CommBank Stadium will be a sea of colours this weekend, celebrating the NSW National Premier League final.
Built at the headwater of Parramatta River, its muddy flow of fresh liquid turns blue in due course, as the composition becomes salty, eventually pouring into Port Jackson.
Israel is a long way from Sydney Harbour. Just ask Frank Lowy. As the 91-year-old stands on his balcony, eying the Mediterranean Sea, everything feels connected.
I vividly picture the A-League’s Godfather with a laptop. Wistfully, he begins to live stream the NPL match. A cool ocean breeze of memories float by, some, from generations ago.
It’s 11 in the morning, I imagine, seven hours behind Sydney, and Frank’s enjoying a Sabich. He relishes the traditional Israeli sandwich, savouring the various Kosher fillings, and thinking back to how it all started.
The year is 1959, and his customers at the delicatessen are keen to hear the news. Frank’s bought a nearby subdivision in Blacktown with a business partner, and together they’re opening an arcade.
Since it’s located west of the CBD, and because semi-rural fields surround it, the new retail establishment needs a catchy name.
“What’s a shopping centre?” the curious deli customers ask, unaware of the forthcoming American influence Down Under.
In the present time, back on his Tel Aviv balcony, a nostalgic Mr Lowy whispers to himself: “You’ll see.”
If stories are to be believed, this is the same successful man who once owned a TV network, bought from the Murdoch family. The same man who went toe-to-toe with the AFL over World Cup stadium rights.
And the same man who was convinced by then-Prime Minister John Howard to invest millions of dollars into a fledgling football competition.
Back at the delicatessen, his dark hair slicked with product, Frank bids his final customers a warm goodbye. “It’s called Westfield,” he smiles, acknowledging the geographical connection.
Westfield. It rolls off the tongue.
In time, the retail empire grew the world game within Australia; assisting Hakoah football club, the Socceroos and finally Sydney FC.
And to think, it all started 46 kilometres west of the headland, in a quaint suburb called Blacktown. Far from Cromer Park, home of NPL final contenders, Manly United.
A place, where Mr Lowy’s heart belonged, all those years ago, when football was just a beautiful dream.
Hoolifan
Guest
That's pretty impressive. The old NSL club teams that I see playing around the suburbs are lucky to get 500 people to attend, closer to 200 if you had to do a head count. They are on a par with district cricket for interest. A second division in Australia will work as well as it did from 1977 to 1988 when the NSL scrapped it. We don't have the populations and the distances are too large to recreate Europe here.
Hoolifan
Guest
I read the Frank Lowy biography years ago, before the A-League existed and his triumphant return to the head of Oz soccer. What was interesting in the book is that he said he could see the NSL was an abject failure in the very early days. He lost interest and walked out of the game vowing to never return. It took the P.M. of the country to convince him to come back after the Uruguay flop of 2001. As he was one of the father's of the creation of the old NSL competition in the mid 1970s it was interesting what he also said about that. There was a train of thought that they should be creating a composite club competition representing regions or areas rather than ethnic groups. We all know how that ended. Ridiculous some on here are seriously talking about going back to that. Where are all the Yugoslav, Greek and Italian migrants that will follow these '2nd division' clubs in the future. Wake up and smell the coffee people and listen for once to those that were around for the first time this all happened.
josh
Guest
Blacktown have given so much to football in Australia, you couldn't possibly write just 1 book about it.
Freddy Jones
Guest
Great atmosphere at the Grand Final for NSW NPL Men's and U20s. In addition to the 3,496 there were those watching on NPL.TV.
Brendan
Roar Pro
NoMates, you should write another football article. Your first one got over a thousand views. The Roar could always do with more soccer content. EG: Something about your beloved Wellington Phoenix. Incidentally, I’ve tipped Macarthur to beat them on Wednesday (FFA Cup). Forgive me in advance! I genuinely like both teams.
Brendan
Roar Pro
A great question, Grem. One, which I’m sure, would have a hundred different responses from A-League fans. Harry Triguboff comes to mind, but then again, he leans more towards the NRL’s Wests Tigers.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Very clever! Having followed football for a while we certainly need people with profile and money to help the game - continuously. I wonder if there’s anyone out there who can help it take that next step that it almost took a few years ago?
Brendan
Roar Pro
As I submitted the article just before midnight on the Friday evening, I may have missed the allocated cut-off. Having said that, Blacktown won, so now the article reads like a retrospective piece. ... Written by a deluded man who got trapped in the space-time continuum.
Brendan
Roar Pro
All valid points, Marcel. As for the headline, it’s never been a strong point of mine, I’ll admit, & I’m open to ideas. For me, the content was more about the relationship between a hard-working man & his landscape. Blacktown was Frank’s lucky charm.
Brendan
Roar Pro
I agree, Frank’s got a long & fascinating football history behind him. Possibly Australia’s most triumphant immigrant story too, having funnelled his own funds into soccer. This country needs a strong cattle dog, to round up the other codes, asserting their authority. Granted, we have Frank to thank for the domestic competition. However, with great power, fans will also raise the question: Who will guard the guards?
Marcel
Guest
Toongabbie played out of Girraween Park which is a council ground. The club purchased land to build Gabbie Stadium, it was basically a swamp at the time. ...and Seniors + Federation Youth moved there and became Blacktown City....Juniors stayed at Girraween....for a long time they retained a feeder relationship... I'm not sure if there is any connection these days. I haven't been involved since the late 80s Seven Hills was mostly a junior club with no connection to the two others...they never played out of GS.
NoMates
Roar Rookie
Good story thanks.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Its interesting in the lists from the state leagues , you had Toongabie, Blacktown and Seven Hills in the state leagues at the same time. So If Toongabie became Blactown City, what were these other teams. Did they all share Gabbie stadium. Western Sydney was full of Britsh immigrants , where they the background of these clubs. Bobby Charlton played for Blacktown City in the NSL his second guest appearance after Newcastle KB.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
I dont get why you write the article after the match. The article on keepup was a pretty good preview and done at the right time. Blacktown City are in Seven Hills anyway, though no doubt Lowy would have been travelling past the place in his initial job as a delivery driver.
Marcel
Guest
For those same people that believe NPL clubs are the way to the promised land .....the crowd at last night's NSW grand final was 3496
Marcel
Guest
Curious headline.... Having personally been in involved in the formation of Blacktown City FC as an offshoot from Toongabbie SC I can assure you Uncle Frank has never had any involvement in the club. But like Grem I do thank him for his role in establishing the A-League...and as an Ayn Rand disciple I was perfectly comfortable with his centralised authority as an establishing business model.... democracy is a machine for generating the mediocre. The popular notion on this and other websites that a man of such eye watering wealth and influence was consumed with the idea of A-League power always bemused me. In reality the A-League can never have been more than an inconvenience for Frank Lowy ,businessman...a bit like being asked to do a shift at the school canteen. It was a testament to his love for the game that he embraced the role with vigour , commitment and a not insignificant amount of his own $. The League is in a much worse place without his contribution.
Grem
Roar Rookie
Nice little story. I’ve always been a Frank Lowey fan. He didn’t just love football he put his own money into it and grew clubs and the A League. There seemed to be a lot of jealousy by others directed at him. I was sorry to see his family no longer involved. While he had some connection to the game, it felt protected. The main criticism of him was he ruled it like a dictator – I believe, like many others, that he needed to. What a mess he had to grow the A League from and he did. The game was at it’s best when Frank was there. My only criticism was – as the game grew, that’s when he needed to start to soften his leadership. I can only imagine how good the game may have become if others like James Johnson and Danny Townsend we’re able to work with him. Thanks Frank