the star power of marquee Filip Hološko , and Serbian playmaker Miloš Ninković . However, Arnold coached the Sky Blues through a tough Asian Champions League group, finishing first and defeating defending champions Guangzhou Evergrande 2–1 at Allianz. Sydney progressed to

721-629: A bid for the 2022 tournament. FFA failed in its $ 45.6 million bid for the 2022 World Cup having received only one vote from the FIFA Executive. In 2013, Australia was admitted as a full member to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), after they formally joined as an invite affiliation to the regional body in 2006. On 29 January 2015, after the defeat of Iraq and the United Arab Emirates during

824-419: A breach of FIFA Statutes. The findings of the report were critically analysed by the board of Soccer Australia who believed that the recommendations contained therein were not capable of being implemented. The report recommended, among other things, the reconstitution of the governing body with an interim board headed by prominent businessman Frank Lowy . Some three months after Lowy's appointment Soccer Australia

927-514: A corporate decision was undertaken to institute that name to deliver a "more united football" in a deliberation from the current CEO, James Johnson. The name was changed to Football Australia in December 2020. Football Australia oversees the men's , women's , youth, Paralympic , beach and futsal national teams in Australia, the national coaching programs and the state governing bodies for

1030-471: A crowd of 80,295. The club has also played regular season games there against Perth Glory in 2012, and Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City in 2016. Sydney played one home game at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on 3 January 2015 against Newcastle Jets. They also played at Campbelltown Stadium against Perth Glory in the 2011–12 A-League season. In 2020, Sydney used CommBank Stadium as its home venue for

1133-459: A debut goal from new signing Adrian Mierzejewski in injury time to put them through to the quarter finals. Sydney drew Melbourne City , marking the third battle between the two in the cup. An early goal from Jordy Buijs put Sydney up 1–0, before a second half goal from captain Alex Brosque sealed the win at Leichhardt Oval . In the semi-finals, they faced yet another Melbourne side, with

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1236-512: A goal, and languishing on the bottom of the table, saw Corica resign as Sydney FC coach after 5 full seasons in charge, 3 weeks after lifting the Australia Cup. The day after the mutual resignation of Steve Corica, Sydney FC appointed another former player as their new head coach, Ufuk Talay . On 20 June 2024, AFC confirmed that Sydney FC will participate in the inaugural 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two marking their first appearance in

1339-408: A league record number of away games undefeated in a season, as well as becoming the first club to score three or more goals in five consecutive games. Marquee Marc Janko also set his own A-League record for most consecutive goalscoring appearances with seven. After having the first week of the finals off, Sydney FC met Adelaide in the semi-finals at home. A brace from Alex Brosque set Sydney up for

1442-487: A long-standing rivalry known as The Big Blue . Alex Brosque is the club's all-time top goal scorer, with 83 goals in all competitions. Rhyan Grant has the most appearances for the club, having played 349 games. The first steps towards the foundation of Sydney FC were taken in April 2004 when Soccer New South Wales (now Football NSW ) announced its intention to bid for a licence in the new A-League competition. The bid

1545-404: A lower salary and inaugural marquee player Dwight Yorke being signed by Premier League club Sunderland . Former English international Terry Butcher was signed as Sydney FC's new coach for 2006–07 . However it was regarded as an overall failure, with Sydney playing poorly despite the signing of Alex Brosque and Benito Carbone as a Guest player. Sydney also had 3 points deducted during

1648-653: A month later on 10 May, The Cove called off the boycott ahead of their semi-final match against Melbourne City, following the APL's announcement that all 13 clubs had committed to establishing a fan representative group. On 18 October 2023, the Australian Professional Leagues officially walked-back the Grand Final decision, renegotiating the contract into Unite Round to be held in January for

1751-431: A pitch invasion, where between 100–200 people attacked Glover and referee Alex King , both sustaining minor injuries. The match was abandoned as a result. On 21 April 2023, fans from Sydney FC's supporter group, The Cove , stated that they will boycott the entire finals series over the Grand Final decision, as well as the APL backtracking on promises to work with supporter groups from various clubs to reach an agreement.

1854-469: A possible 21) points in the next seven rounds. Whilst slipping up twice at home to Melbourne City and Adelaide United (with scores of 0–1 in both games) during the final six rounds, Sydney FC managed to win all four other games away from home to finish second on the ladder with 50 points for the season. By the end of the regular season, Sydney FC had broken many records including a record club home season attendance (41,213 vs. Western Sydney Wanderers FC ) and

1957-482: A replacement for the original Sydney Football Stadium . This stadium was built in 1988 to be the premium "rectangular field" for rugby league matches. It was also used for soccer and rugby union for major matches and domestic competition. The stadium was then demolished in 2019 to be rebuilt into a boutique, world class venue. It had been the venue for Australian international matches (notably World Cup Qualifier against Argentina in 1993). The stadium's capacity

2060-620: A three-year deal, keeping him at the Harbour City until 2019. The goalkeeping ranks were soon bolstered by the signing of Danny Vukovic , the A-League's most capped player who also held a record A-League clean sheet tally. Bernie Ibini-Isei also rejoined the club on loan from Club Brugge , following a horrific leg injury. The biggest signing however was that of Brazilian striker Bobô on a one-year marquee deal, rejoining his former Beşiktaş teammate Filip Holosko. The season started with

2163-514: A through ball, before sliding past a defender and poking a shot past goalkeeper Paul Izzo . The slender one-goal lead only had them in front until an equaliser by Nikola Mileusnic got Adelaide back into the game. The game was forced into extra time, before Bobô scored a header on 111 minutes to win the FFA Cup for Sydney FC. The 2017—18 season proved to be successful after the FFA Cup win, with

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2266-403: A trip to Lakeside Stadium to play South Melbourne booked. The Sky Blues ran out 5–1 winners, with a brace from Bobô sealing their date with destiny in the 2017 FFA Cup Final to play Adelaide United . The final was played at Sydney Football Stadium , only the second time it had hosted an FFA Cup match. The Harbour City Originals opened the scoring on 20 minutes, as Milos Ninkovic latched onto

2369-487: Is Australia's most supported A-League club, with 693,000 fans as of 2023. It's leading supporter group, "The Cove," derives its name from Sydney Cove , a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour . Sydney FC compete in the local Sydney Derby against cross-town rivals Western Sydney Wanderers . As the two most decorated clubs in the A-League Men and fierce inter-state rivals, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory share

2472-615: Is a symbol representing the Federation of Australia . The initial Sydney FC badge was created and used since the club's founding in 2004. It featured a soccer ball set centrally in a stylised crest shape. Above the ball was the shape of three shells of the Sydney Opera House , and below that was the Commonwealth Star . There is a silver star atop the badge with the numeral five written inside it, representing

2575-548: Is an advisory body for Football Australia, comprising 9 members of First Nations communities. The inaugural members of the group are drawn from all levels of football as well as media, academia, and government: Frank Farina OAM, Karen Menzies (the first Indigenous Matilda ), Tanya Oxtoby , Kyah Simon , Jade North (former Socceroos defender), Courtney Hagan, Kenny Bedford, Selina Holtze, Professor John Maynard, Narelda Jacobs , and Football Australia's Head of Women's Football, Sarah Walsh . North and Walsh are co-chairs of

2678-459: Is known as " The Cove ", and were originally located at the Paddington (northern) end of Allianz Stadium in bays 22–26. The name came from the original name given to the colonial settlement of Sydney—Sydney Cove. Cove members attend every home match and travel around the country to support the team at away matches as a vocal group. On 7 July 2006, Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes recorded

2781-405: Is one national governing body, nine state and territory member federations and over 100 district, regional and local zones and associations. In November 2021, Football Australia created the inaugural National Indigenous Advisory Group (NIAG), an advisory body aimed at helping to foster engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and increase their participation in the game. NIAG

2884-678: Is the governing body of soccer , futsal , and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney . Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as the Australian Soccer Federation . It was later reconstituted in 2003 as the Australian Soccer Association before adopting the name of Football Federation Australia in 2005. In contemporary identification,

2987-402: Is unknown, with the figure ranging from 20–75%, of their 80–130 staff. The layoffs were made to stabilise the APL in the short term, allowing for a restructuring of the company. On 3 July 2024, the money distributed to clubs for the 2024–25 A-League Men season was reduced from over $ 2,000,000 to $ 530,000, due to the administration's overambitious spending. The cuts were said to be necessary for

3090-679: The 2002 FIFA World Cup , allegations of fraud and mismanagement were levelled at Soccer Australia by elements within the Australian Press including the ABC. Soccer Australia commissioned an independent inquiry known as the Crawford Report as a result of the Australian Government's threat to withdraw funding to the sport. The Australian Government could not interfere as any political interference would have constituted

3193-559: The 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan . The start of the 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup marked Sydney FC's first match at Allianz Stadium , as well as Dwight Yorke 's first appearance for the club. Yorke scored the first goal of Sydney FC's 3–1 win which stretched its unbeaten run to 9 competitive matches (15 including friendlies ). Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sydney's unbeaten run finally ended at 11 with Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward scoring in injury time to inflict

Australian Professional Leagues - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-452: The 2015 AFC Asian Cup , West Asian Football Federation members reportedly sought to remove Australia from the AFC primarily due to "Australia benefiting hugely from Asian involvement without giving much in return". In November 2018 with numerous board positions coming to the end of their 3-year term, the bulk of the board of directors were replaced at an annual general meeting , as well as

3399-408: The 2018 AFC Champions League after finishing first, which was their fourth Asian Champions League campaign. They finished the season as double winners – winning the 2017 A-League Grand Final 4–2 (1–1 AET) on penalties against Melbourne Victory at their former home ground, Allianz Stadium. The winning penalty was scored by Johnny Warren Medallist Miloš Ninković who re-signed for a following year

3502-458: The 2018–19 and 2021–22 seasons, Sydney played its home games out of two stadiums, Leichhardt Oval and Jubilee Oval . The Sydney Cricket Ground located in Moore Park was used in its first season of this redevelopment period. With a capacity of 46,000, it was used for the club's major fixtures during their time away from their traditional home, although this was eventually abandoned until

3605-543: The 2019–20 A-League final series. In the semifinal, Sydney defeated Perth Glory 2–0 and in the Grand Final they defeated Melbourne City 1–0 after extra time, via a Rhyan Grant goal. On 17 May 2017, the club and SCG Trust agreed to a ten-year extension of the lease. Sydney FC's primary training ground is at Macquarie University in North Ryde , called Sky Park . It also hosts the clubs Women team, as well as all academy players, male and female. They also have use of

3708-451: The A-League , W-League and Y-League would no longer be under the jurisdiction of Football Australia in an 'unbundling' process. The newly formed Australian Professional Leagues would take over the running of top-level football. As part of the unbundling, the Australian Professional Leagues would also obtain the exclusive right to use the intellectual property rights associated with the A-League brand. These competitions are now known as

3811-559: The A-League Men , A-League Women and A-League Youth . Soccer in Australia has used a federated model of national, states and territories governing bodies since the first state body was established in New South Wales in 1882. Local associations and regional zones were set up within the states and territories as soccer expanded and from time to time informal groups of clubs have augmented the formal structures. Today, there

3914-724: The Asian Football Confederation in 1960, and in 1974 but were denied in all requests. Australia with New Zealand eventually formed the Oceania Football Federation (now Oceania Football Confederation ) in 1966. Australia resigned as an OFC member in 1972 to pursue membership with the AFC , but they rejoined in 1978. In 1995, the Australian Soccer Federation formally changed its name to Soccer Australia. In 2003, following Australia's failure to qualify for

4017-523: The Sydney Cricket Ground and also at Leichhardt Oval during the 2018–19 season. The 2018–19 season was a successful campaign for Sydney FC, as they finished second in the regular season with 52 points, eight points behind premiers Perth Glory. In the 2018 FFA Cup , Sydney FC reached the final for the third consecutive year. They defeated Rockdale City Suns , Cairns FC , Avondale FC , and local rivals Western Sydney Wanderers 3–0 in

4120-549: The Sydney Derby on 23 May 2021. Sydney FC have played matches at other Sydney venues. Parramatta Stadium in western Sydney was the venue for an AFC Champions League match against Indonesian football side Persik Kediri in April 2007 when the SFS was unavailable due to an NRL match being played there. A friendly match against Los Angeles Galaxy was played at ANZ Stadium in November 2007 due to its greater capacity, and drew

4223-492: The Sydney Derby . Despite this setback, Sydney FC marched on yet again, winning the Premier's Plate with four games to spare and breaking numerous A-League records, including: most competition points, most wins in a season, fewest goals conceded, most clean sheets and best goal difference. Marquee striker Bobô ended the regular season as top scorer with 15 goals, narrowly missing Marc Janko 's record of 16. The club qualified for

Australian Professional Leagues - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-496: The sports and aquatic centre for post match recovery sessions. Occasionally Sydney FC have been seen after home games having recovery sessions at local beaches such as Coogee Beach , Bondi Beach , and Maroubra . Pulsar Sydney FC is the most supported A-League club in Australia, with an estimated 693,000 fans as of 2023. As they were the only A-League team from Sydney until 2012, Sydney FC draws support from across all of Greater Sydney . The main supporter group of Sydney FC

4429-438: The A-League finals series of 2017/18. Steve Corica became the ninth permanent head coach of Sydney FC when his tenure was officially announced on 16 May 2018. The announcement followed his ongoing thirteen year involvement with the club, signing on as a player in the inaugural 2005/06 season. After his retirement in 2010, Corica served his time as staff member for the club in various roles of assistant coach, youth team coach and

4532-476: The APL announced that the 2023, 2024 and 2025 grand finals would be hosted in Sydney , an announcement that was met with universal backlash from fans of all teams, former players and active support groups. Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix both released a statement shortly after the announcement, saying that "they will always prefer to play any grand final that they earn the right to host, at their home ground". Western United said that they "do not support

4635-619: The APL to stay afloat, as it would allow them to break even over the next financial year. On 11 November 2021, the Australian Professional Leagues launched the KeepUp (stylised as KEEPUP.) app. The app contained news primarily from the A-League Men , A-League Women and Australia Cup competitions, Asian continental competitions, the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup , and popular European competitions. It also featured an official A-Leagues fantasy and tipping competition, which

4738-416: The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) would be separated from the governing body. APL will assume responsibility for operational, commercial, and marketing activities, while Football Australia will continue to manage disciplinary and integrity matters, as well as the registration of clubs, players and officials, transfers, and match scheduling. Ahead of the 2021–22 season, the APL rebranded various aspects of

4841-494: The FFA Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held. The FFA voted to rename itself to Football Australia. Football Australia Chief Executive, James Johnson, told the media the rebranding would not cost the organisation any money as they already owned the domain and company names. The name change was seen as a way to unify the branding with the state member federations. On 31 December 2020, it was announced that

4944-405: The Grand Final of the fifth season of the A-League after defeating Wellington Phoenix in the preliminary final. The Grand Final was played against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne . Sydney took the lead after 61 minutes through a Mark Bridge header, just seconds after Melbourne had a goal disallowed for offside. Melbourne equalised through Adrian Leijer in the 81st minute, and

5047-467: The Sky Blues becoming the first ever club to win back-to-back premierships in the A-League era, and the first in Australian national league history since Melbourne Knights . With Graham Arnold being chosen to take over the Australian national team coaching role after the 2018 World Cup, his time at the club ended when his team were defeated 3–2 by Melbourne Victory, after extra time in a semi-final of

5150-454: The caretaker first team coach for two games in 2012. The off-season would prove be a crucial first test for Corica in terms of recruitment for some key positions. It had already been announced that key players from prior seasons including Dutch defender Jordy Buijs , former Socceroos Luke Wilkshire , David Carney and Matt Simon had all left the club as well as youth product Anthony Kalik returning to Europe as his loan deal expired. After

5253-826: The club and lack of consultation with Soccer NSW on key Sydney FC issues. These included the choice of the Sydney Football Stadium over Parramatta Stadium as the team's home ground, and the erosion of Soccer NSW's initial 100 per cent involvement to just 25 per cent. By February 2005, Sydney FC had filled 16 of its allowed 20 squad positions—attracting Socceroos Alvin Ceccoli , Clint Bolton , Steve Corica and David Zdrilic as well as youth internationals Justin Pasfield , Mark Milligan , Wade Oostendorp , Iain Fyfe and Jacob Timpano . German Pierre Littbarski

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5356-481: The club was about to bear fruit, when Sydney announced they had signed Czech Republic manager Vítězslav Lavička . Lavicka completely changed the structure of the club, and for its first time turning it into a serious, European style soccer club. He kept faith in Steve Corica and John Aloisi and several others who had threatened to walk out, and as a result, Sydney FC won its first premiership. Sydney made it to

5459-667: The club's " marquee player "– one paid outside of the $ 1.5million salary cap — for two seasons. Sydney FC's first competitive match was against Queensland Roar at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as part of the 2005 Australian Club World Championship Qualifying Tournament . After winning 3–0, Sydney went on to defeat Perth Glory and Central Coast Mariners to qualify for the 2005 Oceania Club Championship , held in Tahiti . Despite an early scare against New Zealand club Auckland City , Sydney FC won all of its matches and qualified for

5562-469: The club's supporter group, The Cove. The crest features the Sydney Opera House in white pictured in front of a sky-blue backdrop on top of a navy blue base featuring the Commonwealth Star . The Opera House represents an iconic landmark of Sydney , the sky-blue represents the club's primary colour and the state colour of New South Wales , and the Commonwealth Star , also found on the Australian flag ,

5665-451: The competition. The primary club colour of Sydney FC is sky blue , which represents the state colour of New South Wales . The secondary club colour is navy blue , with additional contrasting colours of orange and white , however the colour orange does not feature in the club's 2017 redesign of the crest. The current Sydney FC badge was released on 17 May 2017 and is a reworking of a design by Liam Johnson on behalf of and submitted by

5768-422: The competitions under its control: In addition to the name changes, the logos of the three leagues were also changed to reflect the new identity of the organisation. The change drew some criticism from social media, with fans saying that the new logo was "lazy", whilst some pointed out the resemblance to the logo of South Australian company Adelaide Building Consultants . Others praised the rebranding as it brought

5871-692: The contract expirations of marquee player Alessandro Del Piero , foreign player Ranko Despotović and former Socceroo Richard Garcia , there was a lot of experience to be filled by the club. Arnold announced his first signing on 12 May 2014, acquiring the services of his former Mariner winger Bernie Ibini-Isei . Sydney FC then announced signings of prolific A-League goalscorer Shane Smeltz and Socceroo Alex Brosque . After months of searching Arnold found his new marquee man in Austria national football team captain Marc Janko . On 8 October 2014, Brosque

5974-421: The decision, saying that the decision was necessary to grow the financial side of the game. Adelaide United winger Craig Goodwin appeared in a video promoting the Grand Final, saying "they're (grand finals) everything you dream of as a kid", however he has stated that he does not support the decision to host the grand final in Sydney. The following week, fans from various clubs staged walkouts. The first match of

6077-529: The departure of Steven Lowy as chair of the board, which he did in protest at major changes to the governance and voting structure in the overarching Football Australia Congress that elects the Board. His position was filled by Chris Nikou . Other board members to be elected were Heather Reid , Joseph Carrozzi and Remo Nogarotto . On 25 June 2020, Australia won the rights to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup alongside New Zealand. On 25 November 2020,

6180-471: The direction of the club. During the last nine rounds, Sydney FC only lost two games making the finals. The club lost to Melbourne Victory in the first week of the finals. This marked the end of the Frank Farina reign. [REDACTED] On 8 May 2014, Sydney FC announced its new head coach for the 2014–15 A-League season. With retirements to Brett Emerton in January and Terry McFlynn , and

6283-467: The door on their times at Sydney, the club announced the signings of former English Premier League star Adam Le Fondre and Dutch midfielder Siem de Jong on loan from Ajax . Fellow Dutchman Jop van der Linden was also revealed to be joining Sydney FC on a one-year deal. This was the first season Sydney temporarily moved to Jubilee Oval while their home ground, Allianz Stadium , was under renovation. The team played their home matches at Jubilee,

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6386-415: The fans, yet stating that the decision was necessary for the sustainability of the competition. Central Coast Mariners Chairman Richard Peil sent an email to the club's members, saying that the club was not consulted in any way, stating that only five of the clubs had an opportunity to vote on the decision. Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers both released statements acknowledging the disappointment of

6489-535: The final round of the regular season. Before the end of the season the club announced that head coach Lavicka's contract would not be renewed for the following season. "This is huge for Sydney FC, huge for the A-League and huge for Australian football [ sic ]. We feel honoured that Alessandro has decided to play for Sydney FC and we share his excitement that a move to Sydney FC will create a lasting legacy for football in this country." —Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow, The Sydney Morning Herald The 2012–13 season

6592-494: The final seven minutes to claim victory at Allianz Stadium. The following week saw another thrilling Big Blue in Melbourne ending 3–3. Sydney FC struggled for form as they moved closer to the January break for the 2015 Asian Cup , not scoring in four consecutive matches. During this break, Sydney FC were able to bolster their stocks, signing Senegalese internationals Mickaël Tavares and Jacques Faty as injury replacement players. Upon resumption, Sydney FC posted 19 (out of

6695-586: The formation of the "Commonwealth Football Association". This body was then superseded by the Australian Soccer Football Association, which was formed in 1921, with its headquarters in Sydney. The Australian Soccer Football Association operated for forty years, was given FIFA provisional membership in November 1954 and this was confirmed in June 1956, however in 1960, the association disbanded after being suspended from FIFA for

6798-609: The game went to a penalty shootout with no goals scored in extra time. Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat missed his penalty, with his shot hitting the post. Sydney FC won the Grand Final 4–2 on penalties which handed the club its second Hyundai A-League Championship. Sydney FC's title defence did not go smoothly. The club lost key players from its championship-winning side including Steve Corica (retired), Karol Kisel (return to Europe), Simon Colosimo , John Aloisi , and Clint Bolton (all Melbourne Heart). The club however picked up

6901-417: The grand finals being held in Sydney". Perth Glory chairman Tony Sage condemned the decision, also stating that "a majority of (club) owners supported the decision". Adelaide United's chairman, Piet van der Pol commented that the club does not have a place on the APL's 7-person board, and thus was not a part of the decision making. Melbourne City released a statement, sympathising with the frustrations of

7004-446: The group. The initial focus of NIAG is on supporting and retaining First Nations players and other staff involved in the game, reviewing pathways and programs to football that impact social outcomes, fostering strategic partnerships, as well as developing employment strategies and the organisation's reconciliation action plan (RAP). Football Australia organises several national competitions, with state-based competitions organised by

7107-410: The knockout stages for the first time, losing on away goals to Chinese side Shandong Luneng with Hao Junmin scoring a 90th-minute equaliser to finish the Sky Blues continental hopes. Arnold reformed Sydney for the 2016–17 season, beginning with the signings of Socceroos centreback Alex Wilkinson , and leftback Michael Zullo both from Melbourne City . Joshua Brillante joined the Sky Blues on

7210-438: The lead up to the season proper. Two-thirds of the way into the season and with Sydney FC only accumulating 4 points from 8 games, fans began to express concerns over the vision for the club. Banners at the club's home game against Adelaide included sentiments like "We want Farina gone." There was also a mass exodus from the club's active supporter group, The Cove. The club then held a fan forum to receive questions and communicate

7313-473: The major signing of Blackburn Rovers player Brett Emerton on a three-year deal. The signing was significant in that Emerton became the first player to directly exchange the FA Premier League for the A-League by terminating his Rovers contract one year early. The season however, only provided minimal success as the club scraped through to the finals series with a 3–2 win over Newcastle Jets in

7416-437: The men's and women's competitions under the same brand identity. On 14 December 2021, it was announced that American private equity firm, Silver Lake had purchased a 33.33% minority stake in the Australian Professional Leagues, the sale worth $ 140 million, the largest injection of capital into Australian soccer in its history. The firm stated that they valued the APL at $ 425 million Australian dollars . On 12 December 2022,

7519-590: The move on 29 June, noting that "as all of the parties involved ... had agreed to the move, the case did not need to be discussed by the FIFA Congress", and was unanimously ratified by the AFC on 10 September. Football Australia hoped that the move would give Australia a fairer chance of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and allow A-League clubs to compete in the AFC Champions League , thereby improving

7622-404: The new club's first ever loss. Sydney FC's first season was ultimately a success. Finishing second behind Adelaide United they went on to defeat Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the 2006 A-League Grand Final with Steve Corica scoring in the second half of the game. However, the club's success wouldn't last long, with German manager Pierre Littbarski leaving the club after refusing to accept

7725-484: The next day, before also being named player of the year at the club's awards night. The Sky Blues went on a successful FFA Cup run in 2017 , starting with an 8–0 thumping of Northern Territory amateur side Darwin Rovers , with Bobô scoring a club record equalling 4 goals in the match. The following round they played NPL2 side Canterbury Bankstown , winning 3–0 in a fairly scrappy match, with goals from Carney, Bobô, and

7828-402: The number of championships the club has won. Sydney FC plays its home matches at the newly constructed Sydney Football Stadium . The team moved into the stadium for the 2022–23 A-League Mens season. Their first match at the stadium was against the club's fierce rivals, Melbourne Victory on 8 October 2022 in front of 21,840 supporters. Sydney lost the match 2–3. The home ground was built as

7931-448: The only candidate remaining. Sydney FC was officially launched as a member of the new 8-team A-League on 1 November 2004, with a 25% stake in the club held by Soccer NSW, the remainder privately owned. Walter Bugno was announced as the inaugural chairman of the club. On 11 December 2004, Soccer NSW announced that it would pull out of its involvement with Sydney FC amid concerns over part owner Frank Lowy's autocratic style in establishing

8034-414: The poaching of players from overseas. In 1961 the Australian Soccer Federation was formed as a potential successor to the former governing body for the sport. However, this association was refused re-admittance to FIFA until outstanding fines had been paid, which was later done in 1963, seeing the new national body admitted to FIFA. Isolated from international football, Australia repeatedly applied to join

8137-443: The re-signing of current captain and club legend Alex Brosque within the first week of Corica's tenure as manager things appeared to be going well for Corica. On 7 July 2018, after weeks of speculation, the club officially confirmed the exit of Johnny Warren Medalist Adrian Mierzejewski and the newly re-signed Golden Boot winner, Bobô, leaving big holes to fill in attack. In the following weeks after Bobô and Mierzejewski closed

8240-497: The record for the largest margin of victory in The Big Blue. Sydney then travelled to Perth for the 2019 Grand Final , defeating Perth Glory in the grand final after a dramatic penalty shootout, which ended 4–1 thanks to mid-season signing Reza Ghoochannejhad scoring the decisive penalty and Andrew Redmayne saving two penalties. Overall, the 2018–19 season was largely a success for Steve Corica's first season in charge and

8343-502: The regular season Sydney were forced to find a new coach with the shock resignation of Crook. He cited the role was "a constant burden" and was adversely affecting his health. Frank Farina was confirmed as Crook's successor for the season two games into Steve Corica 's interim spell. During the January transfer window, Farina bolstered his defensive stocks with Socceroos captain Lucas Neill and Brazilian Tiago Calvano joining

8446-526: The remainder of the contract. The structure being similar to NRL 's Magic Round and AFL 's Gather Round . Two days later, CEO, Danny Townsend , left his role to take up a new job in the Middle East after two years in charge. Stephen Conroy replaced him as chairman. On 16 January 2024, it was announced that a large amount of the Australian Professional Leagues' workforce had been made redundant, and were laid-off. The exact number of employees laid off

8549-407: The respective state governing soccer bodies. Sydney FC Sydney Football Club , commonly known as Sydney FC , is a professional soccer club based in Sydney , New South Wales , Australia. Competing in the top-tier men's league, A-League Men . Established in 2004, Sydney FC was among the eight founding teams for the inaugural 2005–06 A-League season. Domestically, Sydney FC have won

8652-528: The rest of the season but were knocked out in the finals by Brisbane Roar . Kosmina couldn't repeat the success of the previous season, replacing Brazilian international Juninho with Socceroos hero John Aloisi on a million dollar contract. The club also unveiled Newcastle Jets championship winners Mark Bridge and Stuart Musialik as well as Socceroo Simon Colosimo for the 2008–09 season . The season did not live up to expectations even with these key signings. Aloisi didn't perform very well during

8755-597: The season and came under heavy fire. So too did manager Kosmina, whose tactics were seen as controversial. His relationship with the media often became angry and frustrated which didn't help causes. Many players fell out of favour with the coach, including Steve Corica and Clint Bolton . For the first time in the club's history, they failed to make the Finals. As a result Kosmina was fired when Russian billionaire David Traktovenko became owner in March 2009. The fresh change at

8858-461: The season, after it was found that they had breached the Salary cap , involving player David Zdrillic . Despite the off field problems, Sydney managed to scrape into the finals series, however they lost in the semi-final to Newcastle Jets . Although Butcher led the club into the finals, Sydney fans were unhappy with his tactics. In the end Butcher and Sydney FC went their separate ways at the end of

8961-477: The season. Sydney FC would go on to sign Branko Čulina for its 2007 AFC Champions League campaign, where they finished second in the group, one point behind ultimate champions and J-League heavyweights Urawa Red Diamonds . Despite the ACL success, Sydney FC's start to the 2007–08 season was poor, and the club sacked him, replacing him with former Adelaide United manager John Kosmina . Sydney FC played well for

9064-487: The semi-finals, before facing Adelaide United in the final for the second consecutive season. Sydney FC lost at Hindmarsh Stadium 2–1 in the final after a brace from Mark Viduka Medalist Craig Goodwin , with Le Fondre scoring Sydney's only goal of the night. In the finals series, Sydney FC thumped Melbourne Victory 6–1 in the semi-finals, thanks to goals from Aaron Calver , Alex Brosque , an own goal from Leigh Broxham , Adam Le Fondre and Miloš Ninković equalling

9167-498: The services of former Socceroo Nick Carle from his stint in England with Crystal Palace . This wasn't enough to steer the team in the right direction. The club was winless for the first ten rounds of the competition. Sydney FC managed to pick up a few points over the next few rounds but another five-game losing streak ensured they would not qualify for the finals competition, finishing ninth. The third season under Lavicka began with

9270-499: The sport. It sanctions professional, semi-professional and amateur soccer in Australia. Football Australia made the decision to leave the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC), for which it was a founding member, and become a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on 1 January 2006 and ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) on 27 August 2013. Football Australia's origins lie as far back as 1911, with

9373-493: The standard of Australian football at both international and club levels with improved competition in the region. In February 2008, the Football Federation Australia formally announced their intention to bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup , 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup . In 2010, the decision was made by Football Australia to withdraw its World Cup bid for 2018, instead focusing on

9476-513: The team temporarily played at the Sydney Cricket Ground , Jubilee Oval , and Leichhardt Oval . In October 2022, the club returned to the newly rebuilt Allianz Stadium . In 2023, Sydney FC completed its new training and administration facility, Sky Park , in North Ryde . During the club's first seven years, it was the only A-League team in Sydney, attracting a broad fanbase across the Sydney Metropolitan Area . Sydney FC

9579-408: The team's first season away from Allianz Stadium. They finished in the top two in all domestic competitions. However, their performance in the 2019 AFC Champions League was disappointing, as they failed to progress from the group stage. Finishing at the bottom of their group, with just three points from six matches. On 7 April 2021, Sydney FC became the first A-League club to record 200 wins with

9682-717: The team. The pair made nil significant impact and with a 3–1 loss away from home to Brisbane Roar , Sydney were unable to pick up a vital point that would have seen them play in the finals, finishing seventh. For the 2013–14 pre season , the club became the first club in A-League history to tour in Europe, as Sydney toured in Venice , Italy, where the club played against Del Piero's first professional club, Padova , Udinese Calcio , Vicenza Calcio , A.S. Cittadella , Venezia and Reggiana . Sydney won half of these six games however upon returning home lost five consecutive friendly games in

9785-482: The weekend, on 16 December, Newcastle Jets fans walked out at the 20th minute in the game against Brisbane Roar . The most notable walkout of the round was during the Melbourne Derby . Throughout the match , supporters of both teams threw flares onto the pitch, which caused the game to be paused. Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw a flare towards the crowd of Melbourne Victory supporters, sparking

9888-611: The word " football ", in preference to "soccer", and to also distance itself from the failings of the old Soccer Australia. It coined the phrase "old soccer, new football" to emphasise this. On 1 January 2006, Football Federation Australia moved from the OFC to the AFC . The move was unanimously endorsed by the AFC Executive Committee on 23 March 2005, and assented by the OFC on 17 April. The FIFA Executive Committee approved

9991-512: Was announced as captain for the 2014–15 A-League season, alongside vice-captains Sasa Ognenovski and Nikola Petković . Sydney FC's season began with the highly anticipated match-up against the newly re-branded Melbourne City and guest superstar David Villa . Whilst not starting the game, Villa came on early in the second half to claim the equalising goal, the result ending 1–1. Sydney FC continued on an eight-game undefeated streak that ended when Perth Glory came from behind to score two goals in

10094-492: Was launched on 21 September 2022, ahead of the 2022–23 season. The app was reported to cost 30 million dollars to launch, which drew criticism from some. As part of the APL's January 2024 layoffs, it was announced that KeepUp would be closed on 1 March 2024, under three years since its launch. One of the reasons for the closure was cited as high expenditure, with the cost of running the service being estimated of up to $ 50 million. Football Australia Football Australia

10197-563: Was lodged with the Australian Soccer Association (now Football Australia ) on 19 July, challenged only by a consortium headed by Nick Politis , known as the "Sydney Blues", for Sydney's place in the 'one team per city' competition. A public row broke out between the two bidders after reports that the ASA were set to vote in favour of Sydney FC, causing Politis to withdraw his support for a team, and leaving Sydney FC as

10300-400: Was one of high drama. There was a new head coach Ian Crook and a high turnover of players in the off season. The expectations changed from a year of rebuilding to title contenders when the club acquired the services of international superstar Alessandro Del Piero . He signed on for $ 2 million per year and became the highest-paid player ever in the A-League. After only six weeks into

10403-561: Was placed into liquidation and Australia Soccer Association (ASA) was created without encompassing the Crawford Report recommendations and effectively disenfranchising all parties who had an interest in Soccer Australia. The Australian Government provided approximately $ 15 million to the ASA. On 1 January 2005, ASA renamed itself to Football Federation Australia (FFA), aligning with the general international usage of

10506-505: Was signed as head coach, assisted by former Norwich City player Ian Crook . Sydney FC played its first ever match against Manly United on 25 March 2005, winning 6–1. Shortly after, Sydney FC set off on a tour to the United Arab Emirates to play against local teams FC Hatta, Al Ain and Al Jazira , winning all three. While in Dubai , Sydney FC announced that it had agreed to terms with former Manchester United player Dwight Yorke as

10609-408: Was stated at 41,159 prior to renovations in 2007, although the attendance of the 2006 A-League grand final exceeded this number by over 500. The stated capacity prior to demolition was 45,500. Sydney FC's final game at the stadium was a 2–3 extra time loss to Melbourne Victory in the 2017–18 A-League Semifinal. Prior to the current season, for four years whilst the new stadium was being built between

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