Ivan Franjic: “I’m thankful and grateful that I was able to live my dream”

Ivan Franjic’s arrival at historic National Premier Leagues Victoria side Heidelberg United has come via an unconventional journey to say the least.

From his early beginnings in the then-named Victorian Premier League with the likes of St Albans Saints and Melbourne Knights, to playing for Russian side FC Torpedo Moscow, to playing in the third-largest urban agglomeration in Korea with Daegu FC, Franjic’s career has certainly been one to savour.

Whilst his career has seen injury setbacks, a blocked loan and unpaid wages with Torpedo Moscow – and the discovery of a potentially career-threatening rare inflammatory condition known as myocarditis in 2016 – Franjic is grateful to be where he is today and to have had the footballing experiences he’s had.

“I’ve been very fortunate with the success I’ve had over my travels, and I’ve experienced some different countries,” he said.

“It’s been a great journey and I’m thankful and grateful that I was able to live my dream and play for the Socceroos at a World Cup. Some Championships as well, so, can’t complain at all.”

Torpedo Moscow

And as for why Franjic opted to return to the NPL Victoria to take up an opportunity with Heidelberg United, a family connection and the quality of the league spoke for itself.

“My brother has played in the NPL for a fair bit and I’ve watched a few of his games. If you look at the FFA Cup you’ve always got a Victorian team in the semi-finals, so it must be saying something about how good the standard of the league is,” he said.

“I know the coach George Katsakis and he called me and my brother and said he was interested in signing us. And obviously Heidelberg have had success over the last few years where they’ve won a lot of trophies, so, they’re wanting to build a great team to have another successful year once again.

“Whenever you go to Heidelberg you see that they have a decent following and that everyone gets behind them, so it’ll be good. I’m looking forward to playing in the NPL this year and to finally be playing with my brother after all these years.”

Heidelberg United

Next year’s Victorian NPL season will mark 13 years since Franjic departed his then-Victorian Premier League side Oakleigh Cannons to take up an injury-replacement contract offer with Ange Postecoglou’s Brisbane Roar.

It was under the now-Celtic FC coach where Franjic impressed the Roar faithful and built a platform to launch himself into a regular starting berth with the Socceroos at right-back.

As a three-time A-League Men’s Championship winner with Brisbane, three-time Premiership winner with the Roar (twice) and Perth Glory (once), as well as an Asian Cup winner, Franjic has certainly been a key cog in some of Australian football’s most historic sides.

“Obviously, winning the Asian Cup is a massive achievement, it’s similar to someone winning the Euros or the Copa America. But I think in Australia, with soccer not being the number one sport, it’s always hard to get the media buzz of AFL and NRL because they’ve got a huge following,” he said.

“But when you look back on it you don’t realise how high of an achievement it actually was against Asia’s best.

“I’d had Ange as a coach for a few years and he’s no doubt one of the best managers I’d ever worked under. The whole buzz of being in Brazil, with security all around the hotel and obviously Brazil is a football-mad nation, so, everywhere you went people were following you.

“It was exciting, and I thought Australia gave a good account of themselves without getting results in that tournament.”

Each of these remarkable honours were earnt between globetrotting stints with Torpedo Moscow, Melbourne City and Daegu. But before returning to the National Premier Leagues Victoria, Franjic made one final stopover with newly-joined A-League Men’s expansion side Macarthur FC. He gave credit to the side that he helped in their foundation.

“It was no doubt a challenge starting up a new club from fresh and giving it a go. Credit has to go out to all of the staff and the owners; they did an amazing job for a club in their first year in terms of facilities and the stadium. Compared to other clubs that have come into the A-League they were very good,” he said.

Macarthur FC

Transplant Australia FC Chairman Ante Kelic: “There is no shortage of people who need support”

In an event that has been a long time coming, Transplant Australia Football Club will hold the inaugural Transplant Football World Cup in Cervia, Italy on September 8-14, 2024.

Due to COVID-19 being a major roadblock, the tournament has not been able to lift off – however with the dedication and perseverance of Transplant Australia and the World Transplant Games Federation, it is now going to be a reality.

It is headed by Transplant Australia, which is a charity that supports transplant recipients and their families, while also lending support to people on the waiting list, donor families, living donors, healthcare professionals and everyone associated with organ and tissue donation.

Transplant Australia FC is one example of the many sports and activities on offer that encourage physical activity for an increased chance of survival in transplant recipients.

As the Chairman of Transplant Australia FC, Ante Kelic has gone through his own experience and is now the perfect role model for others in a similar position, while also managing the operations ahead of September’s tournament.

In this interview with Soccerscene, Kelic discusses his involvement with Transplant Australia, an update on the World Cup, building a community and looking ahead over the coming months.

Tell us about your background and why you are involved?

Ante Kelic: I started playing in junior competitions for St Albans Dinamo out in Melbourne’s west.

I grew up with the game very much part of my life, however around the age of 18 years I started having a few health issues and was diagnosed with a liver condition called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

There was not too much trouble apart from the initial onset symptoms and flare ups such as a headache and swelling and for the most part I did not feel the full effect of it for another 3-4 years.

In the year 2000, I also got diagnosed with Crohn’s disease which isn’t uncommon for people who suffer from PSC.

At that time, I broke  into the seniors for St Albans, but it all came to a halt when I required surgery for Crohn’s disease at the age of 20. From 80 kilograms being a fit and active player, my weight  dropped down to 54kg.

The recovery was slow and through all the medications and treatments, I was hoping to get back to playing Premier League senior football but the side effects such as weight gain as a result of  fluid retention  lead me to   player in the lower divisions.

At the age of 34 I was playing social soccer, however I was told during that time  I needed a transplant as cirrhosis was getting to a serious stage of liver failure.

It was in 2014 that I got put on the transplant list and needed to wait seven months before I was offered the lifesaving transplant. At the same time my wife was four months pregnant and thankfully my daughter Iva was born soon after without major hiccups.

How did you find out about Transplant Australia FC?

Ante Kelic: It was in 2018 that I found out about the team through the late Matty Hempstalk who established the team two years prior.

I was introduced to the team by participating in an exhibition match which was known as the Doujon Zammit Shield – this was in honour of Doujon who passed away, but his parents donated his organs to save multiple lives.

A few years later, Matt – along with the CEO of Transplant Australia – came up with the idea to create an inaugural World Cup for transplant recipients and I thought that I could give a helping hand as it was something that involved heaps of work to organise.

With Matt’s passing, coupled with the pandemic, it has taken us a bit of time to recover and get back on our feet but now it is something I will contribute towards.

You had an Expression of Interest period for participants, what are the numbers looking like?

Ante Kelic: We ran a large campaign for a couple months that saw around 50 applications from men and women all around Australia who want to join the club.

In addition, we are going to run a development camp in Sydney on March 16-17 to get people together and support each other based on their transplant journeys.

Our main purpose is to help people with ongoing health issues and encourage active participation.

The underlying reason why we are there is to create awareness and educate people on the life saving gift of organ donation and the donation sign up process.

On your role as Chairman, what are the main priorities?

Ante Kelic: There is no shortage of people who need support before and after transplant.

Peronsally I have had not only with liver transplant recipients, but also those undergoing cancer treatment and that shock of being unwell and going into hospital where your life changes from that point – that is where I am willing to offer support and advice drawn upon my health journey.

To have someone to talk to is super important and I have also reached out to people myself when there were instances I lost energy or motivation during the difficult times.

The wait time for transplants can be mentally challenging – I waited seven months but some other recipients in my support group had to wait for more than two years. If you throw in the fact that hospital call ups do not always guarantee a transplant due to an inadequate match occurring, it is not easy to comprehend – I know of someone that had received the news four times.

Unfortunately, you do not know how far you get through the waiting list in terms of pecking order, so this is a challenge that we offer support and advice for.

How is it juggling your responsibilities?

Ante Kelic: There are some challenges to fit it all in with a young family and running my own business, but we do have some staff at Transplant Australia who do an excellent job supporting the club.

Part of the reason that the development camp in Sydney is going ahead is down to the Transplant Australia team securing a grant to benefit recipients.

Particularly for us, one of the factors is the distance between team members, making it costly to hold events due to travel and accommodation costs.

There is representation Australia-wide, so we offer in some instances where possible to subsidise recipients for travel, accommodation and meals for them to be able to attend these camps and remain active

Even though recipients recover from transplants, they can still have ongoing issues with their health they need to manage which affects their work and earning capacity. As a club, and Translpant Australia, we want to build longevity and sustainability to support the recipients in every way we can.

A lot of recipients reach out stating they want to do something more regularly and having a club in local competitions would be a great milestone.

Our goal is to increase the participation numbers and generate awareness through the amazing stories shared about the life saving donations that people have received.

However, we cannot do that without government, community and corporate sponsorship support.

BMO becomes official jersey sponsor for LAFC

LAFC and BMO confirmed an expansion of their multi-year partnership, unveiling BMO as the Club’s “Official Jersey Sponsor” on the 2024 primary and secondary jersey.

BMO currently have a fantastic relationship with LAFC and the community with the national bank firm being the Official Bank of LAFC as well as the naming rights to the team’s home stadium, named BMO Stadium right in the heart of Los Angeles.

According to the club, the new LAFC 2024 primary jersey represents strength, craftsmanship, and attention to detail.

It features a minimalist look with gold pinstripes on LAFC’s primary black home colour. BMO will be front and centre on both jerseys in gold to match the club’s colour scheme and jersey aesthetic.

BMO Financial Group is a large national bank in North America that has served customers for over 200 years. The team of highly engaged employees provide personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally.

BMO Chief Marketing Officer Catherine Roche expanded on the company’s drive to improve the sport in the local area and continue their great deal with LAFC.

“As The Bank of Soccer, BMO is excited to expand this wonderful partnership with LAFC, which   further strengthens our commitment to growing the game of soccer across North America,” she said in a BMO statement.

“This not only reflects our passion for soccer but also underscores our support of the Los Angeles community. Together, we’re crafting a blueprint for community empowerment, leveraging the power of sport to make progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society. We look forward to supporting LAFC and its fans this season and beyond.”

LAFC Co-President & CBO Larry Freedman expressed a similar excitement to this deal.

“From the beginning, this has always been an incredible partnership that has united two organizations with a shared vision and commitment to what it means to be a force for good in our community,” he added in an LAFC press release.

“We are so excited to expand and strengthen this special relationship as we work together to grow the game in Los Angeles and beyond.”

BMO has been a major contributor to the MLS and North American football for many years, with over a decade of experience partnering with other MLS teams including Toronto FC, CF Montréal, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC. BMO has also invested over C$25 million ($28.3mil AUD) to engage, develop and cultivate youth soccer at every level of competition across Canada since 2005, supporting over one million youth athletes in the sport.

Both parties share the same values and have very similar cultures when it comes to developing the sport and MLS in North America which should see significant progress in this sector.

Through multiple partnerships, both BMO and LAFC are quickly working towards becoming a powerhouse of their own as they try to conquer the huge Los Angeles entertainment and sports market.

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