Tuesday, 11 May 2010 1:28 PM
South Melbourne FC will be honoured tonight at the 2010 World Football Gala to be held at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London.
As part of the annual football awards which are conducted by International Football Federation of History and Statistics (IFFHS) on behalf of FIFA, the Club of the Century from each confederation is to be honoured. South Melbourne FC has been awarded the highly prestigious award of Club of the Century for the Oceania Confederation. The other winners are:
- Europe – Real Madrid CF (Spain)
- South America – CA Penarol Montevideo (Uruguay)
- Africa- Asante Kotoko FC Kumasi (Ghana)
- Asia – Al-Hilal FC Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
- Central and North America – CD Saprissa San Juan de Tibas San Jose (Costa Rica)
- Oceania – South Melbourne FC (Australia)
At the Gala event, each club of the century will be presented with its award, including a golden trophy and a certificate, by a world-famous footballer. The event will also be attended by a number of captains of national teams which have qualified for the World Cup 2010 and legends of world football such Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Jose Mourihno (Inter Milan Head Coach), Vicente Del Bosque (Spain National Head Coach), Iker Cassilas (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Josep Guardiola (Barcelona Head Coach), and members of the FIFA Executive Committee.
As part of the World Football Gala, a number of awards are also to be given. A list of these awards are as follows:
– The World‘s best Referee 2009
– The World’s best National Coach 2009
– The World’s best Goalkeeper 2009
– The World‘s best Playmaker 2009
– The World’s Top Goal Scorer 2009
– The World’s best Club Coach 2009
– The World’s best Top Division Goal Scorer 2009
– The World‘s most effective Top Division Goal Scorer 2009
– Club World Ranking 2009
– The strongest National League in the World 2009
South Melbourne FC President, Leo Athanasakis, Major Sponsor George Parthimos from miRoamer, Board Member Tony Margaritis, along with playing legends Paul Trimboli and Jimmy Armstrong have travelled to London to accept the award on behalf of the Club.
During the 20th century, South Melbourne FC were:
- Winners of the 1999 Oceania Confederation Club Championship.
- Finalists at the 2000 World Club Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
- Four times national champions of Australia.
- Eight times state championships of Victoria.
- Winners of the NSL Cup on two occasions.
- Winners of numerous other tournaments and trophies.