Knights Stadium: More than just a home ground

Knights Stadium is one of the most iconic venues in Australian football – for many it is more than just a stadium.

The ground was built in 1989 with storied history. Melbourne Knights, formerly known as Melbourne Croatia SC, were two-time National Soccer League (NSL) champions and four-time minor premiers at the ground during the 1990s.

The Mark Viduka Stand can seat up to 3,000 people, while another 12,000 can stand around the pitch. The ground represents the largest football-only sporting ground in the state of Victoria – testament to the history and strength of Melbourne Knights FC.

Knights Stadium in 2002 with the Mark Viduka Stand.

Former Melbourne Knights president Andelko Cimera says he was part of the club while Knights Stadium was becoming a reality.

“We were playing at the old number two pitch at Olympic Park, where the dog track was, and that was virtually our home. We were looking for alternatives and a couple of properties came up – a drive-in in Altona and a drive-in at North Sunshine,” he said.

“We settled on Sunshine because it was a little bit cheaper. I think we paid $180,000 at that time in 1984. 12 months later we started developing the stadium.”

Melbourne Croatia at the time tried to secure the rights to play at Heidelberg United’s home ground Olympic Park and several other venues, before a decade-long donation drive allowed them to raise the money to purchase the land and develop a facility at the current site of Somers Street.

94/95 NSL champions

Melbourne Knights FC President Pave Jusup says that much of his childhood was spent at Knights Stadium.

“We only saw the stadium for games. We would always strive to go there, and sometimes the juniors would have an important game that’d let us on the second ground, even the main ground,” he said.

“If you walked into the wrong part of the ground the groundskeeper would grab you and make you be a ball boy, and you’d get a hotdog and drink after the game. It was a whole childhood for a lot of us.”

Jusup adds that Melbourne Knights and the stadium serve as a key pillar within the Croatian community.

“There are a lot of memories that have been created there. A lot of people are tied to the physical place and it is a hub of the Croatian community along with the Croatian club in Footscray and the original Croatian church in Clifton Hill. We are the three constant and long-term fixtures in the community,” he said.

Cimera explains that there were both positives and negatives towards the stadium being community ran and operated.

“There were advantages and disadvantages. It was our property, it was our ground. It was up to us whether it was Sunday night, Saturday afternoon, or Friday night game. It was always available to us,” he said.

“The disadvantages were that everything was up to us. The maintenance of the ground was up to us. The facility became a burden to the Croatian community, which involved all our payments, all our rates which were paid for by the community.”


Both Jusup and Cimera agree that the biggest games were always against South Melbourne.

“It became a fortress for us in the 90s. It was difficult to take points away from our ground for teams,” Cimera said.

“I think our record crowd was when Hadjuk Split was here, that was close to 15,000. I remember when we played South Melbourne we had 12,000 people. The games between South Melbourne and us were always the biggest crowds.”

During the 2000 National Soccer League season, over 11,000 people descended upon Knights Stadium to watch Melbourne Croatia vs South Melbourne Hellas.

“Around 2001, they were top of the table and unbeaten, while we were mid to low-end of the table. We beat them 4-0. That is one game that sticks out in my mind,” Jusup said.

For both Cimera and Jusup, they acknowledge that the supporters and members of Melbourne Knights want to see Knights Stadium and the club feature in a second division.

“It’s not only the Melbourne Knights. It’s the juniors too because they can have a career path. Right now they can’t see a career path. Without promotion and relegation, it makes it very difficult,” Cimera said.

“We’ve got a lot of latent fans who are disappointed in the situation we find ourselves in. There are a lot of people who would put their hands up and into their pockets to help propel the club if given the opportunity. We’ve gone through a period of consolidation, but there’s a new generation of people who want to propel the club into the limelight as their parents and grandparents did,” Jusup said.

If the opportunity to join a second division does arise for Melbourne Knights, then their home ground won’t look out of place on the national stage.

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FIFA set new global benchmark for Women’s Football Development

In a landmark initiative for women’s football, FIFA has unveiled an ambitious strategy aimed at reaching 60 million female players worldwide by 2027.

The comprehensive plan, supported by 13 distinct development programmes, is available to all 211 FIFA Member Associations, marking a significant step forward in the sport’s global evolution.

FIFA also took the announcement to highlight the achievements for women’s football in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Oceanic Football Confederation (OFC).

The recently enhanced FIFA Women’s Development Programme underscores the organisation’s strengthened commitment to expanding the women’s game.

The upcoming 2025 calendar promises several groundbreaking developments for women’s football.

The Philippines will host the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, while Morocco makes history as the first African nation to stage the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The latter tournament sees significant expansion, growing from 16 to 24 teams and shifting to an annual format.

International competition reaches new heights with continental championships scheduled across multiple confederations.

The pathway to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Brazil 2027 commences with African qualification matches, while major regional tournaments including the UEFA Women’s EURO and OFC Women’s Nations Cup will crown new champions.

In a significant advancement for club football, all six confederations will host their respective continental club championships for the first time.

This renewed focus comes amid unprecedented growth in participation rates, particularly evident in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup co-host nations.

New Zealand has reported a remarkable 27 per cent surge in female participation since 2022, with particularly strong growth among Māori and Pasifika communities, showing a 14 per cent increase.

A strategic partnership between New Zealand Football and Māori Football Aotearoa further strengthens grassroots development.

New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell voiced the federations successful results.

“The expansion of football and futsal in Aotearoa New Zealand has been extraordinary, with the Women’s World Cup serving as a genuine catalyst for growth,” he explained via official FIFA press release.

Across the Tasman, Football Australia’s Growing Football Fund Community Grants programme continues to foster development at the grassroots level.

The latest round of funding benefits 118 recipients, complementing the 121 projects supported in March 2024.

This initiative particularly emphasises regional development, with nearly half the grants allocated to areas outside major metropolitan centres.

The grants provide essential support for women’s football development, encompassing coach education, introductory programmes, and vital equipment procurement, further cementing the sport’s foundation at the community level.

Also within the AFC, footballing powerhouse Japan has successfully hosted the continent’s first female-exclusive Pro Licence coaching course.

A collaborative effort between FIFA, AFC, and the Japan Football Association (JFA), represents a significant milestone in professional football development.

The intensive seven-day course attracted participants from fourteen nations, featuring presents such as AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh and Japan men’s national team coach Hajime Moriyasu.

Participants gained valuable practical experience through observations of pre-season training sessions at both J.League and Nadeshiko League clubs.

JFA Technical Director Masanaga Kageyama emphasised the programme’s strategic importance and inclusivity.

“This course is a joint AFC/JFA initiative to increase the number of top-level, professionally licensed female coaches in Asia. It aims to provide existing talents with additional advice to help them achieve greater success in their current coaching positions and secure future success,” Kageyama explained via official FIFA press release.

This initiative aligns with JFA’s renowned long-term development philosophy and a significant advancement in creating pathways for women in professional football coaching.

This newly improved strategy at the global scale will hopefully allow for more women in both professional and amateur spaces to get the opportunities they deserve in football.

It also highlight’s that AFC & OFC nations, including Australia, will have a strong place within the growth of women’s football.

Read more on the FIFA Women’s Development Program here.

Tom Sermanni- Leading the Matildas in the Right Direction

In September 2024, former Matilda’s and journeyman coach, Tom Sermanni, was quietly going about his business coaching in the women’s program at Western Sydney Wanderers.

The last thing he expected was to receive an offer from the F.A. to become the interim manager for the Matildas.

However, Sermanni reflected on his previous stints with the Matildas from 1994-97 and 2005-12 with a great sense of pride and didn’t hesitate to accept the offer.

After five months in the job, Sermanni and assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny have methodically restored confidence in the squad after the disappointment of not qualifying for the quarter finals at the Paris Olympics.

It was certainly a far cry from Sermanni’s previous stints in 1994-97 when players weren’t paid and had to cover their own expenses and 2005-12 when contracts were introduced for the players.

Notably, Sermanni is aware of the strong brand the Matildas carry in Australian sport and every time they venture onto the pitch, there is a weight of expectation for them to perform.

In this interview with Roger Sleeman, Tom Sermanni discusses his progress with the Matildas since September 2024 and the general state of the women’s game in Australia.

ROGER SLEEMAN

What was your mindset when you were offered the job after your last stint with the Matildas in 2005-12?

TOM SERMANNI

Surprise was my first reaction as it came completely out of the blue

I’d actually reached the stage where I wasn’t searching for a career but winding down.

However, it was a compliment to be still considered for coaching at this level.

R.S.

How long did it take you to accept the offer?

T.S.

Only a few minutes because it was a no brainer after I contemplated what was involved.

Photo: Kyoko Kurihara – Football Australia

R.S.

Based on the Matilda’s performance at the Paris Olympics, what areas were you going to concentrate on?

T.S.

I was actually at the U.S.A. and Zambia games which was useful and I also knew a number of players in the squad.

Initially, I wanted to maintain stability because when a tournament doesn’t yield results, there are inquisitions and uncertainty.

Therefore, the lack of confidence had to be restored.

R.S.

What has been your main focus since you commenced the position?

T.S.

When we first assembled for the first match in Switzerland, I outlined the expectations for the team and myself.

I wanted to get back to the way Australian teams play on the front foot and to reassure the players there was a lot of ability in the squad , despite the disappointment of the Olympic’s result.

We needed to establish goals for the players to achieve and winning was critical.

Rebuilding belief, confidence and spirit was essential to achieving this outcome.

R.S.

What were your conclusions after the Switzerland and German clashes in October?

T.S.

There were signs of missing confidence and cohesion in the Swiss clash but against Germany it was a great 2-1 victory and defied our 15th ranking in the world standings.

R.S.

Against Brazil, how did you rate the team’s performance?

T.S.

Both games were probably the most brutally physical I’d ever witnessed in the women’s game.

Also ,the Brazilians were very direct and unfortunately in the first game in Sydney, the referee didn’t control the game well enough.

In the second game on the Gold Coast this was rectified somewhat .

Critically, the games were a great benchmark to assess our status with the top five teams in the world.

R.S.

Are we technically adept to match the top teams?

T.S.

If you look at Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, Mary Fowler and Kyra- Cooney Cross, we have players who rate technically with the best.

Also, we have players spread across the best Leagues in the world.

Nevertheless, at the development level we need to advance players at a technical level, rather than implementing systems which restrict individual development.

Photo: Kyoko Kurihara – Football Australia

R.S.

Are the senior players performing to their best?

T.S.

I believe in the matches so far they have and are still our most consistent performers.

Don’t forget, despite the Paris Olympics failure, we did qualify for the semi finals of the previous Olympics and the 2023 World Cup.

R.S.

Is it time to blood young players in the squad, and what is your general opinion of the talent scouting process employed to unearth new players?

T.S.

If I’d come in as a new coach for the next campaign, rather than an interim coach, things may have been different.

I emphasise again my role is to instigate stability in an effective way and my successor in a permanent role will decide where the squad will go forward from there.

For me , the role is to plan for the present and the future so it’s a balancing act.

In the modern game it’s difficult because you don’t get enough time with the players who are mainly based overseas.

This is in contrast with my last stint with the Matildas when most of the players were home based so we had complete access to them for local camps .

Importantly, this allowed us to develop players within the team structure.

It’s getting harder to bring in new players because of the time limits you have to work with them.

Obviously, you’re continuing to strengthen your squad by bringing new players in but moving forward the new coach has to reassess the current squad and also be mindful of other players to be given an opportunity to see if they are better than the current players.

Naturally, there will be a turnover of the squad due to ageing of senior players so we have to provide a better way of bringing younger players through.

With the huge increase in playing numbers in women’s football , there should be a lot of new talent coming through the system to be considered for Matilda selection.

Unfortunately ,there hasn’t been an organised plan since the Institutes fell by the wayside and resources aren’t being committed to a cohesive system.

R.S.

How important is Mary Fowler to the squad?

T.S

She is critical because she has that X-factor and those qualities to become a superstar.

Some of the senior players are now at their peak in their late twenties and Mary in her early twenties has the world at her feet to become a world class player.

Along with Ellie Carpenter whose workrate and football awareness are phenomenal, it should be our aim to continue unearthing such talent in the W- League.

R.S.

What is your opinion of the W-League?

T.S.

Unfortunately, it’s not fully professional and it needs more resources to make it the best league it can be because at the moment it’s a development league for domestic players.

However, we need as many young players to be competing in the League and over time it would be ideal for overseas players to come back to the League to contribute to its progress.

However, the League is certainly a great place for supplying national youth team players.

Photo: Kyoko Kurihara – Football Australia

R.S.

Can you tell us more about the She Believes Cup, the Matildas are competing in the U.S. from February 19-27 against U.S.A., Japan and Colombia?

T.S.

It’s a proper, competitive tournament, not a series of friendlies so there is a great incentive to win.

We play the first game and then travel to two other cities to play so there’s limited time for preparation.

Clearly, it’s an important tournament to play serious opposition with different styles on show and for players to maintain their place or for new players to emerge.

R.S.

After your interim role ends, would you like to be still involved with the Matildas in some way?

T.S.

If there was a role for me which was suitable I certainly would take it because I’m really enjoying the current position.

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