Adelaide City Football Club

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:31): I recently had the pleasure of being invited to the 2024 season launch of one of the great football clubs based in the Torrens electorate, Adelaide City Football Club. The season launch was attended by almost 200 invited guests, who were presented with the 2024 teams, coaches and officials and heard about the valuable contribution of those who built the foundation of the club.

By way of history, Adelaide City Football Club was founded in 1946 as Adelaide Juventus football club, formed by hardworking and dedicated Italian migrants who primarily brought together and served the Italian community across Adelaide. Its contribution is deeply ingrained in the fabric of Australian football. The club, whose senior home ground is Adelaide City Park on Fosters Road in Oakden, is an amazing place to visit on game day because children from right across Adelaide support the club there.

In 1977, Adelaide City Football Club became one of the founding members of the National Soccer League, Australia's top-tier football competition at the time. The club enjoyed considerable success and, in 1986, won its first title under the guidance of legendary coach Zoran Matic. Proudly, the club went on to win two more NSL championships under Matic, in 1992 and 1994. This year, in 2024, the club is celebrating the 30^th anniversary of that memorable 1994 championship. Proudly, to honour its history, the club has reintroduced the Italian flag into its black-and-white logo.

Adelaide City has historically been one of the most prolific producers of players selected for the Australian men's national team, the amazing green-and-gold Socceroos. Notable players over the years include John and Ross Aloisi, Aurelio and Tony Vidmar, Carl Veart, Sergio Melta, John Perin, Milan Ivanovic and Alex Tobin, to name just a few. Significantly, more than 50 Adelaide City Football Club players have donned the green-and-gold strip.

Not prepared to be only a 'women behind the scenes' club, the Adelaide City Football Club added women's teams to their club three decades ago and today boast a strong junior girls base. Adelaide City players have gone on to represent our national women's team, the Matildas, including Alex Chidiac and Dylan Holmes and, as a junior Matilda, Grace Abbey.

Yesterday's announcement that the Matildas will be playing at Adelaide Oval for the first time ever on 31 May is receiving overwhelming accolades from our South Australian soccer-loving supporters. The friendly soccer match against China, to be played prior to the Matildas heading to Paris for the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be the first time the Matildas have played in Adelaide since 2019, when they beat Chile at Hindmarsh Stadium. Their spot in the Paris Olympics was secured only last month, when they beat Uzbekistan 10-0 in Melbourne in front of a crowd of 54,000.

Significantly for women's soccer, on the back of the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia Adelaide City Football Club have had a 40 per cent increase in female players this year and they are not alone in seeing this significant increase in demand. In 2024, Adelaide City Football Club, which claims the title of the oldest club in South Australia, is fielding six senior teams: three men's teams (one NPL, one reserves and an under 18s) and three women's teams (one NPL, one reserves and a women's community team). In addition, the club is home to over 40 junior boys' and girls' teams. That is 486 players, based in the Parklands off Unley Road and Hutt Street in the CBD, where they train on Park 18 and Park 19.

It was also announced on the evening of the 2024 season launch that the board, chaired by president Angelo Carrozza, vice-president Charlie Zollo and secretary Tony Antenucci, among others, is currently working through an invitation to join the National Second Tier, a football initiative to reinvigorate football nationally and be played alongside of the A-League.