Author: George Kouroumalis

In participating, the campers will each receive a Sports Camp Australia Nike Football T-Shirt, a camp certificate, daily evaluation tips, prizes and a South Melbourne membership that will give you access to all of our home matches in 2015.

Click here to register now 

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce that SMFC TV will be screened on Foxtel’s Aurora Channel (Channel 183) throughout the 2015 season.

Commencing tonight (26 February), SMFC TV will be screened every Thursday evening at 8PM and is proudly sponsored by both Bob Jane T-Marts and the Bank of Sydney.

Tonight’s show will feature highlights of last Thursday night’s NPL Victoria opening round victory against the Oakleigh Cannons at Lakeside Stadium. Also featured on the show will be post-match interviews with players and Head Coach Chris Taylor in what was a great night for the Club in front of 3523 fans.

Tonight’s episode also profiles all of the new players in the 2015 Senior Squad, allowing all South Melbourne fans the chance to get to know them.

If you have any feedback and suggestions, please email the media team on multimedia@smfc.com.au.

South Melbourne FC is invite all youngsters to join the South Melbourne FC Skills Acquisition Program for the 2015 season.

Open to boys who were born in 2004 and 2005, the trials will be held on the following dates, with players expected to attend all three sessions:

1st March
8th March
17th March

Trials will be held on each of these days at Princes Park in Caulfield commencing at 6pm and concluding at 7.15pm. Those in attendance however will be asked to register by 5.30pm.

To register your interest please visit
http://form.jotform.co/form/50458330885864

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Bank of Sydney has joined the Club as a Principal Partner and as the Club’s official Bank Sponsor for the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season. The Bank of Sydney Logo will also appear on the back of the South Melbourne FC shirt.

President Leo Athanasakis thanked Bank of Sydney for supporting the South Melbourne FC, highlighting the Bank’s numerous initiatives and commitment to various community groups in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide.

“We share a similar heritage and history,” said Athanasakis, “we are proud to place the Bank of Sydney name on the South Melbourne jersey.”

Ms Julie Elliott, CEO of Bank of Sydney said, “We are very proud to be the Principal Partner of South Melbourne FC for the 2015 season. The Club, with a remarkable record of accomplishments over 55 years, has a large number of supporters especially from the Australian-Greek community, which is part of the heritage and culture of our Bank.”

Elliott added, “It gives us a great pleasure to contribute and support sport activities that bring people together and promote harmony in our society.”

“We wish the South Melbourne FC a successful year and we look forward to building a long term partnership with the Club,” concluded Elliott.

Bank of Sydney with local branches in Spring Street, Oakleigh, Northcote, Brunswick as well as Doncaster, aims to offer its customers true and personal relationship banking as well as competitive products and services to help them reach their financial goals.

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the return of the 2015 SMFC PS4 NPL Tipping Competition.

Prizes for the top three lucky winners include:

First Prize:
SMFC soccer ball signed by the 2015 Senior Squad

Second Prize:
2016 Adult Membership

Third Prize:
2 tickets to the 2016 SMFC Jersey Presentation Night

Its easy to enter, and lots of fun. In each round you will tip for a home win, draw, or away win. You will get 1 point for a correct win or 1 point for a correct draw. The current round will close 1 hour before the first game of each round is to be played. If you forget to submit your tips in for a round, you will get the lowest score of the round minus 1 point. If you start late, you will be allocated the average points of the competition.

To enter the tipping competition, please go to http://tipping.smfc.com.au/

South Melbourne FC is extremely pleased to announce the renewal of its partnership with Beachcomber Cafe for another season. The Beachcomber logo will feature on the back of the playing shirt for the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season in what marks the fourth year of the partnership between Beachcomber Cafe and South Melbourne FC.

Located at the St Kilda Sea Baths, Beachcomber goes beyond the usual expectations of a casual cafe experience. Spectacular beach side views, a sprawling outdoor dining area and a gourmet menu means that Beachcomber Cafe showcases St Kilda’s food culture at its best. Delicious meals are served with a touch of the Mediterranean and is set in the perfect location with its uninterrupted view of Port Phillip Bay. In addition, Beachcomber Cafe is open from morning until late in the evening and is perfect for a morning pit stop, a lazy afternoon or to watch the sun set over the water.

Beachcomber Cafe has hosted many South Melbourne FC events such as the Jersey Presentation Night, the Most Valuable Player Award, Junior Presentation events as well as hosting live broadcasts of both World Cup qualifiers.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President Leo Athanasakis commented that “we are proud to go into a commercial partnership for a fourth year with Beachcomber Café. The Paraskevas brothers have been iconic
St Kilda operators for up to forty years and are strong supporters of South Melbourne FC. I implore all our fellow sponsors, supporters and stakeholders of the Club to support Beachcomber Cafe as we look to defend our Championship in 2015.”

The 2015 SMFC Jersey Presentation event will be held at Beachcomber Cafe on March 27th, with more details about this event to be released at a later date.

South Melbourne FC is excited to launch its SMFC Corporate Membership for the new 2015 National Premier League Victoria season.

The benefits offered as part of the Membership include the following:

• 2015 SMFC Membership card
• Exclusive access to the President’s Room in the Corporate Suite
• Business to business networking opportunities
• Finger food and refreshments (beer, wine and soft drink only)
• One Voting right (for both SMH Club Ltd and SMFC Ltd)
• Business Listing on the official Club website
• Invitation to SMFC in Business networking events

Total Investment – $330 including GST

To purchase your 2015 Corporate Membership, please contact the club office on 9645 9797 or multimedia@smfc.com.au.

South Melbourne FC advises that the Club’s annual Family Day and Membership event will be held on Saturday 14 February at Ange Postecoglou Field 18 (Youth Pavilion) between 11AM and 2PM.

The Family Day provides SMFC supporters with the opportunity to purchase or pick up their 2015 membership ahead of the first home match against the Oakleigh Cannons on Thursday 19 February.

The 2015 South Melbourne Senior Squad will be unveiled and Head Coach Chris Taylor will be in attendance as well as SMFC TV filming the event.

The SMFC and Yarraville Glory Sub Juniors will be showcased with some small-sided gala games.

There will be other football-related activities on the day:

– A Jumping Castle will also be available for younger fans
– A blow up “Mini Soccer Pitch” will give young fans an opportunity to take on some of our seniors.
– A SMFC Cross Bar Challenge will pit you against our senior team, with the winner receiving a prize.

The Family Day is a FREE event.

The pavilion canteen will have food and drinks available on the day as well. It promises to be a day filled with fun activities!

We hope to see everyone there!

Article Courtesy of Football Federation Victoria

Football Federation Victoria is delighted to announce the inaugural FFV Community Shield will be held on Friday, February 13, 2015 at Knights Stadium.

The inaugural FFV Community Shield will be contested by Dockerty Cup champions Melbourne Knights, and NPL Victoria champions South Melbourne.

It will be held in support of World Vision’s One Goal program, which aims to leverage the power of football to tackle malnutrition in Asia and Australia. Approximately 200 million children across Asia are affected by chronic malnutrition, with more than 18 million of these affected by increasing over-nutrition (obesity).

FFV is also privileged to announce World Vision’s One Goal program as its corporate social responsibility (CSR) partner, and is honoured to welcome four-time UEFA Champions League winner and UEFA Global Ambassador for Diversity and Change,Clarence Seedorf, who is in Australia in support of One Goal.

FFV CEO Peter Gome said it was imperative for FFV to help raise awareness of the two extremes of nutrition issues in the region.

“Football is such a powerful tool to drive change across the world,” Gome said.

“This is a chance for FFV to educate fans, create awareness, and hopefully encourage better health in the football family for years to come.”

As part of its support, FFV will donate a portion of every ticket sold to the Community Shield to One Goal, which will go directly towards combating malnutrition and over-nutrition both in Australia, and across Asia.

Clarence Seedorf UEFA Global Ambassador for Diversity and Change said it was encouraging to meet young people in Australia who were taking up football and living a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s great to be in Australia in support of One Goal on behalf of UEFA so I can help shed light on the vast problem of malnutrition and obesity across Asia and Australia,” Seedorf said.

“I urge all Australians to get behind One Goal and learn how you and your local football clubs can join the movement and make a difference.”

World Vision chief executive Tim Costello said World Vision was thrilled that Football Federation Victoria was joining the growing One Goal community.

“World Vision is extremely grateful for the wonderful support of the Football Federation of Victoria as the money raised would go towards our projects in Asia and Australia that help combat malnutrition,” Costello said.

“We believe One Goal has great potential to unite football fans around the world to come together to tackle the growing problem of malnutrition and to encourage young people to eat nutritious food and live a healthy and active lifestyle.”

Both Melbourne Knights and South Melbourne are powerhouses of Victorian football, having won two and four National Soccer League titles respectively, as well as scores of other trophies.

South Melbourne won the inaugural NPL Victoria title last year, and reached the semi-finals of the PS4 NPL Finals series before being defeated by the eventual winners MetroStars.

Melbourne Knights sealed their spot in the Community Shield by winning the Dockerty Cup against the odds, in a season that was marred by horrific injuries to a number of players in their first team.

Both sides will be hoping to add the inaugural FFV Community Shield, supporting One Goal, to their trophy cabinets in 2015.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Gale as the Club’s Technical Director for the 2015 National Premier League Victoria season.

Since arriving in Australia from Swindon in the United Kingdom, Sean has worked in numerous football roles. He worked for community clubs North Caulfield and Elwood City and has also been a coach at the Coerver Academy.

Sean has also been involved with Football Federation Australia as part of the FFA Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) for girls and the FFA Community Course Presentations. This has allowed him to play an active role in continuing to educate the football community about the game.

Currently, Sean is the Head of Soccer at St Michael’s Grammar School in St Kilda and holds an AFC FFA C License.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Sean was elated to join South Melbourne FC and having the chance to work alongside Chris Taylor. “With the guidance and support of Head of Football Chris Taylor, I am looking to build on the solid foundation that our youth program has already achieved, from the sub-junior program through to the NPL. It is a
privilege and an honour to be appointed to this position at a club with such a great history and such passionate supporters. I couldn’t be more excited about the upcoming season.”

Football Director and Youth Coordinator Andrew Mesourouni was also pleased with the appointment. “Sean is a young and enthusiastic person who has had a wealth of experience across the game in this country. His willingness to involve all members of our coaching staff and his ability to coordinate the program for us ensures that we can continue to move forward. We feel very confident that the football side of the Club is in safe hands with Chris Taylor, Sasa Kolman and Sean Gale.”

We would like to congratulate Sean Gale on his appointment and wish him the very best in his new role in 2015.