The million dollar question for Sydney’s football market is how more Sydneysiders can take to the A-League competition.
‘We Are Football’ is the new slogan of the day, yet it hasn’t bridged the gap in our community, as the missing millions have found it harder than ever to remain a part of the Sydney market when their teams have been forcibly pushed towards the sidelines and out of the spotlight.
Football is, as we all know, the biggest participation sport in Australia, with a rich history and number of expanding markets. The question is not how more Sydneysiders can fall in love with football.
The facts are, in essence, that Sydney FC has struggled to make inroads with the city’s football-going community and that Western Sydney Rovers is a proven failure.
Despite this, however, there are clubs that can fill the breach.
‘Bling FC’, inaugural A-League winners, has lost its battle to represent one city on its own. In a city of over four million, Sydney FC has not been able to fill its stadium, whether it be the SFS, Parramatta Stadium, Jubilee Oval or elsewhere. The people aren’t going. The people don’t have a strong enough connection to this team. It’s only a franchise after all.
It is here that the concept of a western Sydney team was first afforded currency.
By adding another Sydney team, much of the burden to represent the entire city could be lifted off the Paddington side. It would make it more accessible for football lovers to watch a western Sydney team play. It would mean they could make another choice.
But, as the talk of a West Sydney Rovers bid seemed just over the horizon, Ian Rowden’s consortium failed to make any progress and the team was scrapped altogether in December 2010.
The supposed answer in West Sydney Rovers is gone, but the problem remains. What could be the alternative to having two unsustainable franchise clubs with no existing fan base in the Sydney market?
It is here that the concept of reintroducing a ‘second’ Sydney team instead of a ‘western’ Sydney team has started to regain currency.
Regarding this shift in approach, commentator and journalist Michael Cockerill mentions that western Sydney is “the great missed opportunity for the game” with “three attempts to get an A-League team in… the game’s heartland, three failures.”
“Embarrassing?” he asks FFA Chairman Frank Lowy, who likes to blame the bid players on the issue, saying “we were let down by the people that were putting it together.”
The first glances in search for more concrete alternatives would be to the next level of football down the ladder. For Sydney, it’s the New South Wales Premier League. And, at a time where the FFA and the A-League need it the most, there is one Sydney team that is hungrier than all others to be back into that spotlight.
Everyone knows the talk is about the Sydney Olympic Football Club.
After their latest triumph in front of a record crowd of over 10,000 partisan fans, Cockerill again stated that Olympic had again made “a pointed reminder to the mandarins at Football Federation Australia, that’s for sure.” That message, he declared, was to “ignore the game’s ethnic origins at your peril.”
But what is Sydney Olympic, exactly? Who are their supporters and why are they still fighting not only for survival but for further glory? The point deserves further discussion in itself.
The club, founded as Sydney Pan-Hellenic in 1957 by Greek migrants, was a founding member of the National Soccer League, and played in all but one year between 1978 and 2004. It was when it helped to create the national format that it changed its name to Sydney Olympic.
While a host of other clubs in the competition bought land in the suburbs and created a base for themselves, Olympic has, for much of its history, never had a permanent home. The ‘Blues’ have played over the years at a number of venues across central, south and western Sydney including Wentworth Park, the SFS, Jubilee Oval, Shark Park, Belmore Sports Ground, Pratten Park, Leichhardt Oval and St. George Stadium.
After a tough time adjusting back into the NSW Premier League, Olympic finally seem to have the right team both on and off the park to deliver.
The SOFC board, headed by local businessman George Giannaros and which includes former Socceroo and Fox Sports pundit Mark Bosnich, seem to have finally found the right mix of passion, talent and results across the entire club. Theirs has been a unified effort to streamline a number of activities and initiatives through an efficient club office, whilst setting and exceeding impressive targets with the first team.
For Olympic, 2011 has proved to be their most successful and impressive year in almost a decade.
When Peter Tsekenis spoke to local media and Olympic fan groups of his appointment as Head Coach in September 2010, he mentioned that his decision to join Olympic centred around a number of challenges, not only for his personal development as a manager but the task to return glory to the side he played for almost a decade in the 1990s.
“I want to hear our ‘O – LYM – PIC’ chant roaring through Belmore once again,” Tsekenis had said, and he certainly did when the Blues scored impressive victories against Sydney FC and Sydney United in a top class year.
And, with an impressive record as player-coach at NSW Premier League rivals Bankstown, Tsekenis seemed like the perfect choice.
At Tsekenis’ disposal were a number of talented youngsters already at the club, including Phil Makrys and brothers Peter and Chris Triantis, as well as a host of new signings including pacy wingers David Gullo and Will Angel.
With the senior side in safe hands, the board has cleverly negotiated terms on a long-term lease of and improved facilities at Belmore Sports Ground, realised in agreements with a number of parties including Canterbury Council, the Canterbury Bulldogs, and State and Federal Parliaments.
In what could only be called a monumental achievement, Sydney Olympic FC has secured a long-term home for its competition matches and club operations.
Making immense progress already, Olympic successfully applied for its first Women’s Super League teams in 2011, bringing its commitment to player development to a new level in a most rapidly expanding sphere in the modern game.
And so, with a new first-grade manager, redevelopments at Belmore Sports Ground, women’s teams and other initiatives in play, the 2011 season kicked off in cracking style with three magnificent finishes from Alex Smith, now at Wellington Phoenix, including a curling free kick late on saw Olympic finish 3-0 winners on Round 1. Smith would go on to wreak havoc on opposition defences as he and strike partner Robbie Mileski chalked up over 20 goals between them in all competitions by seasons end.
And, for Olympic, from Round 7 there was no turning back from the top of the table, sealing NSW Premier League Minor Premiership with a home victory over APIA Leichhardt on the final day.
A great victory over bitter enemies Sydney FC in the inaugural Brett Emerton Cup preceded two more victories against rivals Sydney United, the second in the record-breaking NSWPL Grand Final with well over 10,000 passionate fans in attendance.
More importantly, though, the final was a celebration of football and was without any trace of the ethnic violence sometimes attributed to the passionate displays from ‘old soccer’.
2011 was, for Sydney Olympic, undoubtedly a success. Stability, progress, glory. The board has accomplished much off the park to guarantee the club has a long term home, a broader Youth academy and Womens teams, all with dedicated full-time technical directors and coaching staff. It has also put its faith in the right manager with an exciting squad that delivered trophies on the park.
And all this in the absence of huge sums of direct capital. Without FFA handouts. Without Foxtel money. Without exclusive rights to the market.
And, as such, Sydney Olympic deserve a go. With their pedigree and their record the club deserves a chance to offer another choice to the Sydney market, to bring a club back to the stage it belongs and to add its supporter strength and board stability to the A-League.
Zidane
Guest
Mate, you Melbournian, you shouldnt talk we came and kicked your asses, remember??? Who cares how many were at the ground. You argue about nothing. Sydney Olympic proved themselves in 2011 and you just accept that they were the best with the best coach.
Ultra
Guest
Were you at the game? 80per cent were Olympic supporters. And yes it was a record crowd for a new state league game.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Just saying that the name Peter Phillips can be a Greek name for reasons I outlined. And sure he is an Australian like me. I'm an Australian born with Greek heritage. Still doesn't mean your not flogging a dead horse.
georgetee
Guest
Stuart I agree with you we must have a team from either Tasmania and Darwin both those states dont have any major teams in Aussie rules nrl cannot understand the logics from FFA how can they promote the game I dont get it those two states would have sellouts in all their games but nooooooo we have Gold Coast bringing in about 2000 supportters because they capped it at that watching their games you would think its a trial match. wake up FFA
Peter
Guest
The time is coming...... Sydney Olympic in the top league again.! We have the money and the support. Sydney FC we will always be a more prestigious club. 1 - 0 . O lym pic!!!!!
John
Guest
QSAF you know it all, I know Peter Phillips and he is not Greek, and who cares anyway they're all Australian
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
I would expect that Peter Phillips is of Greek heritage. My cousin has the same name (not the same person) he is like me from old Greek heritage our families arrived in Australia in 1923. And both of us are still very proud of that heritage. But the absurdity of this article has gone past its by used date and belongs back in the fifties where it started. Move on my Greek compatriots you are flogging a dead horse.
Kasey
Guest
Don't be argumentative/stupid/obtuse, of course they are, but we have to go over this point every time the NSL comes up on these boards. Perception is a powerful tool.** The NSL was perceived as being exclusively for immigrants or new arrivals & their families. was that true? Hardly. Did that perception harm the ability of the NSL to gain mainstream support??..you tell me. So whats to be gained by admitting a team into the HAL that reinforces old prejudices that FFA have mostly removed with the replacement of the NSL with the HAL? **example the vast majority of the unauthorized arrivals to Australia come to this country by plane[1], but ask a random person in the suburbs and it "the boats from Indonesia" that need to be stopped. How do people reach this position...read a newspaper and the public perception is shaped by those publications and network television. As a fan of a team that suffered under false perceptions perpetuated by those organizations I would think you'd understand this. 1. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article32002?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2002&num=&view=
MelbCro
Guest
so a person of greek heritage is not Australian now? thanks for educating me
Whites
Guest
It's Wollongong.
Kasey
Guest
So 2 non-greeks on the board outweighs the obvious Greek leaning of almost every other aspect of the club? You need to get a job writing the spin for a politician.
MelbCro
Guest
well done to the moderators for deleting my comment. No doubt this comment will be deleted too. Keep up the pathetic job.
Johnno
Guest
Ian Whitchurch ex socceroo great Mark Bosnich is of Croatian heritage not Greek heritage mate, so, and the name Peter Phillips does not sound Greek either.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
No I don't believe anything has changed Johnno, your misguided Greek passion and the mainstream media filled with redneck ideals won't budge. You will not be accepted as an Australian main stream club not ever on both sides of the fence. Pan Hellenic under the guise of Sydney Olympic for Greeks only club will not be heard in 'Main Stream Media'. The responses you are getting here should tell you something? It's a no brainer you will not get the support outside of the Greek community. Sorry to have to be the messenger, but you are flogging a dead horse. Greek food, Greek culture are wonderful experiences to be had by all Australians, but when it comes to football clubs they just don't mix. Australians with redneck ideals always seem to get in the way. Join SFC's membership and support SO FC separately. Yasas Johnno..
Kasey
Guest
Steggz, time and again Johnno has proved that his mind is not open. He sees what he wants to see and argues straw man arguments. He refuses to even read other peoples opinions or to acknowledge that they (may) have some good points. SOFC in the HAL would be a massive failure for all the reasons you've (and others) have listed, and the FFA running the game could not be stupid enough to want another failed expansion black eye so soon after NQFury could they? In Johnno's mind, just give them a go is the answer, despite absolutely overwhelming evidence that the Olympic team just could not unite the various football fans in WS behind that one team. I believe in an ideal world Greater Sydney Area could support up to 6 teams within short journey time of each other: 1.CCM in Gosford, taking support from the Northern beaches, 2.a brand new broadbased team at Parra (very easy access from all points in Western Sydney), 3.SFC for the central and Eastern burbs. 4.Newcastle Jets as the hat on top and 5.W'gong as the foundation on the bottom. 6.Canberra, not Sydney of course, but only 3 hours down the Federal hwy:) Obviously this would be a long way off, like 2020 time frame. If Perth flew over for a run of away games on the Eastern Seaboard, they could save on travel costs by having FFA schedule smartly. Come for Sydney, play the Sky Blues, the Rovers and the gong in a month. then go home to perth. Aim high and build towards it, that means no new teams until at least 2015 then so be it. and have a defined list of localities for a 16 team league at head office, tick off the cities as consortia apply so as to not cruel yourself later on having boxed in a team through bad planning.
Steggz
Guest
You just proved my point! Your reply just shows that you only read what you want. And the solution is that we just chuck a team out and give Olympic a go? On a hunch that it might work, with no real data as to what a niche club could bring to the A-League? What a stupid idea! Olympic will not draw the sort of crowd that a Western Sydney team deserves. They're not in Western Sydney for starters, let alone the fact that fans of other ex-NSL teams won't get on board. We need something without prior hangups. You want to say Olympic aren't an ethnic club? Ask a Marconi, Bonnyrigg or Sydney United fan what they think! I have said time and time again, Olympic may get their chance in the A-League when promotion/relegation is brought in, but now is not the time for Olympic to be brought in. First, because it will not unify Western Sydney (which is what is required). Second, because Olympic cannot properly represent Western Sydney from their Belmore base (and with all the money poured into it, they won't be moving soon). Third, the A-League needs to solidify itself, and the rapid expansion that the FFA attempted was probably too ambitious. And lastly, bringing Olympic in right now will only cause more damage to the already ruptured relationship between the FFA and ex-NSL clubs. Johnno, I'm really hoping that you can consider these reasons and see why Olympic's time is not right at this moment.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
The board of the allegedly non-Greek Sydney Olympic club. Club Info - Staff Board of Directors Club President & Director for Seniors: George Giannaros Club Secretary and Director of Youth: Peter Phillips Treasurer: Arthur Balayannis Director: Mark Bosnich Director: Chris Tsioulos Director: Peter Englezos Office Manager: Chris Kalavas Technical Director: Tom Alexakis Media Representative: Samantha Giannaros 2012 Sydney Olympic FC NSW Premier League & Premier Youth League 1st Grade Head Coach: Peter Tsekenis Assistant Coach: Peter Papoythis
Johnno
Guest
QSAF this is 2011 times have changed and so have the pan helinic clubs, the stereo types are so 1980's.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Johnno----the problem is that Pan Hellenic never received the support from mainstream media in the past and they won't receive it now. Sure they will get the Hellenic Herald to write stories about them. Unfortunately the majority of Sydneysiders only read and write in English. Of course most Greeks will read the Hellenic Herald, but as a hazard I don't expect too many young Australian born Greeks to pick up the Hellenic Herald paper and read about the team, as most of them like me couldn't read or write in Greek well enough when growing up in an Australian Greek family. Pan Hellenic do a find job in the State League and should form an alliance with SFC as a feeder club---young gun Antonis is really developing into a extraordinary fine player because of the tutoring he is receiving at SFC. He would never have gotten that at Sydney Pan Hellenic.
Qantas supports Australian Football
Guest
Luke Red----I'll miss them I'm a GCU supporter. GC has 9k registered players that are now just starting to become aware they have a team. Yes the promotion has not been what it should have but give us time to build a football culture in a City where there was zero one before.