Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sport, as we all know, is Australia's national passion. From a young age, many of us commence playing sport in kids teams and progress through. Some progress more quickly than others who are much slower, like myself. I think I'm still progressing! My football days are far long gone. It's supporting your local grassroots clubs and teams playing in national competitions right through to those professionals from a very young age, and it creates a sense of community. That's why I am very delighted that the Adelaide Omonia Cobras soccer club, based at Weigall Oval in Plympton in my electorate has received a $200,000 Investing in our Communities grant, which I supported them to receive, to provide the club with a new electronic scoreboard, a timber viewing deck and perimeter fencing around the main oval.

The perimeter fencing is crucial as it's a mandatory requirement for the club to be compliant when playing in Football South Australia's State League 1 and higher divisions. Prior to having this perimeter fencing, the club was reliant on temporary fencing and was spending a considerable amount of time with volunteers and money each season to erect a temporary fence each game and then dismantle it immediately afterwards. The scoreboard will ensure the club is well equipped to display accurate time keeping of matches, score results, goal scorers and, where possible, replays of goals and other match events. The display is also capable of broadcasting videos and movies et cetera, so the club is thinking and talking about hosting movie nights in and around the oval for its members and the local community.

The Adelaide Cobras soccer club is a proud club with a long history. It was established in 1972 by the Cypriot Australian community of South Australia. The main objective was to provide a social outlet for young migrants back then. The word omonia in Greek means 'unity with its surrounding area', so the club name, Adelaide Omonia, signifies the City of Adelaide and the surrounding communities and suburbs. It's a very appropriate name. I give credit to and congratulate the president, Simon Panayi, who has been in the position since about 2013. He has done incredible things down there with Peter Gonis, the secretary. He's one of the longest-serving presidents in the club's history, and Peter Gonis, the secretary, and the board are all united and are a very hard-working team.

This club is very significant for my local community. We know through sporting events that football is increasing in popularity across the nation. I'm told that the largest club based participant sport in Australia at the moment is soccer—whether you're under five or over five. This makes it ideally placed to support the lifelong physical, psychological, physiological, social and cognitive health and wellbeing requirements of Australians.

The Cobras football club has over 300 players. Over half of them are juniors coming through the ranks—kids as young as those in the under-eights. There's a range of teams under the Football South Australia banner. There are the seniors' teams, including senior women's teams, the women's teams, the juniors and the MiniRoos. There are also senior amateurs competing in the Collegiate Soccer League. I can also inform the House that the senior men's Adelaide Cobras side are currently sitting in sixth place on the Football South Australia state league. They have a must-win home game on, this Saturday, against fourth-placed western suburbs rivals Fulham United. This is the first season the club has hosted a senior women's squad. That team is in sixth place. They'll play the FC Summit women's community team on Sunday at Anembo Park.

Women's soccer is growing. I believe that, in all of our electorates, we've seen a growth in women's soccer since the Matildas did so well at the last World Cup. That's why it's important to support these clubs and to support women's soccer. And tomorrow night, the Matildas are playing in Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval.

I'm delighted that this $200,000 grant has enabled the Adelaide Cobras to set themselves the goal of promotion to the Football South Australia RAA National Premier League. They're able to play their home games at the now competitive Weigall Oval, which has been developed, and the fence will assist them.