Today, 18 July at 4pm at Edensor Park, Sydney, there is a super event for football in Australia. Zeljko Kalac is playing a farewell match for all his fans for Sydney United FC.
In this match Sydney United will be playing against Newcastle Jets FC. Lining up for Sydney United will be players like: Craig Moore, Tony Popovic, Mark Rudan, Ante Milicic and the coach of Sydney United is David Zrdilic.
This from a club that has never won a national championship but has produced some of the best talent Australian football has seen.
However, what has the Football Federation Australia (FFA) done to embrace this game or this club?
To the fans, just like me, it seems the FFA is playing a game of “let’s pretend these clubs don’t exist and they will go away”. Well, let me tell you FFA, they are not going away and with little to practically no media behind this event, a crowd of over 5,000 people is expected.
The time is now to embrace these clubs that have given so much to the game and treat them like they are Australians, not second-class citizens.
Clubs like Marconi FC have over 30,000 social members in one of the most iconic sporting facilities in southwest Sydney, yet they were never asked to enter the A-League, however a new club called the Sydney Rovers is being pushed and helped by the FFA.
Clubs like Sydney United FC, Marconi FC, Sydney Olympic FC and South Melbourne FC are some of the biggest brands in Australia football, and by pretending they do not exist it is killing our game in this country.
I thought the Australian way was to be honest and real, but the FFA is far from this.
Matt of the Blue Mountains
Guest
I was at this match and I can asure you there were no more than 3,000 there. Also No beer, what kind of a football club doesn't serve Beer during a match? The most unproffessional thing I've seen at a Football match in years.
milhouse1
Guest
I'm a croatian but we'd be fooling ourselves if we were to let the old nsl teams back in the comp! I still believe the playing standard in the old nsl was alot better, we need to give up on this south american crap and look to eastern europe for talent for the A leaugue. Violence in football is everywhere, i was at a roar game last year when i brawl broke out between a few drunk idiots! it happens, if it was sydney united playing it would have been classed as a racial or a ethnic battle! that's the only diffence! I love the A league, hope it stands the test of time!
Spiro
Guest
according to FFT, according to sydney united officials over 4,500 tickets cut without the kiddies
Farqwar
Guest
about 3 000 turned up.
apaway
Guest
Alex, maybe you should be asking what Football NSW were doing to promote the event, given Sydney United play in the NSW Premier League. This event really had nothing to do with the FFA - it was a glorified trial for the Jets. Good on Sydney United for making something of a promotion out of it, and if 5,000 people turned up (I'll believe that when I see it), then maybe they should sign Kalac as a marquee player. But really, as much as you like to push the cause of the "old NSL" clubs, they were never likely to be given an A-League license, and I believe only Marconi seriously entertained the prospect of applying for one. How many of those 30,000 members turn up to watch the Stallions play? The other clubs you mentioned were NOWHERE near as big a "brand" in Australian football as Sydney FC are with only 5 years of existence under their belt. That comment is, I'm afraid, a little delusional
Spiro
Guest
Jack you are a man of value, well said my friend. NSL - ON FIELD A-LEAGUE - OFF FIELD We agree to this, reason combine the two and how much better will our sport in oz be!!!!!
Dan
Guest
Look, take it from somebody who doesn't like soccer: I want the NSL back because it was a never ending public relations disaster for your sport. The A-League is much better run and has a clean image, and you should be happy.
Fisher Price
Guest
Will Hiddink play?
jack
Guest
NSL - on field A League - off field this whole violence nonsense is just that...nonsense, just ask those sydney fans who had computer equipment thrown at them from Victory fans in our cbd! the A league is no more safer than what the nsl was, the fact that we cant embrace historic clubs means that football has a long way to go in this country. remember even the mls has an ethnic club..and the competition is better for it.
Sterg
Guest
All these fake stories on how they got terrified, get out of here
kman
Guest
NSL CLUBS WILL NEVER BE IN THE A-LEAGUE!!!!! is it that hard to understand? For football to succeed in this country we cant have all the racist crap and off field violence we had in the NSL. The A-league is better than the NSL in every way. Look at the players who have come (yorke, Fowler etc.), the crowd numbers (well, thats not hard to beat the NSL, is it?), as well as the media attention the league gets.The A-league, along with the socceroos qualifying for 2 world cups, have brought football to a new level in this country.
Chuq
Roar Pro
Oh look, its like a post on TWGF, except with proper grammar and sentence structure.
Steve Johnson
Guest
Another NSL baiting article. You guys had your chance and blew it. One of my earliest football memories is being a kid at a Sydney Croatia match and leaving terrified for our safety and my mum saying she would never go to another football match again. Australia doesn;t want to be a country divided by racial origins with flare waving coward teenagers lacking identity wanting to fight the battles of their european fathers. I have no interest in the FFA as a political body, my interest is in the furtherment of Australian football. People in western sydney may be stupified to know that outside of sydney is a vast and populated country where no-one cares if you are Greek, Serb, Croat, Italian, orthodox russian christian or communist. We just want to embrace the the future of the world game in our country, and not just pander to a few used car salesmen from Parramatta Road who like to walk around a suburban football ground eating a steak sandwich and pretending they are a smooth operator.