It is an exciting time for football in this country.
The recent Women’s World Cup and the outstanding performances of the Matildas captured the imagination of the entire country and the passion for our beautiful game has never been more evident than it is right now.
With the new A-Leagues season about to kick-off, I believe we are on the verge of one of the biggest and best seasons in the competition’s history.
Here at Sydney FC, we are off to the perfect start with our Australia Cup victory last Saturday night. The first of many pieces of silverware we will strive for this season.
Sydney FC Men & Women 2023-24
We have assembled very talented squads in both our Men’s and Women’s teams this season.
In our Men’s team, we have the youngest squad in our history with an average age of 23 and I’m proud to say 14 of our players have developed through our Academy system.
Matthew Scarcella, Zac De Jesus, Mitch Glasson, Gus Hoefsloot and Wataru Kamijo have been promoted this season while we welcome Australian youth internationals Jordan Courtney-Perkins and Nathan Amanatidis, as well as Brazilians Fabio Gomes and Gabriel Lacerda who have had a very good start to life at Sydney FC.
The recruitment of Fabio and Gabriel gives us one of the strongest international line-ups the club has had, with former English Premier League players Jack Rodwell and Joe Lolley, and Slovakian international Robert Mak completing the quintet.
Our target is to win a record 6th Championship and 5th Premiers Plate, with competing in the Asian Champions League also a priority.
We continue to lead the way in Women’s football and are the most successful team in the competition’s history.
We have made several strong additions and welcome Margaux Chauvet, Tori Tumeth, Lucy Johnson, Sienna Saveska, Aideen Keane, Shea Connors, Fiona Worts, Zara Kruger and Darcey Malone to the squad.
Our Women are targeting an unprecedented ‘Double-Double’ following last season’s outstanding achievements and we will compete for the first time in the AFC Women’s Club Championship in Uzbekistan next month.
Congratulations to our Matildas hero Cortnee Vine who returns following an excellent performance in Australia’s Women’s World Cup campaign.
Chief Executive
Our Chief Executive Officer Adam Santo departs the club today after a decade of service to Sydney FC.
Adam has made a major contribution to our club over the last ten years and more recently, as CEO, has overseen our return to Allianz Stadium and the opening of our new home, Sky Park.
I would like to thank Adam for his dedication, leadership, and loyalty to Sydney FC and to wish him the best for the future.
Our new Chief Executive Mark Aubrey begins on Monday, and we are happy to have appointed a senior executive with over 20 years of experience in the gaming, entertainment, and technology sectors.
Mark has a successful background leading some of the world’s top entertainment companies and he has a real passion for football.
Sky Park & Allianz Stadium
Sky Park, our brand new, world-class football and community precinct is now open and houses our professional football teams, our academy and our administration staff.
Sky Park brings together all our club’s operations under the one roof for the first time. Combine this with Allianz Stadium, the leading football stadium in the country, and we can proudly say we now have the best facilities of any sports club in Australia.
Importantly, these two facilities provide us with a platform for our next phase of growth and success.
Sydney FC Academy
The Sydney FC Academy continues to develop Australia’s most exciting young footballers and provide opportunities to play in the A-Leagues and overseas.
Developing our own talent through our Academy pathway is central to our club’s philosophy and this season, with 14 of our A-Leagues Men’s squad being graduates of our Academy, we will see more of this young talent on display than ever before.
We have also in recent times provided opportunities for several young players, including Adrian Segecic, Max Vartuli, Alen Harbas and Rawley St. John to develop their careers in Europe and we wish them well.
Our Female Football Pathway, which we launched last month, will ensure young girls aged 11-16 are given this same opportunity to transition into a professional football career.
We are committed to investing in the development of future generations of female footballers to help them realise their dreams of becoming the next Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord or Cortnee Vine.
Finally, well done to our Academy first grade team who achieved their best finish to an NPL season in 6th place and congratulations to our Under 13’s and 14’s Academy squads who won their respective titles.
Partners
We are delighted to welcome Macquarie University as our new Principal Partner for the next five A-Leagues Men’s and Women’s seasons.
Inspiring young men and women to succeed is central to our club’s philosophy and these values align perfectly with Macquarie University.
They join Kennards Hire, McDonald’s, Under Armour, Carma, Billbergia, SMEG, Carbiz and UNSW among others in the Sky Blues corporate family.
Our commercial partners play a crucial role in helping to drive our club forward and we thank each of them for their fantastic support.
Members
Our Members are the heartbeat of our club and I would like to thank them for their ongoing commitment, passion and loyalty to Sydney FC.
Last season, on our return to Allianz Stadium we achieved a record-breaking 17,296 Members and we were the best attended club in the A-Leagues by almost 70,000 fans.
This season we have already smashed that record as we currently sit at over 19,000 members and I am confident that number will grow to north of 20,000 in the coming days.
Particularly pleasing has been the growth in memberships for our A-League Women’s team where we have experienced more than 800% growth from last year.
On Saturday night we expect to break the record attendance for a Liberty A-League match when we face Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium in our opening game.
And then exactly one week later, on Saturday the 21st of October, we kick off our A-League Men’s season with a Big Blue at home against Melbourne Victory.
It’s the perfect way to start our season, and it’s finally here.
Thank you again for your support of our great club and being part of the Sky Blue family.
I look forward to seeing you in the stands over the course of the season, cheering on our teams and celebrating our success.
Scott Barlow
Chairman
