South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm Chris Marshall as our new Senior Football Advisor in 2016.

Over the past few seasons, Marshall has assisted Senior Coach Chris Taylor in a football performance role throughout training sessions and match days. He will continue this role in 2016 in addition to the newly created position.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, SMFC Senior Coach Chris Taylor was pleased with Marshall’s expanded role at the club. “Chris has been a vital member of the team over the past few seasons and has played his part in our on-field successes, we are therefore very pleased that he is staying with us and extending his duties to be more “hands on” in 2016. He has a wealth of football knowledge both in Australia and Europe and the senior coaching staff and playing squad look forward to working with Chris as part of our team again this season.”

We wish Chris all the best in his new role.

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that the Australia-China Youth Association (ACYA) will be a Community Partner in 2016.

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that Bob Jane T-Marts has re-committed to the club and will be a Platinum Partner in 2016.

The Bob Jane T-Marts brand has been closely associated with SMFC for many years, with the Lakeside Stadium known as Bob Jane Stadium from the mid 1990s until 2011. The partnership was renewed in 2013 when Bob Jane T-Marts joined SMFC as a Principal Partner and has since been the Major Sponsor of SMFC TV (Channel 31/Aurora Channel) and SMFC TV (online).

Since 2014, SMFC has worked with Bob Jane T-Marts in promoting the Fatality Free Friday campaign and will continue to do so in 2016. As an independent Australian business, Bob Jane T-Marts has a national network of franchised and company owned tyre retail stores, making them Australia’s largest independent tyre retailer.

SMFC Operations Manager George Kouroumalis spoke to smfc.com.au about the exciting news. “I want to thank National Marketing Manager Zsuzsa Zalatnai and her team for their commitment and passion towards what has been and will continue to be a very productive partnership. Bob Jane T-Marts has been a big part of the success of SMFC TV, with their continual sponsorship and support ensuring that we have a quality product for TV and our online YouTube channel. We look forward to working with Bob Jane T-Marts once again in 2016.”

We once again thank Bob Jane T-Marts for the support in 2016.

South Melbourne FC welcomes STA Travel as a Gold Partner for the 2016 season. STA Travel is known as one of the world’s largest travel companies for students and young people.

In beginning its newly established partnership with SMFC, STA has already assisted with the recent travel arrangements for two of our Youth teams to Madrid over the last ten days. STA has also assisted with arranging the Senior Men for their pre-season trip to Sydney next Friday and will assist in any potential interstate and overseas trips in the future.

2016 SMFC members can expect the following benefits from the partnership:

• Special SMFC only pricing through STA Travel
• Dedicated SMFC email address and telephone number through STA
• Access to SMFC Everyday Rewards Program, which includes access to STA’s member rewards benefits. Instead of the usual asking price of $30, this will cost South members $15 each and include discounts to hundreds of organisations and businesses
• Official travel partner of SMFC

Jeff King was delighted with the new partnership – “Our work with SMFC has given us a unique insight into a club that has a history of community involvement and promotion of grassroots sport at all levels. We are proud to be working with an organisation that so strongly aligns with our STA Travel values, and look forward to progressing our relationship, offering additional benefits to the dedicated members of SMFC.”  

SMFC Director of Sales Nick Maikousis spoke with smfc.com.au about the new partnership. “I am really excited that STA Travel has joined us as a Gold Partner. They are a very well-known brand throughout not only Australia but the world and the partnership can only be a beneficial one for us. We encourage our members – especially the younger ones – to use STA Travel for any future travel arrangements.”

To purchase your SMFC Everyday Rewards card from STA, please email the club at multimedia@smfc.com.au.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to launch its membership campaign ahead of the 2016 National Premier League Victoria season.

The “We are South Melbourne” slogan will again be used for the 2016 membership campaign and will feature prominently throughout the Club’s marketing strategy for the new season. The slogan has been used throughout the past two seasons and has become familiar and widely used by our supporters, staff, players, corporate partners and the extended football public.

We have continued to keep our simplified membership packages and have frozen prices for the 2016 season. Full season memberships gain you entry into of all our NPL Victoria home-controlled matches at Lakeside Stadium, plus all of our home-controlled Dockerty Cup fixtures, including the preliminary rounds of the FFA Cup until the Round of 32.

With both male and female areas of our club joining as “One Club” in 2016, we are also able to offer access to all SMFC Senior Women’s home matches this season. Many double-header matches have been planned, with 2016 members able to watch both of our senior teams at Lakeside Stadium.

Whether you attend every single match or follow SMFC from afar, there are several membership packages available that enables everyone to connect with us.

For those who cannot attend matches, simply sign up to the FREE online membership to show your commitment.

It is very important that you support us by purchasing your membership. We want success both on and off the park and we are aiming to increase and broaden our membership more than we did in 2015.

We are South Melbourne!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

Two South Melbourne junior teams are about to leave for the trip of a lifetime, with 25 of our extremely fortunate young footballers about to embark on a ten day tour of Madrid.

The boys (aged between 11 and 15) will play five matches as part of the tour, including games against Spanish La Liga sides Getafe, Rayo Vallecano and Atlético Madrid, whilst also testing themselves against the Spanish national youth team equivalent to their age group. Their fifth opponent is one that all dreams are made out of, with the boys due to play against the might of Real Madrid.

In addition to enjoying the privilege of playing against some of the world’s best youth players, our boys will also spend their ten days on tour training like professional youth footballers. They will train in state-of-the-art facilities and be coached by some of both Spain and Real Madrid’s best coaches.

As part of the tour, the boys will also visit the two biggest stadiums in Madrid in the Vicente Calderón Stadium (Atlético Madrid) and the breathtaking Santiago Bernabéu (Real Madrid). They will also watch three La Liga matches, including seeing Real Madrid play at home in the Santiago Bernabéu.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, SMFC Technical Director Strati Xynas could not wait for the trip. “We are extremely fortunate that our footballing relationships throughout Europe enables our youth players to be part of this wonderful experience. To spend time in a professional environment, in world class facilities and to be coached by such highly regarded international coaches will be a brilliant experience for each of the junior players going on the tour.”

SMFC President Leo Athanasakis also spoke with smfc.com.au. “Our youngsters are about to embark on a very special once-in-a-lifetime experience. We will be able gain an invaluable insight into professional European football clubs. We are hoping to learn from each of the clubs we meet and possibly implement various aspects of what we will learn into our own club in the future.”

Keep an eye on SMFC social media and our official website for ongoing updates as they happen.

We wish the boys a safe trip to Madrid and hope they enjoy this magnificent opportunity!

SMFC is delighted to welcome Haymes Paint who have joined us as Gold Partners for the 2016 NPL season.

Haymes Paint are proud to be supporting SMFC with its flagship store located in the heart of South Melbourne. Australian made & family run for over 80 years, the team at Haymes are dedicated to providing superior paint, service and have a passion for crafting quality products.

As part of the sponsorship Haymes Paint would like to welcome all SMFC members into the Haymes family by providing them with a 15 percent discount. This discount is available all year round on Haymes manufactured products through our 10 company owned stores, Victoria wide. Simply bring your membership in store to be signed up for this exclusive offer.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President Leo Athanasakis was pleased with the new partnership. “We very excited about the new partnership and feels that a company with Haymes’ longstanding Australian owned and operated history is a great fit for South”.

Haymes Paintright Southbank
224 Normanby Road, Southbank 3006
9272 7600

Please visit www.haymespaint.com.au/find-a-store/ for details on the remaining participating stores.

Haymes Paintright Dandenong
Haymes Paintright Eltham
Haymes Paintright Ringwood
Haymes Paintright South Morang
Haymes Paint Geelong
Haymes Paintright Bendigo
Haymes Paint Ballarat
Haymes Paintright Mildura

South Melbourne FC is excited to launch the highly anticipated SMFC in Business Corporate Networking Group ahead of the 2016 season.

The formulation of the group has been twelve months in the making. The aim is to connect like-minded individuals and businesses that support our club in the season ahead.

In 2016, a tiered partnership approach has been implemented, with each category being defined by an appropriate level under the SMFC in Business model. This ensures that all of our Corporate Partners benefit by becoming a member of this new initiative.

There will be networking opportunities in our fully catered Corporate Area at Lakeside Stadium during our 13 home NPL Victoria matches at Lakeside Stadium. Furthermore, we will also be hosting other events external to our football matches and without a football focus, aiming to bring our SMFC inBusiness partners together.

Over 60 businesses have already committed to SMFC for 2016, a 200% increase on our 2015 record. All of our partners will be announced via our media channels throughout January and February.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, Head of SMFC Corporate Sales Nicholas Maikousis was excited about the launch of the new group. “We have worked tirelessly over the last twelve months to formulate a model that caters to our growing Corporate base. It is testament to the growth of our club that we have already been able to welcome over sixty corporate partners for the 2016 season. We cannot wait to officially welcome them all into the extendedSMFC Family.”

SMFC President Leo Athanasakis echoed Maikousis’ thoughts. “We have been blown away by the amount of support that we have received so far for 2016. With our new model and our increased off-field staff, we are very excited to commence this journey. The aim is to further continue to grow our club off the field as we have done over the past few seasons.”

To register your interest or to become a SMFC in Business member, please contact our Operations Manager George Kouroumalis via email at multimedia@smfc.com.au. Memberships commence at $500 + GST and we have various packages on offer for consideration.

South Melbourne FC is very pleased to welcome Sportsmart as our Official Equipment Partner and Platinum Partner for the next three seasons.

Sportsmart prides itself on being the best at servicing the sporting needs of all Victorians. Sportsmart is a family-run business, with four Melbourne stores in Northcote, Moorabbin, Casey and Kilsyth that all offer the best-valued sporting goods.

Sportsmart will provide SMFC with football-specific equipment and vouchers over the next three seasons and will also give our players the opportunity to purchase exclusive and discounted items in any of their Melbourne stores. SMFC members and fans will be included in the Sportsmart Club Advantage Program, which saves members money as well as helping our club to acquire further equipment through each purchase.

Speaking with smfc.com.au, Sportsmart Director Gerrard Woods was excited about joining the SMFC family. “We are excited to join forces with the most iconic club in Victorian football. With this partnership, we are committed to assisting SMFC and we look forward to welcoming all SMFC players and supporters into any of our four stores. With further exciting news on the horizon, we look forward to getting started in what will no doubt be a very productive relationship.”

Nicholas Maikousis, Director of Corporate Sales offered his thoughts on the new partnership. “I would personally like to thank Gerrard and his team for throwing their support behind all our teams (men, women and youth) for the next three seasons. Our club has grown so much over the last 18 months that naturally our requirements have also grown. Having such a family-orientated and accessible partner to assist our players and supporters with football-related equipment is tremendous.”

Sportsmart will also receive the naming rights to the SMFC NPL Youth Player of the Week in 2016, which acknowledges a future star of ours every week.

We thank Sportsmart for their commitment to us and cannot wait to commence our partnership in 2016.