Family, Football, and Ambition: Manny Spanoudakis’ Return to St George City FA

Manny Spanoudakis is a name synonymous with success in NSW football, both as a player and a manager. Now, he’s returning to familiar territory as the new head coach of St George City FA, a club he first led during their inaugural season nine years ago.

Recently, Spanoudakis served as an Assistant Coach and Technical Analyst at Marconi, working alongside Manager Peter Tsekenis and Assistant Peter Papoythis—a unique role for him, as it marked his first coaching stint outside of a managerial position. His time with the Stallions ended on a high, securing a dominant 3-0 victory over Rockdale llinden in the 2024 NPL Grand Final.

Now at St George City, Spanoudakis reunites not only with the club but also with his son James, who will be the assistant coach under his guidance. James has honed his coaching skills under some great names at St George, including experienced football director Aytek Genc.

In an interview with Soccerscene, Spanoudakis reflects on his recent experience at Marconi, his unique father-son coaching dynamic with James, and his ambitions as the new manager of St George City FA in the NSW NPL1.

 

Manny and his squad celebrate the premiership and promotion.

Theo Athans 

Having just completed your stint at Marconi and it ending with great success after a grand final win, what was it like working under experienced coaches and what was your highlight?

Manny Spanoudakis

My tenure at Marconi was the first time ever in my coaching career where I wasn’t the head coach. I was very appreciative of the opportunity presented to me by Peter Tsekenis and embraced the project, using it as a platform to enhance my own leadership. The thought process being that ultimately, when I go back to being a head coach, I will have lived life through the lens of a staff coach.

My experience at Marconi was very enjoyable, there was a very good bond and a mutual respect with the head coach (Peter Tsekenis), I had known him and the assistant Peter Papoythis very well, add that to my history and successes as a head coach, we had a real instant connection with a common goal and that goal was to win a trophy for the club.

It was very good to go to a club in that capacity (as a staff coach) and also great to work at such an iconic club like Marconi, what I call a proper football club. I believe Marconi is one of the biggest in the country when it comes to infrastructure and resources that the club has.

Many highlights during my time but you can’t go past winning the Grand Final this year to cap off what was a really enjoyable stint at the club.

T.A.

You’re joining your son James at St George City, it’s a very unique father/son coaching story. How exciting is this opportunity for you but also how has James’ coaching journey been like since he stopped playing?

M.S.

It is unique and that uniqueness was a key component of me making the decision to accept the offer at St George City FA. I did have other offers in NPL1 but ultimately, I have a connection with the club, we started the club in 2016 when Aytek Genc, the Head of Football, called me this time nine years ago and said, ‘I’m working on a new project, please don’t accept an NPL1 job until I run you through it.’

He shared with me a vision of St George City FA and that vision was what has happened right now, the club has spent the last two seasons in NPL1. I’m very proud of my role in the foundational years of the club, my objective was to get the club from NPL4 to NPL2 as quick as possible and I was very lucky to be able to do that within three seasons, winning two trebles along the way.

On that journey my son James was a player. I had limited interaction with him three years prior to that when I had won the treble in NPL2 with St George FC. James was a young player and he did earn a few 1st grade caps under me during that season.

So as a player he has been a part of the teams I have coached and won championships in NPL2, 3 and 4. Unfortunately James suffered very bad knee injuries, had multiple surgeries and was told at 25 or 26 years of age that his knee won’t be able to hold up playing football.

Manny and James share a special moment after a goal.

One thing my dad told me all those years ago when I was playing in the National League was focus on your education so you have a contingency plan and James took our advice and finished a business degree majoring in sports management but at the same time started all his coaching badges.

He made a soft transition at St George City FA and thanks to Aytek’s mentorship, James has developed a very astute football brain. He has coached u16’s into the 18’s into the 20’s and this year was the 1st Grade assistant coach working closely with Mirko Jurilj. At the same time, the club has been supporting him and he’s finishing his A licence next month so he’s on the right trajectory to be, with a little bit of luck, a very good football manager in the future.

So when the opportunity was presented to me to go back to a club I helped start and had an emotional connection to, and the opportunity to do something I had spoken to my father about before he passed in April which is to work with my son in a coaching capacity, it made the decision very easy for me and I accepted the offer from Aytek.

T.A.

What are your ambitions with St George City FA and how special would it be to win a trophy with them?

M.S.

Aytek and I worked together over 20 years ago in the NSW NPL when I was head coach at St George Saints FC. He was my assistant, and we only had one ambition and that was to win trophies. As much as we all want to win things, we want to build a football program that leaves a legacy and underpins success into the future. When you think of clubs in NSW like Blacktown City, they’re always contenders every year.

We don’t have the financial resources of other clubs so we need to build our football program and the next evolution of that program, or at least that’s what I have been charged with, to make us a contender.

There’s no magic wand or multi-millionaire president so there’s a process we’re going to go through and that process hopefully will allow us to build on the really good work that the club has done in the first two years in NPL1. As a community club, our aim is to build something that’s sustainable and can grow organically particularly now with rule changes around grassroots and home-grown players.

We need to leverage the foundation we already have at the club, add to that, evolve, and then build a football program that has us as a top 2 or top 4 contender every year. That’s the ultimate goal, for St George City FA to be recognised as a ‘club of choice’ for aspiring players. The club has built a strong reputation and a brand that allows us to attract really good young talent, take them through the development pathway and deliver them as first team players, ultimately putting them on the shopfront for A-League and beyond.

And if we can win trophies along the way, that’s fantastic!

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MLS soccer wraps up record season

The 2024 Major League Soccer regular season was the most successful for the American-based football competition yet. The regular season wrapped up in October and shattered several records, proving that the competition is in a healthy state and set up for long-term success.

More fans are consuming the MLS product than ever before, and it is experiencing year-over-year growth. Growing soccer in America has proven to be challenging, but the record-setting attendance highlights the breakthrough MLS is achieving.

The attendance average for the MLS season was the highest in the league’s history, at 23,234 fans per regular-season game, a +5.1% increase from the 2023 MLS regular season. In total, 11.4 million fans attended matches during the regular season, smashing the 2023 number of 10.9 million.

These figures will grow throughout the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, from October 24th to December 7th. Based on their regular season numbers, MLS has projected that they will be in the top three across all soccer leagues globally in terms of attendance average after the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, alongside the English Premier League and Bundesliga.

Due to the successful season, the league has experienced a 13% sponsorship revenue increase and a 13% club sponsorship revenue increase compared to the 2023 MLS season.

Ten out of the 29 clubs beat or tied their regular season attendance average, this statistic highlights communal growth beyond the Lionel Messi effect and keeps the league in a healthy spot going forward.

MLS social media grew faster in 2024 than the rival major men’s North American sports leagues, which consist of the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and the National Hockey League.

  • MLS TikTok saw a 26% growth in followers
  • MLS YouTube saw a 21% growth in subscribers
  • MLS Instagram saw a 10% growth in followers

The MLS x Adidas Archive Collection was credited with huge financial success, and on July 16, 2024, the MLS retail store had its most successful day in history.

Beyond the American audience, MLS has been making waves in the European market. Attempts to expand the league overseas were pioneered by opening 800+ MLS retail stores across France, Spain, Germany, and other major European countries in partnership agreements with Primark and Bershka retail stores.

The broadcast deal between MLS and Apple TV, signed in 2022 for 10 years and worth 3.7 billion dollars, has injected valuable funds into the league to improve its overall product from broadcasting and on-field standpoints.

Apple TV, which broadcasts all MLS games, invites fans to easily access the league while airing MLS content beyond the live match broadcast. The investment has shown success since 2023, but fans have criticised the league for its match scheduling, Apple TV broadcasts in 100 countries, so the platform opportunity for MLS is substantial.

The mass financial figure has been credited with being a key reason why the league has been able to sign the likes of Lionel Messi, an 8-time winner of the Ballon d’Or and the captain of the 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning side Argentina.

The bigger picture for the MLS competition will be the continual rise of quality international players choosing to sign into the MLS and improving the match quality. The 2024 MLS season had a very successful summer transfer window, including star players Olivier Giroud, France’s all-time leading goal scorer, and Borussia Dortmund and Germany international Marco Reus.

Common fan complaints have been centred around the season’s kick-off in February and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs finishing in December. The lengthy season means that the league is miserable to attend during winter from a fan’s perspective, the freezing and windy weather hurts the product, while thunderstorm delays have been common for the league in these cold months.

MLS games being played in Canada and Northeast America during the winter months will continue to jeopardise the product and growth of the sport.

Additionally, the gripes come from the lack of pauses throughout the 10-month season, which leads to a mass exodus of players from MLS teams during the international break, again hurting the product.

Given that the competition has 29 teams, broadcasting the matches in the evening on Saturdays and Wednesdays, with rare occasions when matches are played in other time slots, has made it challenging for football enthusiasts to follow the league as a whole.

Hosting games in earlier windows invites a family aspect to the matches, with Saturday/Sunday afternoon games working for the Premier League.

A huge positive of the Apple TV broadcasting deal is MLS 360, which takes fans all around the league with live coverage of the matchday. MLS 360 showcases the best action of every game, from goals to saves, play-by-play and analyst breakdowns of teams.

The analyst and play-by-play team consists of 60 people broadcasting in English and Spanish. Key football minds hosting the MLS 360 are Kevin Egan, Sacha Klejstan, Kaylyn Kyle, and Bradley Wright-Phillips.

As the MLS prepares for the 2024 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, a recent change in playoff formatting kicked off in 2023 and proved to be a successful business model. The format was changed to include a best-of-three series with no ties and a mix of single individual knockout matches.

Also, allowing 19/29 MLS teams into the playoffs from a business standpoint meant more matches, more revenue, and more opportunities to grow the league as a whole.

Each MLS team has a fluid salary cap, this is to keep the league fair for all teams and give each team an equal opportunity to win on paper. There are ‘designated players’, such as Messi, who each team is allowed to sign even if it breaks the salary cap in an attempt to boost the league’s big-name talent. 

The absence of a regulation/promotion system and a player draft awarding lower-ranked teams with better talent is a welcome site for struggling teams to rebuild faster. This system improves the quality of the MLS competition and is a tool to prevent lopsided affairs. 

Garber has credited MLS teams’ business approach to investing in soccer-specific stadiums with the growth of team evaluations. Investing significant funding into building these stadiums for teams to risk relegating would harm the league and its revenue/team sponsorship. 

The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is gearing up to be a potential takeover opportunity for American soccer. MLS is expecting mass residual effects from this, similar to Australia and New Zealand hosting the 2023 Women’s FIFA World Cup.

The MLS’ business-savvy approach to running the league and ability to adapt to the sporting landscape surrounding it in an oversaturated sports market has worked in favour of the league. There’s a lot to be excited about looking at the future landscape for the MLS.

This league’s continual growth and development have fans in the box seat to enjoy some of the best football action in the world.

FIFPRO Europe and UEFA sign MoU to enhance players’ influence

UEFA and FIFPRO Europe have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening players’ influence in European football governance.

As part of the agreement signed by both organisations’ leaders in Paris, a FIFPRO Europe representative will join UEFA’s executive committee starting May 2025.

UEFA has also pledged to consult FIFPRO Europe on decisions affecting players’ employment conditions and any competition reforms that could influence players’ workload.

Additionally, active players and player representatives will take part in a new UEFA Professional Players’ Advisory Forum, set to begin meeting next month to discuss solutions for collective challenges facing professional footballers in Europe.

This three-year MOU will grant footballers and their unions more influence over decisions impacting their work, including match calendar adjustments, playing conditions, and health and safety issues.

The agreement also establishes a framework for FIFPRO Europe and UEFA to work together on initiatives to advance women’s football, focusing on fair employment conditions and minimum standards.

The two organisations will also collaborate on medical research, player education, and awareness campaigns addressing doping and discrimination.

Additional collaboration areas include strengthening stakeholder dialogue at both national and European levels, exploring joint commercial opportunities involving player data and intellectual property rights, and offering support to players who are out of contract.

FIFPRO President, David Terrier, was full of positive thoughts regarding this agreement.

“This agreement is a hugely positive milestone for professional players across Europe. With player representation now anchored at UEFA’s highest level, we are securing a stronger voice for players where it matters most,” he said via press release.

“Our ongoing dialogue with UEFA is already yielding positive results, and this MoU will only strengthen our ability to shape a framework that will advance player welfare and ensure a healthier and more sustainable future for football, where the needs and rights of players shall always be at the forefront, both on and off the pitch.”

UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin, is confident their relationship with FIFPRO will support the growth of football for all.

“This partnership represents a new era in our relationship with FIFPRO Europe. Players are at the heart of football, and their perspectives must shape the decisions taken,” he said via press release.

“By inviting them to join the UEFA Executive Committee, we are creating a more inclusive future for the game, one in which the topic of player welfare will be at the forefront. This is about making tangible strides to ensure football continues to grow for everyone.”

You can view the MOU here.

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