Jubilee Oval played host to the inaugural St George Football Association Festival of Football in perfect conditions on Saturday.
The featured matches of the day included seven games between St George FA, Football South Coast and Sutherland FA champion teams, with the highlight being the Premier League Men’s clash between Connells Point Rovers and Wollongong Olympic.
There were also Football4All games played between the St George Warriors, Football South Coast Knights and Sutherland Titans as well as a handful of youth league fixtures and a skills acquisition program match.
As well as the football on the pristine Kogarah playing surface, former Socceroo Aytek Genc led a grassroots coaching expo. There were also Football NSW and Sydney FC active areas and live music as well as guest appearances from another former Socceroo in Craig Foster and Sydney FC stars Rhyan Grant, Fabio Ferreira and Ben Warland.
The St George Football Association will shortly move into the offices at Kogarah, with Jubilee now essentially the base for football in the St George district.
Since Georges River Council resumed management of the ground from the St George Illawarra NRL club in February last year, the council has attempted to make it more accessible to other sporting groups and codes in the area.
SGFA held its finals series at the iconic Kogarah ground for the first time last season with more than 500 players gracing the hallowed turf for 23 grand finals played over two weekends.