Matt Williams (Hindmarsh, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a great day, yesterday, for football in Adelaide—or soccer as some of us call it—with Adelaide United winning the national A-League championships with a three-one victory over Western Sydney. Yesterday, over 50,000 South Australians were present at Adelaide Oval and thousands more in pubs and hotels around the state. Each year I attend a few games of Adelaide United and, in recent years, I have taken my children who have also enjoyed the Reds. Yesterday, they were as excited as me in cheering them on.

Congratulations to the whole team—Captain Eugene Galekovic, the coaching staff, Chairman Greg Griffin and all the board, and all those who have been involved in the journey of Adelaide United throughout their time in the A-League.

There are many great stories from yesterday's game, but none better than that of Bruce Kamau, who was born on the dusty streets of Kenya in the city Nairobi. He moved to Australia with his family in 1999 and began playing soccer here. Yesterday, in the A-League grand final, he scored a memorable first goal that was the crucial goal of the match to get the ball rolling. I also want to pay tribute to the Adelaide United striker Bruce Djite. Bruce is the key reason why the Reds turned their season around, scoring 11 goals in the last 14 games, including a memorable double in the semi-final victory over Melbourne City. Bruce is not only a successful sportsmen but also a great ambassador and has inspired Australia's future sporting stars who received funding from the federal government's Local Sporting Champions. Well done to everybody else associated with the club and it was a great day, yesterday, for all in Adelaide.