Author: SMFC Media

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce a triple-header event planned for this Sunday 5 June, with the club’s Lakeside Stadium home set for a jam-packed day of football and fun.

SMFC in conjunction with Lakeside Stadium will host the Greek National Football Team in preparation for their upcoming Melbourne friendly against the Caltex Socceroos. The Greek team will participate in an open training session on the Lakeside Stadium pitch after the SMFC Senior Men’s and Women’s teams play their scheduled matches.

Sunday will begin with our Senior Women hosting Melbourne University at 1pm, followed by the Senior Men taking on Northcote City at 4:00pm. Both of our teams sit on top of their respective league ladders and both are hoping to maintain that position with wins on Sunday. This will also be the first time that the entire SMFC Family will be at one match day at the same time, with all players encouraged to support our senior teams as “One Club”. The double headers also allow the club to showcase its continued work at the forefront of women’s football and equality for both male and female participants.

The Greek team will then commence training at 7:30pm (approximately 90 minutes after the completion of our Senior Men’s match), with the training session open to the public to attend, chant and welcome the return of the Greek team to Melbourne.

SMFC is very proud that its home Lakeside Stadium continues to play host to international teams, having previously hosted UEFA Euro 2000 winners France (2001), UEFA Euro 2004 winners Greece (2006) and the Socceroos, who have used our home as their base for many Asian and FIFA World Cup Qualifiers over the years.

Entry is free for all 2016 SMFC members.

The Greek National Team will be taking on the Socceroos at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday 7 June 2016 at 8:00pm.

South Melbourne FC wishes to update its members, sponsors and the general football public on the recent progress made by the Club in regards to the incident against Melbourne Victory’s NPL team last Sunday 24 April 2016.

SMFC has so far positively identified 21 individuals connected to Melbourne Victory Football Club that organised an unprovoked attack on SMFC supporters in the designated SMFC grandstand early in the second half of last Sunday’s match.

Relevant information relating to these individuals, including names, footage and photographs have been given to Victoria Police, Melbourne Victory Football Club, Football Federation Victoria and Football Federation Australia.

SMFC thanks the many people – including non-SMFC members and supporters – for assisting with information that has helped lead to the 21 positive identifications. The Club continues to investigate the incident as there may be more individuals that need to be identified.

SMFC wishes to once again praise the actions of the SMFC supporters, who despite the unprovoked attack on them, remained in their allocated section to allow for security, parents, Board of Management, staff and club marshals to de-escalate the situation.

Senior Coach Chris Taylor, his football staff and the players have all condemned the actions of the Melbourne Victory supporters but have praised the SMFC supporters and give their best wishes to anyone that was affected by this appalling incident.

The players urge all SMFC supporters to continue their fantastic support of the team tonight against Avondale FC at Knights Stadium.

South Melbourne FC condemns the actions of a group of Melbourne Victory supporters at its recent NPL Victoria match against SMFC on Sunday 24 April at Lakeside Stadium.

South Melbourne FC prides itself on being a family orientated club and we are dismayed at the threatening actions against our fans and the club as a whole. SMFC had numerous junior players, parents, children, community partners and members of both our senior and junior women’s teams in attendance. There were also elderly SMFC life members who were in the area at the time.

In conjunction with Melbourne Victory, Victoria Police, Football Federation Victoria and the State Sport Centre Trust, South Melbourne FC undertook a major security review prior to the game and put numerous procedures in place that were agreed by all parties.

As part of this, supporters were to enter and be located into specific sections of the venue. South Melbourne fans were to be located in its traditional Bob Jane Grandstand and Victory opposite, coordinated by their supporter marshals and security personnel. These protocols were published online through both clubs’ websites, social media channels and other associated football related media, including FFV.

For the large part of the event, the atmosphere generated by both sets of fans was positive and entertaining. However, early in the second half a small group of Melbourne Victory active supporters infiltrated the South Melbourne supporter stand and proceeded to attack the South fans, as well as attempt to steal numerous items, including fan banners.

In the ensuing minutes, a large portion of the Melbourne Victory fans jumped the fences from their allocated grandstand and violated the restricted area by running across the playing arena to further attack the South fans. The actions that followed included further attempts to steal banners, personal belongings, SMFC TV media equipment and match equipment, including balls and the corner flag. This caused a short stoppage to the game of approximately one minute. At this point, the club also removed its SMFC Ball Boys from the arena due to safety concerns.

This incident was both provocative and violent and has caused distress among many of our key stakeholders, including sponsors, members, general supporters and players of all ages. The club is also aware that some members, including children, received medical attention at the scene and we will continue to support all affected by Sunday’s incident.

We want to specifically praise the actions of our own supporters, who despite the unprovoked attack on them, remained in their allocated section and allowed for security personnel, parents, board, staff and club marshals to de-escalate the situation and ensure that the fans remained safe. By doing so, our supporters continued to cheer on our team for the remainder of the match, which we won 1-0 to maintain our lead at the top of the NPL Victoria table.

The club is working with Victoria Police, State Sports Centre Trust, Melbourne Victory and Football Federation Victoria to gather the relevant evidence, including photos and video supplied by numerous sources, in support of potential criminal charges and infringements against the offenders. The club continues to support a zero tolerance approach on any anti social behaviour and will work with all parties to ensure that relevant action is taken.

The club will be making no further statement at this time and urges its supporters to continue supporting our club and forward any relevant material captured on Sunday to admin@smfc.com.au.

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise the following seating and security arrangements for Sunday’s match against Melbourne Victory (NPL).

SMFC members and supporters will be required to enter Lakeside Stadium through the traditional Gate 2 entry point and base themselves in the traditional SMFC grandstand as normal. This includes all SMFC players (all ages) and parents, as well as Football Federation Victoria (FFV) and Football Federation Australia accredited pass holders.

Melbourne Victory (NPL) supporters will enter through the Gate 1 entry point and be based in the opposite grandstand.

All patrons are reminded that any anti-social behaviour contravening the FFV and SMFC Match Day Code of Conduct will not be tolerated. There are several CCTV security cameras operating in and around Lakeside Stadium that will be used to identify anyone engaging in anti-social behaviour.

With a large crowd expected, SMFC is working closely with Melbourne Victory, FFV, Blue Thunder Security, the State Sports Centre Trust and Victoria Police to ensure a great afternoon for everyone at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday.

Sunday’s main match kicks off at 5pm, with our Under 20s match commencing at 2.30pm. SMFC will also be honouring the memory of the ANZACS in a short ceremony prior to the main game commencing.

Ticket Prices
Adults: $15
Concession: $8
Juniors (Under 14): Free
SMFC Members: Free

Please refer to the map below:

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the signings of Matthew Millar from Melbourne City and Philzgerald M’baka from Getafe in Spain.

Millar has joined the club following a season at Melbourne City, with the 18 year old utility playing many different roles in their Youth team. He made his debut for the Melbourne City A-League side in 2015 and scored a powerful header in their FFA Cup match against Perth Glory.

A former Australian youth international, Millar will be a midfield asset for Chris Taylor’s side, both in the middle and the right-hand side of the park.

Phitzgerald M’baka joins the club from Spanish La Liga side Getafe.

Born in France, the 23-year-old left-footed attacking midfielder arrives at Lakeside Stadium having come through the Paris Saint Germain academy. M’baka represented France at Youth level before being chosen to play for his native Congo in the 2017 African Nations Qualifying Campaign.

Football Director Nicholas Maikousis is confident that the new additions will add something extra to the squad. “I want to welcome both of these lads to our club. Matty Millar is a player we have had an eye on for the past few seasons and we believe he will fit in nicely with our squad. Philzgerald is a raw talent and we hope that he can translate his youth form in Europe to the NPL Victoria and other competitions that we feature in this season.”

We welcome both players to our club and wish them the best for 2016.

South Melbourne is pleased to announce its fifth signing of the summer, with Amadu Koroma joining the squad for the 2016 season.

The 24-year-old winger makes his way to Lakeside Stadium off the back of a strong season with Green Gully, in which he made 15 league starts.

While predominantly a midfield player, Koroma is also capable of playing a more advanced role and will add versatility and depth to Chris Taylor’s roster.

The Sierra Leone-born defender initially immigrated with his family to Tasmania where he begun his footballing career with the Glenorchy Knights.

His move to Victoria came in 2011, where he has since enjoyed spells at the Melbourne Knights, St Albans Saints and Port Melbourne.

South Melbourne FC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis spoke to smfc.com.au about our latest acquisition. “Amadu has completed a large part of the pre-season with our team as a trialist and has impressed everyone at the club with his work rate and form throughout our friendly matches.”

We welcome Amadu to the South Melbourne family and wish him the best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC advises that Under 20s coach Saša Kolman has accepted a coaching position at Spanish Segunda División (second division) side Deportivo Alavés. He will spend the next 18 months in Spain to continue his development as a professional coach and will return to the club following the completion of this interim role.

Kolman has been an integral part our Youth coaching program. We thank him for his valuable contribution and wish him well during the next phase of his coaching development. He recently spent time on the Madrid tour with our Under 12s and Under 14s and will commence work at Alavés next week.

SMFC has subsequently moved quickly to appoint Brian MacNicol as the new Under 20s coach. MacNicol has been involved in club football in both the old Victorian Premier League and the National Soccer League and played for Heidelberg United, Collingwood Warriors and Gippsland Falcons in the NSL. In 2015, he coached our Under 13 boys side to the NPL East Championship and is highly regarded as a Youth coach and developer of young men.

The Club will also announce further coaching appointments in the coming weeks.

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that Snap South Melbourne will join the SMFC Family as our newest Gold Partner for the 2016 NPL Victoria.

Snap South Melbourne offers a wide range of services, starting with traditional printing. Business stationery, posters and corporate reports can all be done with ease by their team of experts. They can also assist you with graphic design; including logo development, personalised design and artwork development.

Snap South Melbourne can also help you with online marketing services. Websites, email marketing and eNewsletters are just a few of the ways they can connect you to your clients online. Find out how easy and affordable online marketing can be with Snap by also mentioning that you are from South Melbourne FC.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Operations Manager George Kouroumalis was excited about the new partnership. “We are excited to have Snap South Melbourne on board for the 2016 season and are looking forward to working with Austin and his team on some exciting projects. We urge all of our fans to use their services if they require anything printed in 2016”.

We look forward to seeing the Snap South Melbourne signage at Lakeside Stadium for all of our home matches in 2016.

Are you, your family or your business interested in hosting an international player during the 2016 football season?

South Melbourne FC are seeking an accomodation provider to assist our international players with their accomodation needs for the 2016 season. This includes both our senior men and women’s teams.

For more information please email the club at admin@smfc.com.au

South Melbourne FC would like to wish all of our players, families, members, corporate partners, media, supporters and volunteers a Merry Christmas, and a safe and prosperous New Year.

A reminder that the Club office will be closed from Thursday 24 December and will re-open on Monday 11 January 2016.

We look forward to welcoming you back to Lakeside Stadium for another exciting season in 2016, with many new and exciting things happening around the club.

Stay tuned to smfc.com.au and our social media pages for the latest news as it happens ahead of the new season.