Category: News

To the SMFC Family,

2020 has been a challenging year to date, as we continue to face the unprecedented situation that has arisen due to the threat of Covid-19. We have been unable to meet our commitment of regular members forums & cancelled a South in Business event with 300 confirmed attendees, which included many new potential corporate partners.

I would like to thank the entire SMFC family, including members, players, sponsors, supporters and the wider football community for their patience regarding this matter.

Many would have seen announcements from Football Victoria or heard about some matters surrounding the safe return of football for the 2020 season. Just like each club in the state and around the globe, SMFC has not been immune from a vast array of issues directly associated with Covid-19.

Our Board has worked proactively through this period and considered a range of options for what we feel works best not only for our football club but for the game as a whole. The physical and mental health and wellbeing of our players, coaches and staff has been our priority. This together with the broader impact on the club, its members and supporters has seen the need to carefully balance and evaluate the implications of resuming football in 2020 or deferring competitive fixtures well into the new year.
Our primary purpose of SMFC as a football club is to play football, it is fundamentally why we exist, our DNA.  It is for this reason that we fully endorse the return of competitive football in Victoria as soon as possible and the resumption of the 2020 season. We owe this to our players, coaches, their families and of course, as a members-based football club, our members and supporters.   

We are working with Lakeside Stadium, Parks Victoria and Councils to share our training plans and resume training as soon as practical. This includes all NPL Juniors (both boys and girls), Miniroos and our NPL Senior Program (which includes Senior Men & Women, Under 20s, Under 19s and Under 18s).

The club welcomes the announcement yesterday by Football Victoria on proposed target dates for the resumption of competitive football. This is exciting news and with the anticipated easing of restrictions by the State Government we could once again be on the pitch a month from now.

Football Victoria is planning for the Senior Women’s football to resume in late June or early July with the potential for a reduced season fixture. Our Women’s football department is planning for this with the squad looking forward to getting on pitch and playing competitive football.

Football Victoria is hopeful for Senior Men’s football to resume in July but acknowledges there are a number of complexities to be worked through. The Club has been involved in a series of meetings of key stakeholders including Football Victoria, the AAFC and fellow NPL Victoria clubs. While some clubs have been apprehensive about resuming football, we are fully committed about completing the 2020 season. We have outlined this position on numerous occasions in our meetings to date. We continue to work with all stakeholders to assist Football Victoria in developing a framework under which every club can play, prosper & manage their own affairs with however an underlying level of protection.

Some of the considerations we have canvassed at these meetings include the following:

• Continued streaming of all NPL Men’s and matches. This could extend to NPL 2 and NPL 3.
• Clear guidelines to be developed by Football Victoria for return to play scenarios, including appropriate risk management for all participants. This has already been done for training purposes.
• No relegation from any of the NPL leagues which will allow clubs who can no longer field a strong squad to promote young footballers without the fear of being relegated.
• We are open to the concept of Promotion from NPL 2 and NPL 3 to remain, continuing to embrace aspirational football and provide any club to strive to be the best it can be. 
• Ability for all clubs to fairly renegotiate player payments due to reduced revenue from gate takings, canteen and sponsorship revenue.
• We are flexible regarding transfer periods.
• Reduction in participation fees & other costs controlled by the Federation to assist clubs maintain their cash flow during this period.
• Any other Government support 

In an era of uncertainty and high anxiety, football can play a key role in assisting society to rebuild. Football brings joy to many people around the globe and our club is no different. While we strongly believe that football will return with our members being able to attend matches later in the year, we are also committed to bringing the games direct to our fans through the Football Victoria live streaming services and our very own SMFC TV media team, just as we have done for the past decade. 

Further to this, SMFC will be holding its own members forum in June once the second phase of restrictions are lifted and an appropriate number of members are allowed to be seated in the 1959 Bar and Grill.

As a club, our intention is to resume training over the next week, with our Senior Men’s team to start on the weekend and our Senior Women’s and juniors to follow in the coming weeks. The club will continue to keep up its correspondence with all of our key stakeholders over the next few weeks as football returns.

Yours in Football

Nicholas Maikousis
SMFC President

OVERVIEW

A fantastic opportunity has appeared at South Melbourne FC for a Head Coach of U15s & U16s Junior Boy’s side for this season. 

We are a club that has ambitions to progress and has process in place to become the best Junior development club in Australia.

You will work closely with a qualified Pro Licence Technical Director, who will Mentor you and help you develop coaching skills in line with clubs philosophy and playing style.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS OF THE ROLE AS COACH:

• To provide a professional coaching environment
  
• To have ability to understand and transfer the concepts proposed by the Academy Methodology
• To create an envir​onment that allows for development of playing philosophy
• To communicate effectively with players
• To provide support, dedication and encouragement to succeed
• To attend training sessions, be punctual and committed
• To work hard to improve all areas of your coaching
• To adhere to the clubs philosophy in every game and every training session
• To design every training a session plan, have it written and in hands at training
• To attend post training meals and social functions
• To represent the club in correct manner on and off the field
• To keep record attendance together with team managers

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• FFA C Licence​
• Work permit in Australia
  

DESIRED REQUIREMENTS:

• FFA B Licence
• FFA A Licence​
• Work permit in Australia

PLEASE SEND CV AND CONTACT:

Sinisa Cohadzic
South Melbourne Technical Director

Email: sikic10@hotmail.com

South Melbourne FC would like to extend its deepest condolences on the sudden passing of Adam Thyssen.

The Thyssen family were long-time supporters, life members and sponsors of the club. This included brands such as Patra Juice, the Original Juice Co and most recently Procal.

Adam also had a connection with the club through his daughter Dakota previously playing in our NPLW Youth Teams.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this tough time

South Melbourne FC is proud to announce an exciting new partnership with strength and conditioning sports company, Woodford Sport Science Consulting (WSSC).

Their methods are derived from thousands of hours of experience applied across 1000 athletes and they pride themselves on thoroughly understanding the basic principles of human performance and applying them accordingly to those they coach.

Elite athlete preparation requires an in-depth knowledge of physiological systems, the science behind programming and how they interact with the specific individual. WSSC brings a holistic and innovative edge in performance training that has been derived from years of study integrated with international and Australian elite sport practical exposure.

WSSC coaches create structured programs that have focus on building a variety of physical qualities depending on the athlete’s goals and needs – which could range from strength, power and speed – to facilitate optimal running mechanics and efficient movement in their sport.

Strength underpins power therefore the goal is to develop strong athletes so they can run quicker and be more powerful. This means learning to master body weight before progressing to loaded movements.

Agility and reaction time is honed-in on once the athlete has mastered the above fundamentals.

Aerobic/anaerobic endurance is predominantly addressed in the final stages of their sessions with various short, high intensity, conditioning protocols.

Mobility is a constant focus in their sessions as they integrate various mobility movements throughout rest periods to help the athlete feel better, improve joint health and reduce chance of injury

To learn more about Woodfords Sport Science, visit https://woodfordssc.com/

South Melbourne FC acknowledges the article published this morning (Tuesday 18 February 2020) in the Sydney tabloid media relating to the clubs relationship with former players and containing accusations of players not being paid.

The club was requested to provide a comment on the allegations however was not provided any information or specifics as to who or what they were about. Club representatives asked the author on a number of occasions to provide such details enabling a meaningful response to be outlined however the author refused to do so. This ensured the club was unable to provide a factual and accurate response to the allegations, or even verify if those players involved have ever played for South Melbourne.

The article refers to the club withholding the wages of multiple players. The author of the article reports this as an accusation but continues without providing any substance or evidence to support the claim. More so when South Melbourne advised the author it has not had any contact from the PFA or Football Victoria on any such player dispute, the author simply noted that the PFA has contacted Football Victoria. The fact no contact has been made with the Club adds to the intrigue of the veracity of the accusation and the real motivation behind fabricated stories such as this.

The Club is appalled with this type of journalism and the lack of integrity and transparency demonstrated by the author and publisher. On face value the article appears to be aimed at discrediting NPL clubs and the biggest, South Melbourne FC, in particular rather than an accurate representation of the facts.

South Melbourne has an extensive history of having its Senior Men’s players on professional contracts. This approach ensures consistency, transparency and accountability for both players and the club.

South Melbourne FC welcomes the opportunity to fully professionalise the league and establish the National Second Division. The club has and continues to work proactively with the FFA, the PFA and the AAFC to achieve this. The National Second Division is critical component of Football’s survival and development in this country. It will serve as the peak in a Whole of Football framework whereby any club in any state or territory can embrace aspirational football and, under the promotion and relegation system, make their way to play at the national level. It appears there may be forces opposed to that objective and the growth of the game in Australia.

The club is very comfortable with its position regarding all past and current players. We believe in and welcome the establishment of an independent grievance process for players and clubs to deal with legitimate disputes as they may arise from time to time.

The club notes the statement provided in the article by the PFA does not relate to South Melbourne FC but to NPL clubs generally. South Melbourne has had no correspondence from the PFA dating well back over at least a year relating to any form of player dispute.

Similarly the statement in the article by Football Victoria CEO Peter Filopoulos does not mention South Melbourne FC in any way. The club has received no requests from Football Victoria on any form of player dispute.

The club maintains a positive and constructive working relationship with the PFA and Football Victoria.

The club will continue to support its current and former players with their professional football careers. The club will vigorously defend the integrity of its brand and its players from defamatory publications, in particular where the facts have been knowingly omitted and/or the club is not provided the opportunity to contribute a meaningful response.

South Melbourne FC acknowledges the article published yesterday by the Sydney Morning Herald in relation to the separation of former coach Chris Taylor from the club.

The club has participated in the process in conjunction with FIFA and related parties. FIFA have made a finding on the case however despite repeated requests, FIFA has not provided the South Melbourne FC with the basis for this outcome.

On the basis of legal advice received, the club has made the decision to appeal the matter. FIFA have confirmed the appeal process has now commenced and whilst the matter is before the courts the club will not comment further on the matter at this time.