Western United proposed .\ League Mens matches moved away from Lakeside

South Melbourne FC rejects the plans of Western United FC to use Lakeside Stadium

South Melbourne FC notes the announcement by Western United FC of its intention to use Lakeside Stadium for a select number of games in the 2021/22 A-League Season.

Lakeside Stadium and Albert Park is the home of South Melbourne FC and has been for over sixty years. Our licencing arrangements with Lakeside Stadium and the State Government ensures it will remain this way for decades to come.

South Melbourne FC has a stadium, we have a home and we are proud to call it our own.

Executives at Lakeside Stadium and Melbourne Sports Centres have advised South Melbourne FC that contrary to the announcement made by Western United FC, there is no written or signed agreement in place with Western United FC or the Australian Professional Leagues to allow Western United FC access to Lakeside Stadium for the 2021/22 A-League Season.

South Melbourne considers Western United to be a direct competitor in the Melbourne, Victorian and Australian football market. Their acceptance to the A-League was based largely on the commitment to having a purpose-built football stadium constructed in Melbourne’s west. It is approaching three years since the A-League expansion clubs were announced and construction works have still not commenced. Western United’s use of Lakeside Stadium is not acceptable and South Melbourne FC will vigorously oppose any such plans.

South Melbourne can confirm that it will be exercising all rights to prevent Western United FC from playing A-League matches at Lakeside Stadium.

The club will provide its members, players, parents and supporters with further updates as information is available .

South drawn to play Melbourne City in FFA Cup

Time and details to be announced

Ausbil confirmed as 2021 Principal Partner

South Melbourne FC would like to welcome Ausbil as a Principal Partner for the 2021 NPL Victoria season.

Ausbil Investment Management Limited is a leading Australian investment manager. Established in April 1997, Ausbil’s core business is the management of Australian and global equities for major superannuation funds, institutional investors, master trust and retail clients.

South fans will be able to see the Ausbil branding on signage and on the scoreboard at Lakeside Stadium during our home matches throughout the season.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Director Denis Durand, along with President Nicholas Maikousis welcomed Ausbil to the South family. “We are thrilled to welcome the Ausbil team to the club for the 2021 season. We look forward to working with them throughout the 2021 season and thank them for their support of our club”

For more information visit www.ausbil.com.au

SMFC welcome Bank of Sydney as 2021 Principal Partner

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 Partner for the 2021 National Premier League Victoria season.

Bank of Sydney has local branches in Melbourne CBD, Oakleigh and Northcote and offers its customers true and personal relationship banking as well as competitive products and services to help them reach their financial goals.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Club President Nicholas Maikousis welcomed Bank of Sydney back to the SMFC family for the upcoming season. “Bank of Sydney have been tremendous partners of our club throughout the past decade and we are thrilled to have them back on board for this season. We thank Miltos Michaelas (CEO), Theo Kelidis (State Manager – Vic) and their team for their continued support.”

We are very proud to renew our support and partnership with SMFC for another year. We cherish the Club’s history that brought the community together for over 50 years and we are pleased to support them as they continue to grow. We wish them best of luck for this year’s National Premier League Victoria,’ said Miltos Michaelas, CEO of Bank of Sydney.

South Melbourne leading the way developing blind footballers

The journey to the Paris 2024 Paralympics kicked off last weekend for blind footballers in Australia with the launch of the National Para 5s Series.

The partnership between Australian Blind Football and Paralympics Australia will bring together the best blind footballers from around the country four times a year for national training camps. The camps, based in Melbourne, will feature players from five clubs, the largest of which is locals South Melbourne FC.

The South Melbourne FC all abilities football program commenced at the Albert Park based club in 2018 when Chairman Bill Papastergiadis signed off on the formation of a powerchair football team. Fast forward three years and the program has been expanded to embrace blind and vision impaired footballers.

“Our aim is to offer the most diverse and inclusive All Abilities Football program in Australia. Our program embraces footballers of any age, any gender, any culture and any ability. The announcement of the National Para 5s Series will enable our blind footballers to play for and represent South Melbourne on the national stage” Papastergiadis said.

The squad trains regularly in Albert Park under the guidance of coach Ankit Singh with the support of Australian Blind Football. The link between blind football and South Melbourne extends further with former club NSL footballer Sebastian Petrovic serving as the only internationally qualified blind football referee in Australia and regularly helping mentor the clubs’ blind footballers.

“We are able to utilise the club facilities and the experience of our coaching team to provide our blind footballers with a fantastic development opportunity. They train side-by-side with vision imapaired players on Sunday mornings preparing for the national training camps. Our program is designed for everyone however and we welcome those who are looking for some exercise or something new to try. Together with Football Victoria and Blind Sports Victoria we offer free introductory sessions bringing new participants to the game” said Skip Fulton, Football Coordinator of the All Abilities Program.

Featuring three members of the Australian national team, the South Melbourne squad played an exhibition match against Olympic FC from Brisbane as part of the announcement in front of the media on Sunday. The National Para 5s Series will provide the first opportunity for competitive blind football in Australia bringing together South Melbourne, Olympic FC, Adelaide Comets and Perth SC.

“I am incredibly proud of the program we have put together and the opportunities it provides to so many members of our footballing community. We are building on sixty years of football heritage and it is exciting to see South Melbourne competing on the national stage in this form of the world game.” said club President Nicholas Maikousis.

The National Para 5s Series will commence in June with South Melbourne FC taking on Olympic FC in the first fixture.

2021 SMFC Community Raffle

Raffle Ticket Sales

Tickets for the 2021 SMFC Community Raffle are available to be purchased from the Club on Match Days, at training sessions in Albert Park and from players/parents and club officials.

Tickets are $20 each

Raffle Prizes & Winners

1. $5,000 voucher at chosen retail outlet     –     Winner: Nerida Hutchison
2. Travel voucher to Greece (valued at $2,000) supplied by Consolidated Travel     –     Winner: Georgia Van Dooren
3. 4 night Daylesford Escape Accommodation (valued at $1,500) supplied by Sitetech Solutions     –     Winner: Shark Glass
4. Framed Limited Edition SMFC Anniversary Jersey, numbered 10 of 100 (valued at $1,000)     –     Winner: Andrew Mesourouni
5. 1 night accommodation package at Bayview Eden Hotel including breakfast for two (valued at $750)    –     Winner: Jen Martinico
6. XBox plus Ultimate Game Pass (valued at $550) supplied by Cloudstrike Telstra Oakleigh    –     Winner: Marijo Bosnjak
7. Essential Oils Hamper (valued at $450) supplied by MrOils.com.au    –     Winner: George Theonas
8. Glassware Parker Gallery (valed at $380) supplied by Sitetech Solutions    –     Winner: Manni Nadal
9. BenQ Speaker System (valued at $300)    –     Winner: Nicholas Katsikas
10. Dinner Voucher to Gradi Italisn Restaurant at Crown Melbourne (valued at $150)    –     Winner: Agatha Gourlias

Raffle Draw and Notification

Please note the raffle draw date due to be drawn on the 24/4, will be drawn on the 4/5, FA cup night, due to parents not being able to hand in their sold tickets on time. Please make sure all books sold are handed back to your team manager this week. All winners will be notified

All winners will be contacted directly and notifications will be posted on this page on our website and communicated via our social media channels.

Raffle Proceeds

Funds raised in the 2021 SMFC Community Raffle will be used to support these programs

Powerchair Football

Powerchair football is a modified version of football (soccer) for powerchair (electric wheelchair) users. It is played on a regulation basketball court using a 33cm ball. There are two teams of four players (including the goal keeper).

South Melbourne FC has two teams and we compete in the Victorian Powerchair League which is managed by Powerchair Sports Victoria. The club tracvels to compete in the Australian Club Championships in Sydney each year. The Victorian Powerchair League is running from February to June in 2021.

We welcome all ages, all genders and all abilities to join us. You can read more information about this program and how to participate on our Powerchair Football page. You can keep up-to-date with the teams activities on their Facebook page.

Blind Football

Blind Football (B1) is an internationally recognised sport played at the Paralympics. It is played outdoors by athletes who are totally blind (B1) on a 40m x 20m pitch with side kickboards and an audible ball. There are two teams of five; four outfield players and a goalkeeper. The outfield players wear eye-shades to equal their sight and the goalkeeper can be fully or partially sighted.

South Melbourne FC has a blind football team which trains and competes in the National Para 5’s series scheduled to be introduced in June 2021. Players also attend National Training Camps held four times a year to earn a place in the Australian Paralympic squad.

We welcome anyone who is blind, of all ages, all genders and all abilities to join us. You can read more information about this program and how to participate on our Blind Football page. You can keep up-to-date with the teams activities on their Facebook page.

Vision Impaired Football

Partially sighted/vision impaired football (B2/B3) is played by athletes who are vision impaired with rules similar to futsal with particular attention towards ensuring equal light on the court and utilising a futsal ball that provides good contrast with the playing surface.

There is not currently a league for South Melbourne FC to compete in for vision impaired football. Our players train regularly to prepare themselves to represent Victoria in the Partially Sighted Futsal National Championships.

We welcome anyone who is vision impaired, of all ages, all genders and all abilities to join us. You can read more information about this program and how to participate on our Vision Impaired Football page. You can keep up-to-date with the teams activities on their Facebook page.

African Refugee Program

South Melbourne FC has a vision for the future and part of that vision needs emerging and dynamic young African Australian footballers. To do so the club has created a bursary program to assist these footballers in achieving their dreams.

This is part of the SMFC focus on community development that extends beyond football and reaches deep into the lives of community members ofVictoria’s culturally diverse communities.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm that forward Josh Barresi will be joining the club in the upcoming registration window for the 2021 NPL Victoria season.

He joins the club following a stint with Campbelltown in the South Australian NPL, where he played a pivotal role in the club reaching and winning the championship in 2020. This included scoring the opening goal in the Grand Final

Prior to this, he would be well known to South fans having played for both Bentleigh and Green Gully, including being part of the 2019 Championship winning squad for the Greens.

Barresi is a player who will add another versatile option anywhere in the front third. He can play as a striker, winger or in the creative midfield role just behind the attackers.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Senior Football Director Andrew Mesourouni was thrilled to have Josh on board for 2021. “Josh is an outstanding footballer who we hope can add creativity and another attacking threat to our front half. He has tasted success in the last two seasons and with that experience and wining mentality we are excited to welcome him to our squad.”

We look forward to seeing Josh in his new colours in a few weeks once the transfer period opens up.

Scoring on debut in the FFA Cup

On Saturday the Senior Men’s team travelled to Grange Reserve in Hoppers Crossing to take on Werribee City FC in the clubs first qualifying round for the 2021 FFA Cup

Coach Esteban Quintas provided a number of players with their competitive debut in the Senior Men’s team. Sasha Murphy and James Burgess both started on the pitch in the FFA cup qualifier and featured heavily throughout the fixture. A solid performance over the ninety minutes saw a robust defensive effort resulting in a cleansheet, Burgess being unbeaten in goal. Up front it was an attacking foray with constant attacks into the final third. Six times the ball found the net with Zac Bates leading the charge. Bates would score twice securing his brace and he was backed up by Henry Hore, Freddie Sey and skipper Brad Norton.

Off the bench, 17 year old young gun Yianni Panakos was the third player making his debut and he was thrown straight into the mix by Coach Quintas and Captain Norton. With the referee having blown the whistle for a penalty, Panakos was handed the responsiblity and honour of taking the spot kick. He slid the ball into the bottom right of the net and in doing so recorded name in the record books as having scored on debut for the Senior team.

Senior Team Manager Kris Peladrinos spoke to Panakos after the match, asking him to share his thoughts on the experience. “There’s no better feeling really than scoring a goal. Pre-seaon I got my first one in a friendly and now to get one in a competitive game really hits the heart. The instructions from Esteban prior to coming on to the pitch were just to be myself. Do my thing in the final third but also work hard defensively” he said.

Peladrinos also reflect on Panakos’ journey at the club indicating that he joined the club almost a decade ago. He started with the Under 9s and having been a consistent performer throughout the years in the NPL Youth program culminating as a member of the 2019 Championship winning Under 20s squad.

The 0-6 win over Werribee City FC in the FFA Cup qualifier progresses the club through to the next round. A mid-week fixture between April 26 and May 7 will be the next opportunity to share the ‘Magic of the Cup’. Football Victoria has not yet announced the date of the FFA Cup draw for Round 5 however it is expected to occur on Monday 12th April.