Sydney FC will play a pair of pre-season friendlies against local clubs at Jubilee Oval, Kogarah next month.
The Sky Blues will take on St George City and Sutherland Sharks in July as they start preparations for the 2018-19 A-League season.
The matches, and a potential clash at Manly, will be Sydney’s only hit outs before their first competitive match of the season, their FFA Cup round of 32 clash with NPL 1 side Rockdale City.
It also marks the start of Sydney FC’s three-year tenure at Jubilee Oval, with the club to make the ground home along with Leichhardt Oval and the Sydney Cricket Ground while Allianz Stadium undergoes refurbishment works.
Sydney FC community football officer Paul Reid said the club were also committed to continuing their work in the wider community and schools including Minerva School, Sutherland.
“One of our main focuses is getting into as many schools as possible. Primary and high schools obviously but also special needs schools,” Reid said.
“It’s something I really enjoy. A lot of the time those kids don’t have the opportunity. You see how excited the kids are, not just at Minerva but all the schools we visit.”
Reid said criticism of Sydney FC’s community work was unfair and that the club planned to ramp up their efforts in St George and the shire with their move to Kogarah.
“I know there is always talk Sydney FC don’t do a huge amount in the community but I’ve been in this role for five years now and I don’t think people realise how much work we do in the community,” he said.
“We don’t always promote when we’re in schools and doing clinics. And it’s not just Sutherland and St George associations. There are various others, it’s a big area for Sydney FC to cover.
“It’s what you want, as many kids playing and enjoying football as possible. You want them going and playing for their local team and then hopefully becoming Sydney FC supporters.
“We’re in a position where we’re never happy because we want to do more and as much as we possibly can.
“It’s a big focus of the club and maybe a blessing in disguise that the club has to relocate out of Allianz. It allows us to be influential on our communities. The W-League games we’ve played at Sutherland have been very successful and I’m sure the pre-season games will be.
“It allows juniors to go out and see Sydney FC in their own backyard. That’s one of our initiatives over the next three years, to be more influential in our affiliated associations. We’ve made a good start the last few years but we want to keep improving.”
Sydney FC will be hosting school holiday clinics at Hurstville, Sutherland and Kogarah between July 10 and July 19.
Details: sydneyfc.com.au/community
*Sydney FC are offering a signed shirt to the club who has the most players register for each clinic.
