Parramatta City FC: Celebrating 50 years and a place to truly call home

Liam Watson
Images courtesy of Parramatta City FC

As a Club entrenched in history, Parramatta City FC has secured a double milestone in its future towards providing a football team for the region.

For many years, Parramatta City had no authentic home ground, having been based in the neighbouring suburb of Rydalmere.

However, coinciding with the half century of existence is the confirmed move to Old Saleyards Reserve in the suitably located heartland of North Parramatta.

Thanks to the individuals and committee members and their negotiations with City of Parramatta Council, the new fields bring a range of benefits – such as increased capacity for participation, improved facilities and enhanced community engagement.

Two of those committee members to turn the plans into reality are Club Secretary Lou Mantzos and President Angelo Aronis.

Having been at the Club since day one in 1974 from their junior days in numerous capacities, both are still heavily involved in driving future growth in participants in junior and senior level.

Mantzos described what it was like at Rydalmere and how the move across to Old Salesyards Reserve unfolded.

Training at Eric Primrose Reserve in Rydalmere.

“We had been at Rydalmere since 1981 and it’s an older area that is now growing with some new housing,” he told Soccerscene.

“However, the only way for us to survive long-term was being back in Parramatta, rather than competing with Rydalmere FC who are based up the road and with brand new facilities.

“The breakthrough occurred last year with executive general managers of council in the parks & recreation area.

“We had follow up meetings early this year and eventually our mission was accomplished in leasing Old Saleyards Reserve which is a nine-year-old facility.

“The fields are in excellent shape and rated as one of three A-grade grounds in the Parramatta precinct.

“We now have a dozen teams training and playing at the venue and once the junior rugby league moves across to Doyle Park nearby, we will be permanently based at our new home in 2025.”

The new home of Old Saleyards Reserve.

Similarly to all clubs involved in the negotiation process, challenges are always going to occur, whether it be due to capacity or financially.

Aronis shared his involvement at the Club alongside Mantzos during a difficult period.

“We came into it 4-5 years ago as a sub-committee, working on the new grounds and other issues involved in the Club,” he said to Soccerscene.

“The previous committees did their best in trying times, worked hard, kept the club afloat especially during the Covid pandemic but lost numerous teams during and post this period, and potentially other clubs had similar problems.

“It did make us realise that Rydalmere was not a growth area.

“For example, across Silverwater Road, Newington and Sydney Olympic Park precinct was thriving and nobody wanted to cross over and get to us which is essentially walking distance.

“The other side of Silverwater Road, which includes Wilson Park, now NSW cricket academy, was growing exponentially and the previous committees just weren’t able to attract the numbers we needed.”

The Covid-19 pandemic was not immune to Parramatta City, who needed to navigate through postponed games and seasons.

It presented the confronting reality that even a Club like Parramatta City could fold due to mounting hardship and pressure.

However, Aronis and Mantzos persevered and played a crucial role in keeping the Club afloat.

It was one initiative in particular that Mantzos believes changed the Club’s fortunes entirely.

“In September last year, after failed attempts due to Covid-19 lockdowns, we finally held a reunion game to bring back some familiar faces,” he said.

“It was Andrew Charlton (Federal MP for Parramatta) who assisted with funding for some new equipment and together helped bring many former players back to participate on the day.

“There was a collective buy-in from all participants – the former Parramatta City state league (a powerhouse during the 90’s) and all-age players paid $20 to enter as a way to raise funds and interest.

“We got 40 players on the day and the game attracted a lot of attention as people started talking about it and that was the reason why we did it – we wanted to get traction back rather than see a slow demise.

“We had a ‘Beyond 50’ push that really urged Club members to get behind us and do what they could to keep us around for the next 50 years.”

The reunion game welcomed many familiar faces.

The reunion proved a major hit, paving the way for long-term success in participation.

Aronis added what the overall impact was like post-event and a great indication of what we expect to see.

“We had two teams in 2023 as a band-aid solution, and if it stayed that way, we would have had no choice but in folding the Club,” he said.

“For this season, the number of teams is up at 12 and the reunion was one of the springboard we needed as we reached that figure without really trying.

“Now, we anticipate that we will double that figure by 2025 which would be a fantastic result.

“We were really proud of the efforts of all involved on reunion day and every bit that went into it was worth it.”

“In closing, I sincerely thank all those individuals and recent committees of this proud club for the contributions.”

Previous ArticleNext Article

A Coroner’s Call: Why Football Can No Longer Ignore the Science on CTE

Avatar
Fabrizio Andrea Bertani / Shutterstock.com

The recent coronial inquest into the death of Gordon McQueen has once again forced football to confront an uncomfortable truth.

The former Manchester United and Leeds United defender was renowned for his aerial prowess. But decades after his playing career ended, McQueen was diagnosed with dementia. The coroner has now formally linked his condition to repeated heading of a football. This is a landmark acknowledgement that many in the scientific community say has been years in the making.

For Ian Greener, Australia’s HEADSAFE representative and former State Director of Coaching at Football Victoria, the ruling should be a turning point.

“The evidence has been there since 2019,” Greener tells Soccerscene. “But the general public and much of the football community have simply not been told.”

The Research Football Can’t Ignore

Much of the modern understanding of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in football stems from the work of Professor Willie Stewart at the University of Glasgow. Commissioned by the English FA and PFA, his landmark 2019 FIELD study found former professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease. For defenders, that risk rose to five times more likely.

Stewart then spent years re-examining his findings through analysing lifestyle, alcohol consumption, social factors and broader health variables across tens of thousands of records.

“He looked at everything,” Greener explains. “Drugs, diet, social background. After years of further research, he came back to the same conclusion — there is no other explanation apart from repeated head impacts.”

CTE differs from concussion. Concussion is visible and immediate. It can be identified through dizziness, nausea and blurred vision. CTE is silent. The damage accumulates over decades and can only be confirmed post-mortem through examination of brain tissue.

Greener explains the science in simple terms: repeated head impacts cause the brain to move within the skull, stretching neurons. This releases tau protein, which clumps together over time and disrupts electrical messaging in the brain. The result can be memory loss, personality change, aggression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicidal behaviour.

“It’s not about frightening people,” he says. “It’s about understanding brain health.”

Not About Banning Heading

HEADSAFE, founded by the family of former Middlesbrough player Bill Gates after his battle with dementia, operates across three fronts: research support, financial assistance for affected families, and coach education.

“We are not about banning heading,” Greener stresses. “Heading is an integral part of football. What we’re saying is: minimise the repeated heading in training. Most of the damage is done there.”

In England, guidelines already exist. Children under 12 are not permitted to practise heading in training. Though monitoring is difficult, In the Premier League, players are advised to limit high-force headers to around 10 per week. In Scotland, players are not permitted to head the ball the day before or after a match.

Australia, however, has no formalised CTE-specific guidelines.

Greener says attempts to engage both Football Victoria and Football Australia have so far gained little traction. Instead, he has taken the message directly to clubs, academies and grassroots coaches through workshops and podcasts.

“We just need a module in coach education,” he says. “If we’ve embraced sports science in nutrition, recovery and match analysis, then we also have to embrace the science on repeated head impacts.”

What concerns Greener most is not just the science, but the time lag between evidence and action. “This was once considered an old person’s disease,” he says. “But the science now shows it begins much earlier. The symptoms might not appear for decades, but the damage can start in youth.” He argues that brain health should sit alongside hydration, nutrition and recovery in every coaching curriculum. “We talk about load management for muscles. Why wouldn’t we talk about load management for the brain?”

A Duty of Care

The urgency is heightened by the rapid growth of the women’s game. Emerging research suggests female players may experience head impacts differently due to chemical and physiological factors.

“It’s about duty of care,” Greener says. “My grandson has just started playing. I want to know that whether I’m there or not, he’s protected.”

McQueen’s case has placed the spotlight firmly back on football’s responsibility. With further inquests pending in the UK, including that of Bill Gates later this year, pressure is unlikely to ease.

Football has adapted before — from concussion substitutes to advanced medical protocols. The next step, Greener argues, is simple:

“Make every header count. Don’t do 30 or 40 for the sake of it. Protect the brain, protect the player, protect the future of the game.”

The Future of Football with Bill Papastergiadis

Avatar
One Nil

In our first episode of Unfiltered, our conversation with Bill Papastergiadis quickly cemented why he’s the National Chairman and Managing Partner at Moraine Agnew Lawyers, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, President of South Melbourne FC, and a board member across several organisations.The episode serves as a lens for examining the deep interconnections between football, community, governance, and the tangled politics beneath Australia’s sporting landscape.

Football and the Ties That Bind

For Australian football stakeholders, the implications are clear. Football’s true power isn’t just what happens in the technical area or at the board table; it’s how sport can unify diverse cultures and channel rivalries into positive outcomes. Papastergiadis reflects on his own journey, where law and leadership blend seamlessly into community-building: “All of the things we work in have an interconnection…my job as a lawyer relates to my work at South Melbourne Hallas.” Clubs are, in this sense, social institutions, able to support not just athletes, but families, grassroots volunteers, and community partners.

Yet, the podcast doesn’t shy away from highlighting how politics shapes the game, for better and worse. “Football brings out the best in us and sometimes not the best in us,” Papastergiadis admits. Behind every bid for a stadium, every negotiation with government or governing bodies, there’s manoeuvring, advocacy, and, at times, division. As he puts it, “People are trying to use whatever skill or relationship they have to get their club where they want it to be. They will describe that as political. Politics is really part of our lives.”

The Fight for Access

It’s in this way that the episode’s most substantial industry analysis emerges. The conversation turns to the national second tier- the newly launched Australian Championship, and the legacy of locking NPL clubs out of the A-League.

“I hope it’s fixed. We will agitate for it to be fixed. Not because for the sake of South Melbourne, but for the sake of every club in this country. They all deserve…to aspire, to dream and to bring out the best in themselves and to progress. You can’t stop that in humanity.”

Papastergiadis credits Football Australia and Football Victoria’s recent efforts to re-introduce competition between historic clubs:

“Every club went another level in terms of player engagement, fan engagement, creating a better experience, match day experience for their supporters. Everything went up because we introduced competition again.” Fan attendance soared by up to 600% in one season, and clubs invested in both players and match-day infrastructure. For commercial operators, administrators, and sponsors, this speaks to a simple truth: when doors open, football’s audience answers.

Community, Identity and Social Cohesion

The episode also asks hard questions about identity and inclusion, both for clubs and communities. Papastergiadis doesn’t downplay the tensions that can arise from tribalism or historical rivalries, yet he champions the need for clubs to embrace their heritage within a multicultural framework. “We’re an Australian club, first and foremost (…) we do have, however, a history and it’s a history that gives meaning and purpose to the club. Let’s not deny that, but let’s make sure that history is conveyed in a way which promotes social cohesion, which doesn’t exclude others.”

He draws a direct line between football, ethnic history, and social progress, arguing that attempts to erase cultural identity or punish clubs for their backgrounds was a regressive move rooted in Australia’s old racism. “The demise of the National Soccer League was racist in its execution and to deny those clubs the opportunity to continue to participate solely because of their historical background, particularly when those clubs are what football was built on.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Soccerscene (@soccerscene.au)

Industry Lessons and the Path Ahead

Politics will always be embedded within football’s machinery. But, as Papastergiadis notes, the impacts are not inevitably negative, provided that industry leaders focus on engagement, transparency, grit, and trust-building. His advice for clubs working with councils is clear: “Invite them to your events. Invite them to your club presentations. Invite the counsellors to matches. Organise lunches. Through that process, they will find that doors will open. (…) Trust is built over time.”

If anything, this episode illustrates that the future of Australian football rests on industry’s willingness to marry grit and ambition with cultural sensitivity and openness. “The journey is more important than the outcome. We should encourage people to feel good about the particular journey, that daily journey they’re involved in.”

For listeners, football stakeholders, and policymakers, Papastergiadis’ reflections and stories, some poignant, some political, all rooted in decades of experience, are both a window and a challenge. Open the doors, listen deeply, agitate constructively, and let football’s dreams flourish.

Dive into the full episode for more stories, leadership lessons, and insight on shaping Australian football’s next chapter.

Our episode is now out on Spotify, listen here.

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend