Kuwait national football team
The Kuwait national football team is the national team of Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. Kuwait made one World Cup finals appearance, in 1982. In the Asian Cup, Kuwait reached the final in 1976 and won the tournament in 1980. Kuwait's 20–0 win over Bhutan in 2000 was at the time the biggest victory in international football, it was surpassed in 2001, when Australia beat American Samoa 31–0. Kuwait's first international match was played in the 1961 Pan Arab Games against Libya which ended in a 2–2 draw. Kuwait's biggest loss was against Republic the United Arab Republic when they were destroyed 8–0 by the Pharaohs in the same tournament. Kuwait national football team has joined the World Cup in 1982, held in Spain. Kuwait was placed in the fourth group, got fourth place after defeats to England and France and a respectable draw with Czechoslovakia. Kuwait has won the Asian Cup in 1980, held on its soil. Kuwait won the Final 3–0 against South Korea. Kuwait's historical highest FIFA ranking was the 24th place achieved in December 1998.
Bader Al-Mutawa is the most capped player of the Kuwaiti team, Bashar Abdullah is the top goalscorer in the history of the Kuwait national football team. Kuwait has won the Arabian Gulf Cup ten times, is the most successful team in winning that competition. Kuwait's most historical manager was Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the World Cup with Brazil, was forced to leave the country after the 1990 invasion by Iraq, he led Kuwait to win the 1990 Gulf Cup beating Qatar in The Final. Kuwait's biggest win was against Bhutan which ended in a thrilling 20–0 win, the biggest win until Australia won 31–0 against the American Samoa in 2001. Kuwait's most successful years were between 1970–1990 which had players like Jassem Yacoub, Faisal Dakhil, Sa'ad Al-Hoty. On 30 October 2007, Kuwait was suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football, on the grounds of governmental interference in the national football association; the ban lasted less than 2 weeks. On 24 October 2008, Kuwait was again suspended by FIFA from all participation in international football, because of its failure to hold the General Assembly elections by mid-October.
FIFA provisionally lifted its suspension on the Kuwait Football Association on 22 December 2008. Once again, on 16 October 2015, Kuwait was suspended for the third time as FIFA did not recognize the new sport law in the country. Kuwait tried to get the suspension lifted at the 66th FIFA Congress but this was rejected and therefore from the earlier announcement on 27 April 2016, the hosting of the Gulf Cup tournament would be moved to Qatar; the suspension was lifted on 6 December 2017, after Kuwait's adoption of a new sports law. By this time, the team had fallen to the 188th place in the FIFA World Rankings due to its inactivity. On 7 December 2017, it was announced that Kuwait would host the 2017 Gulf Cup tournament after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, all withdrew when the tournament was set to be hosted by Qatar because of the Qatari diplomatic crisis, so it was moved to Kuwait to please all withdrawn parties to participate; the Kuwait National Team has two home stadiums, they are Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium and Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium.
Jaber Al-Ahmed International Stadium was built in 2009, Kuwait celebrated winning the 20th Gulf Cup in that stadium. Following the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification-AFC Second Round, playing against the Philippines on 23 July 2011, this was the last time Mohammed Al-Hamed Stadium was the Kuwait Home stadium. On 16 May 2012, Kuwait played against the 2011–12 La Liga Champions Real Madrid in Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, the home ground of Kuwaiti club Kuwait SC, which Real Madrid won 2–0. Kuwait played their entire 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification-AFC Third Round in Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, beating the United Arab Emirates 2–1, drawing with South Korea 1–1 and losing to Lebanon 1–0. Before Jaber Al-Ahmed international stadium was built in 2009, Kuwait played in Mohammed Al-Hamed Stadium; when Kuwait hosted the 1980 Asian Cup, the tournament was hosted in Sabah Al-Salem Stadium, which has a capacity of 22,000 spectators and was the largest stadium in Kuwait at that time, Kuwait won their first and only Asian Cup of all time in that stadium.
When Kuwait hosted the 1974 Gulf Cup, it was the first time Kuwait had hosted a Gulf Cup competition, all the matches were played in Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. Kuwait were champions of that competition for the first time in their history on home soil, the third time in a row overall. In 1990, Kuwait hosted the 1990 Gulf Cup for the second time in their history and were crowned Champions of that competition. All of the games were played on Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium. In the 2003 Gulf Cup, Kuwait hosted the competition for the third time, once again all the matches were played in one stadium, the Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium. However, Kuwait lost the competition. In the 2017 Gulf Cup, Kuwait hosted the tournament for the fourth time. All the matches were played in two stadiums, the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium and Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium. However, Kuwait were eliminated from the group stage after losing to Saudi Arabia and Oman and drawing with the United Arab Emirates. All Kuwait matches are broadcast with full commentary on Kuwait TV 3.
These matches are exclusive. Al Jazeera Sports broadcast Kuwait matches exclusive. So broadcast on 3 different channels, not exclusive. Dubai Sports broadcast Kuwait matches only in special events like the Gulf Cup, Asian Cup and others
A-League
The A-League is a professional men's soccer league run by Football Federation Australia. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's primary competition for the sport; the A-League was established in 2004 as a successor to the National Soccer League and competition commenced in August 2005. The league is contested by ten teams, it is known as the Hyundai A-League through a sponsorship arrangement with the Hyundai Motor Company. Seasons run from October to May and include a 27-round regular season followed by a Finals Series playoff involving the highest-placed teams, culminating in a grand final match; the winner of the regular season tournament is dubbed the'premier' while the winner of the grand final is the season's'champion'. This differs from the other major football codes in Australia, where'premier' refers to the winner of the grand final and the winner of the regular season is the'minor premier'. Successful A-League clubs gain qualification into the continental competition, the Asian Football Confederation Champions League known as "AFC Champions League".
Similar to the United States and Canada's Major League Soccer, as well as other professional sports leagues in Australia, Australia's A-League does not practice promotion and relegation. Since the league's inaugural season, a total of six clubs have been crowned A-League Premiers and five clubs have been crowned A-League Champions; the current premier is Perth Glory. The current champions are Melbourne Victory, who won the 2018 A-League Grand Final, equaling the record of four domestic titles held by Marconi Stallions, South Melbourne, Sydney City; the A-League does not recognize the history of its predecessor, the National Soccer League, the nations premier football competition from 1977 to 2004. A national round-robin tournament existed in various forms prior to the formation of the A-League, with the most notable being the National Soccer League; the formation of the NSL came after Australia's qualification for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which led to discussion of a national league, with 14 teams chosen to participate in the inaugural season of the NSL in 1977.
Under the guidance of the then-governing body, the Australian Soccer Federation, the NSL flourished through the 1980s and early 1990s but fell into decline with the increasing departure of Australian players to overseas leagues, a disastrous television deal with the Seven Network and the resulting lack of sponsorship. Few clubs continued to grow with Sydney Olympic, Perth Glory, the newly established Adelaide United the exception in a dying league. In April 2003, the Australian Federal Government initiated the Independent Soccer Review Committee to investigate the governance and management of the sport in Australia, including that of the NSL. In December 2003, the Crawford Report found that the NSL was financially unviable, in response the chairman of the sports new governing body, Frank Lowy of Football Federation Australia, announced that a task force would be formed to create a new national competition as a successor to the NSL which dissolved at the conclusion of the 2003–04 season after 27 years of operation.
The A-League was announced in April 2004, as a successor to the NSL. Eight teams would be part of the new national competition, with one team from each city of Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, plus a New Zealand team and one from a remaining expressions of interest from either Melbourne or Sydney; the competition start date was set for August 2005. By June 2004, 20 submissions had been received and a month 12 consortiums sent in their final bids for the eight spots. Three bids were received from Melbourne, two each from Sydney and Brisbane, one from each of the remaining preferred cities and a bid from the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford. Over the next three months, each bid was reviewed and on 1 November 2004, the eight successful bidders and the major sponsor were revealed, for what would be known as the Hyundai A-League, with the Hyundai Motor Company unveiled as the official naming rights sponsor for the league; the eight founding teams for the league were Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory, Queensland Roar and Sydney FC, with three former NSL clubs taking part, those being Adelaide United, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory, as well as Queensland Roar and New Zealand Knights who were formed from NSL clubs Brisbane Lions and New Zealand Football Kingz.
Each club was given a five-year exclusivity deal in its own market as part of the league's "one-city, one-team" policy. This was intended to allow clubs to grow and develop an identity in their respective region without local competition. On 26 August 2005, 16 months after the demise of the NSL, the inaugural season of the A-League began; the first season would see Adelaide United win the premier's plate by seven points over Sydney FC with Central Coast and Newcastle filling the final two spots in the final series. In the final series, it was Sydney that took out the title after they defeated Central Coast by a Steve Corica goal to claim the first title on 5 March 2006. On 20 March 2007, it was announced that Wellington Phoenix would replace New Zealand Knights from the start of the 2007–08 season. Both Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury joined the league in the 2009–10 season. On 12 June 2009, Melbourne Heart was awarded a licence to join the 2010–11 season. On 1 March 2011 North Queensland Fury's A-League licence was revoked for financial reasons.
On 29 February 2012, Gold Coast United had its licence revoked. On 4 April 2012 it was announced that a new We
Australia national under-23 soccer team
The Australia national under-23 soccer team represents Australia in international under-23 soccer and at the Olympic Games. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Federation Australia, a member of the Asian Football Confederation and the regional ASEAN Football Federation since leaving the Oceania Football Confederation in 2006; the team's official nickname is the Olyroos. Australia's first two appearances in the Olympic Games saw the senior men's team participate, but in 1992 the eligibility was restricted to players under the age of 23, while in 1996, it was decided to allow teams to choose three over-age players in the final Olympic squads; the team has represented Australia at the Olympic Games on five occasions, in 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. The team represented Australia at the AFC U-22 Championship tournament in 2014 and has qualified for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship; the Australian national under-23 team made its international debut in 1967, when it took part in a triangular tournament against New Caledonia and New Zealand in Nouméa.
Australia lost its first game 2–1 on 6 November, won its second 1–3 on 10 November, with Gary Manuel supplying goals in both games. The team would next played eighth years in 1974, in a tour of Indonesia, sponsored by the Australian Government. During the tour, coached by Eric Worthington, won all three match against the host nation, it would be another 16 years before the team competed in international competition of any kind. In August 1990, Australia played a series of friendly matches in Europe under coach Eddie Thomson; the first against Switzerland ended in a 0–0 draw. The second match was played against the League of Ireland XI, ended in a 2–2 draw, with goals from Gary Hasler and John Gibson. Australia's final match was lost 2–0 against Czechoslovakia. Arguably Australia's most successful Olympic football tournament, the squad coached by Eddie Thomson contained just two overseas based players: KV Mechelen striker Zlatko Arambasic and Club Brugge midfielder Paul Okon, as the rest of the squad hailed from NSL clubs.
The squad saw Mark Bosnich, John Filan, Tony Vidmar and Tony Popovic, most Ned Zelic, who had single-handedly gotten the Olyroos to Barcelona with a sensational double strike in the second leg play off against the much admired Dutch team, take part before commencing their successful careers in Europe. Drawn with Mexico and Ghana, the Olyroos would take on the Africans in Zaragoza in their first round fixture. An early goal on 12 minutes, a long range free kick by Mohammed Gargo set the tone for Ghana as they held onto that lead until the 83rd minute when it was extended to 2–0 by Kwame Ayew. Ayew grabbed another on 89 minutes before Tony Vidmar scored a consolation goal for Australia on 91 minutes to bring the score to 3–1. John Filan was dropped after this game after coming under heavy criticism for failing to put up a wall for Ghana's first goal, the green Mark Bosnich was brought in, cementing his spot in the side for the Olympics. Two days in Barcelona, Zlatko Arambasic opened the scoring after 20 minutes as Australia lead Mexico 1–0 until the 63rd minute when Jorge Castañeda leveled the tie at 1–1, the game would finish this way which meant that Australia would need to win their last group stage game to proceed to the knock-out stages.
The Olyroos put in a performance worthy of note as the entire team began to fire on all cylinders, winning 3–0 against Denmark to book a spot in the quarter-finals. The game saw one first half goal by John Markovski and two second half goals thanks to Damian Mori and Tony Vidmar. Australia and Ghana progressed to the knock-out stages where Australia were tied to play against Sweden in Barcelona. In front of 30, 000 spectators at the Camp Nou, John Markovski put Australia ahead after 30 minutes. A 53rd-minute strike by Shaun Murphy put the Olyroos 2–0 up until Patrik Andersson scored one back for Sweden on 62 minutes; the game stayed at 2–1 and the result sent the Olyroos to the semi-finals where they would face Poland. At the Camp Nou in front of 45,000 spectators, Poland struck on 27 minutes, taking the lead after a goal from Wojciech Kowalczyk. Australia, hit back on 35 minutes when Adelaide City striker Carl Veart equalised. Just before half time though, Mark Viduka lashed out at a Polish defender, earning himself a straight red card, leaving the Australian's a man down against a Polish side who were technically gifted all over the park.
Poland came to life in the second period, putting on a dazzling display of soccer and scoring five goals in the process, which saw a hat-trick from Andrzej Juskowiak and an own goal from Shaun Murphy, to take out the game at 6–1. In the Bronze Medal game, Australia would meet up with group stage outfit Ghana, who took the lead when Isaac Asare scored after 19 minutes and winning the game 1–0, the result left the Olyroos to claim fourth spot at the tournament, as Spain would finish in first place after beating Poland 3–2. Eddie Thomson took a young squad to the United States, which included Aurelio Vidmar and Steve Horvat as the overaged players, the squad was combined of 7 overseas players out of the 18 men squad. A young Mark Viduka was in his second year at Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia and Kevin Muscat had just signed with English Premier League club Crystal Palace. Drawn into Group B with European heavy weights Spain and France, as well as Saudi Arabia, the Olyroos would lose 2–0 to France in their opening clash thanks to goals from Robert Pires and Florian Maurice, as Australia's Danny Tiatto saw a red card just after 24 minutes.
A 2–1 win over Saudi Arabia earnt the Olyroos their first 3 points of the campaign. Peter Tsekenis scored a
Perth Glory FC
Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Founded in 1995, Perth Glory is one of three A-League clubs to survive from the now defunct National Soccer League. Glory entered the A-League competition for the inaugural 2005–06 season, eight years after the club's formation in 1995. Perth won their first silverware in the A-League era; the club plays at Perth Oval known as HBF Park for sponsorship purposes, with a seated capacity of 20,500. A youth team competes in the Y-League, a women's team competes in the W-League. Both the youth and women's team play at various locations across Perth, most played at Dorrien Gardens. Perth first showed interest in joining the National Soccer League prior to its inaugural year in 1977. However, a series of logistical problems and financial concerns meant that the league was not keen to include a Western Australian side.
While the state representative side continued to perform well in national and international cup competitions, WA continued to be unrepresented at a senior club level until 1994. In 1994, a group of businessmen led by Joe Claudio formed the Perth Kangaroos IFC; the club competed in the 1994 Singapore Premier League along with the Darwin Cubs. At the time, there were visions of establishing an Asia-Pacific Super League which could become a sporting and financial empire in the east, it turned out to be something of a farce. The Kangaroos finished the league season undefeated and won the Singapore league title. However, with dwindling support and resources, the experiment proved to be a financial disaster and Perth Kangaroos IFC soon folded. In 1995, another consortium led by Nick Tana made a bid for entry into the National Soccer League. Perth Glory was subsequently licensed to join the 1996–97 NSL season and on 1 December 1995 the club was launched. From a unheralded start, the club would develop beyond all expectations and help commercially re-establish Association football in a state where Australian rules football dominates the media and Rugby league was commercially about to fail.
Former Adelaide City player and Perth Kangaroos coach Gary Marocchi was appointed coach for the first two seasons and won many fans with his bold, attacking style. Believed to be nothing more than a token participant, Perth surprised many by only just missing the cut for the finals; the exciting style of "you score three, we score four" drew fans – including many British expatriates. Players like NSL-title-winning sweeper Vinko Buljubašić, Perth-based striker Bobby Despotovski and young local star Vas Kalogeracos were brought into the team and achieved cult status. New Zealand international Gavin Wilkinson was signed while local midfielder Gareth Naven was appointed captain. In their first match in the NSL, Perth Glory lost to Sydney Olympic 4–1, with veteran Scot Alan MacKenzie scoring the first goal for Glory and Doug Ithier winning the first Man-of-the-Match award. Large crowds and good results soon followed with an exciting win over defending champions the Melbourne Knights thrilling a huge crowd.
Glory needed only a point in their final match of the season but were defeated by the Knights and fell just short of making the finals. Glory midfielder Paul Strudwick was sent off during the match in controversial circumstances while trouble in the crowd marred the match. In the 1997–98 season, despite again narrowly missing the top six and signing more high-profile players like Ernie Tapai, Danny Hay and Nigerians Samson Siasia and Peter Anosike it was a disappointing season for the Glory. Fan support was further consolidated in the era of Bernd Stange; the former East German national coach became a media star after replacing Gary Marocchi, sacked and took the team into the competition playoffs. The success of the team created record attendances along with record exposure in the local media. During Stange's reign, Glory competed in its first-ever NSL Grand Final in 1999–2000 after having won the League championship. In his first season, Stange had taken Glory to their first finals series the previous season and had fallen in the preliminary final against Sydney United.
With new signings John Markovski and Con Boutsianis fitting straight into the side, local player Jamie Harnwell started to develop into a key defender and made the step to replace the injured Vinko Buljubašić. A horror form slump at the height of summer denied the Glory a top two place but massive crowds still attended their two home finals at the WACA Ground against Adelaide City and Marconi Stallions; the following year, Glory recruited young players Ivan Ergić, Jason Petković and Olyroo Kasey Wehrmann. The 1999/2000 grand final is remembered. Earlier in the Championship Playoff series, Perth had narrowly beaten the Wollongong Wolves in a two-legged Major Semi Final – needing a dramatic 80th-minute penalty and goal in extra time to advance. In the grand final, Perth again faced the Wolves and led 3–0 at half time against a miserable Wolves outfit. Yet, the Wolves rallied superbly and Perth experienced a series of defensive blunders to be pegged back to 3–3 at full-time. Perth subsequently lost on penalties, but this defining moment galvanised the team and would be a motivating force for years to come.
James Afkos, a young defender and son of Glory co-owner Paul Afkos saw his penalty saved, which gav
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club known as Wolves, is a professional football club in Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. Formed as St Luke's F. C. in 1877, they have played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, after winning the 2017–18 EFL Championship. Wolves were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888; the club spent 33 years in the top flight from 1932 to 1965, their longest continuous period at that level. In the 1950s, they were League champions three times, under the management of Stan Cullis. Wolves finished League runners-up on five occasions, most in 1959–60. Wolves have won the FA Cup four times, most in 1960, finished runners-up on a further four occasions; the club has won the Football League Cup twice, in 1974 and 1980. In 1953, Wolves was one of the first British clubs to install floodlights, taking part in televised "floodlit friendlies" against leading overseas club sides between 1953 and 1956 before the creation of the European Cup in 1955.
Wolves reached the quarter-finals of the 1959–60 European Cup and the semi-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup Winners' Cup, were runners-up to Tottenham Hotspur in the inaugural 1972 UEFA Cup Final. Wolves' traditional kit consists of gold shirts and black shorts and the club badge one or more wolves. Wolves have long-standing rivalries with other West Midlands clubs, the main one being with West Bromwich Albion, against whom they contest the Black Country derby, although the two clubs have not met in a League fixture since 2011–12, the last season they competed in the same division. In the 2000 edition of "The Rough Guide to English Football", the history section on the Wolves page begins: "The name Wolves thunders from the pages of English football history"; as with several other clubs, Everton for example, Wolves had humble beginnings shaped by the twin influences of cricket and the church. The club was founded in 1877 as St Luke's F. C. by John Baynton and John Brodie, two pupils of St Luke's Church School in Blakenhall, presented with a football by their headmaster Harry Barcroft.
The team played its first-ever game on 13 January 1877 against a reserve side from Stafford Road merging with the football section of a local cricket club called Blakenhall Wanderers to form Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1879. Having played on two different strips of land in the town, they relocated to a more substantial venue on Dudley Road in 1881, before lifting their first trophy in 1884 when they won the Wrekin Cup, during a season in which they played their first-ever FA Cup tie. Having become professional, the club were nominated to become one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888, in which they played the first Football League match staged, they ended the inaugural season in third place, as well as reaching their first FA Cup Final, losing 0–3 to the first "Double" winners, Preston North End. At the conclusion of the campaign the club relocated for a final time when they moved to Molineux a pleasure park known as the Molineux Grounds. Wolves lifted the FA Cup for the first time in 1893 when they beat Everton 1–0, made a third FA Cup Final appearance in 1896.
The club added a second FA Cup Final triumph to their 1893 success in 1908, two years after having dropped into the Second Division for the first time. After struggling during the years either side of the First World War to regain their place in the top division, the club suffered a further relegation in 1923, entering the Third Division, which they won at the first attempt. Eight years after returning to the Second Division, Wolves regained their top-flight status as Second Division Champions under Major Frank Buckley after twenty-six years away. With Buckley at the helm the team became established as one of the leading club sides in England in the years leading up to the Second World War, as they finished runners-up in the league twice in succession, as well as reaching the last pre-war FA Cup Final, in which they suffered a shock defeat to Portsmouth. In 1937–38 Wolves came within a whisker of winning the club's first English league title: a win in the side's last game away to Sunderland would have clinched things, but in the event Wolves lost 0–1 and thus ended the campaign one point behind the eventual champions, Arsenal.
One of the things Major Buckley and his Wolves side attracted a lot of attention for in the last two full seasons prior to the outbreak of the Second World War was Buckley's insistence that his players be injected with monkey gland extract to enhance their stamina and performance, a practice that the Football League elected not to sanction. When league football resumed after the Second World War, Wolves suffered yet another final day failure in the First Division. Just as in 1938, victory in their last match would have won the title but a 2–1 loss to title rivals Liverpool gave the championship to the Merseysiders instead; this game had been the last in a Wolves shirt for Stan Cullis, a year he became manager of the club. In Cullis's first season in charge, he led Wolves to a first major honour in 41 years as they beat Leicester City to lift the FA Cup, a year only goal average prevented Wolves winning the league title; the 1950s were by far the most successful period in the club's history.
Captained by Billy Wright, Wolves claimed the league championship for the first time in 1953–54, overhauling local rivals West Bromwich Albion late in the season. Two further titles were soon won in successive years, as Wolves
Perth Oval
Perth Oval known for sponsorship reasons as HBF Park, is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western Australia. Located close to Perth's central business district, the stadium has a maximum capacity of 20,500 people for sporting events and 25,000 people for concerts, with the ground's record attendance of 32,000 people set during an Ed Sheeran concert in 2015; the land on which the stadium was built was made a public reserve in 1904, with the main ground developed several years later. Perth Oval was the home ground of the East Perth Football Club in the West Australian Football League from 1910 until 2002, hosted several of the competition's grand finals during that time. In 2004, the ground was redeveloped; the ground is home to two major professional sporting clubs: Perth Glory FC, a soccer team competing in the A-League, the Western Force, a rugby union team playing in the Global Rapid Rugby competition. The ground is used by the WA Reds, a semi-professional rugby league team competing in the S. G. Ball Cup, as well as for concerts.
The stadium is used for hosting sports events and concerts. In sports mode the stadium has a capacity of around 20,500. Soccer club Perth Glory has played at the ground since 1996; the stadium is unusual among modern Australian stadiums for having a standing terrace at the northern end of the ground, called'The Shed'. The ground has hosted rugby union team Western Force since 2010; the Force's move to the stadium led to a minor redevelopment of facilities at the ground, including an increase in capacity and improved lighting. For 2008 the stadium hosted. Since 2009, there have been annual NRL games played at the oval as South Sydney Rabbitohs home games, with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles joining in 2016; the stadium has housed the administrative facilities of the Western Australia Rugby League since 2003. In 2015, the stadium hosted a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier between the Australia and Bangladesh, the first A-international in Perth in over a decade; the capacity for concerts is now over 25,000.
A record 32,000 crowd attended the Ed Sheeran concert in 2015. The land on which the stadium is built was known as Loton's Paddock after the previous owner William Loton, Lord Mayor of Perth; the Paddock had been reclaimed from part of Stone's Lake, part of a lake system known as The Great Lakes District which included Lake Monger and Herdsman Lake. Loton sold the land to the City of Perth in 1904 with the purpose of providing recreation for the residents of the area. After the 2004 redevelopment, part of the ground reverted to public open space and the original name, Loton Park was re-applied, to honour Loton, Yoordgoorading as a reference to the original Indigenous inhabitants of the land. In the early 1930s large white entry gates were built on the north west corner of the ground; these have since been heritage listed. Soccer was an early tenant at Loton Park, playing regular matches as early as 1903, when over 2,000 spectators attended a Charity Cup match between Olympic FC and Civil Service.
In 1905 the land was offered to the WA British Football Association for £2000, but the asking price was considered too high. Perth Oval was the scene of a humiliation in 1927 when the WA State team were thrashed 11–3 by Bohemians, a team representing Czechoslovakia. Prior to the 2004 redevelopment, Perth Oval was oval-shaped, when Perth Glory FC entered the NSL in 1996, temporary stands were moved onto the pitch to get supporters closer to the action. After playing in these conditions for four years, it became apparent that the Glory would need their own rectangular stadium and after Glory's proposed redevelopment of Leederville Oval was rejected, the Town of Vincent overhauled the ground into a rectangular stadium. Perth Glory continue play their home games at Perth Oval. Perth Oval hosted the 2014 W-League Semi-Final and Grand Final matches involving Perth Glory Women. 2015 saw the return of the Socceroos to Perth after a 10-year absence, with a 5–0 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier win against Bangladesh on 3 September, in front of a 19,495-strong crowd.
The following year on 1 September the Socceroos returned for another World Cup Qualifier against Iraq, with 18,923 in attendance. Australian rules football club East Perth Football Club moved to Perth Oval from Wellington Square in 1910, played at the ground until 1999 except in 1940 due to a dispute with the Perth City Council over rents, in 1988 and 1989 when the WAFL attempted an unsuccessful move to the WACA. After the Royals played their last match at the ground, they permanently moved away in 2003. In 1956 the F. D. Book Stand was built as part of East Perth Football Club’s golden jubilee celebrations, it was named after administrator Fred Book, instrumental in ensuring Perth Oval stayed as a sporting ground during World War II. The ground was used as a home base for East Perth's WAFL rivals West Perth and Perth. Six West Australian Football League Grand Finals were played at Perth Oval, the first being in 1912 and the last in 1935. Perth Oval was home to Western Australian Grade Cricket teams University.
North Perth played at the oval between 1910 and 1975 and University between 1913 and 1929. Rugby was played at Perth Oval as early as 1905; the ground has been used by the Western Australian Rugby Union to host state league finals matches at least as far back as 1940. Perth Spirit played at Perth Oval during the 2007 Australian Rugby Championship. Since 2010 the Western Force have called Perth Oval home and together with co-tenants Perth Glory, helped instigate the stadium's most recent re-development
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Sanfrecce Hiroshima is a professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Japan. The club play in the J1 League, the top tier of football in the country; the club name is a portmanteau of the Japanese numeral for three and the Italian word frecce, which means'arrows'. This is based on the story of the feudal lord Mōri Motonari who told his three sons that while a single arrow might be snapped, three arrows held together would not be broken and urged them to work for the good of the clan and its retainers. A similar event occurred in The Secret History of the Mongols, she gave an arrow-shaft to each of them and said, ‘Break it!’ One by one they broke the single arrowshafts and threw them away. She tied five arrowshafts into a bundle and gave it to them saying, ‘Break it!’ The five sons each took the five bound arrow-shafts in turn, but they were unable to break them. 1938–70: Toyo Kogyo Syukyu Club 1943–46: Play was suspended during this period due to the Pacific War. 1971–80: Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club 1981–83: Mazda Sports Club Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club 1984–85: Mazda Sports Club Soccer Club 1986–92: Mazda Soccer Club 1992–: Sanfrecce Hiroshima The team's home town is Hiroshima and the side plays at Hiroshima Big Arch and Hiroshima Prefectural Stadium.
It holds training sessions at Yoshida Soccer Park in Akitakata and Hiroshima 1st Ball Park. The team was a former company team of Toyo Kogyo Soccer Club in 1938 and played in the semi-professional Japan Soccer League, they dominated the JSL's early years, winning the title 4 times in a row – a feat, equaled by Yomiuri SC/Verdy Kawasaki. The name change was made at Mazda SC in 1981; when JSL disbanded and became the J. League in 1992, it dropped the company name and became "Sanfrecce Hiroshima". Alongside JEF United Ichihara Chiba and Urawa Red Diamonds they co-founded both leagues. During the 1969 season they participated in the Asian Club Cup, forerunner to today's AFC Champions League; this cost them the league title to Mitsubishi/Urawa, although they won another title in 1970, since the club has been out of the running for the title, with exceptional seasons such as 1994 when they won runner-up. The Toyo Industries team that became the first JSL champions completed the first double by taking the Emperor's Cup.
They were the first of three "Invincibles", undefeated champion teams in Japan, although only Toyo completed a double. Matsumoto and Yasuyuki Kuwahara went on to win the 1968 Olympic bronze medal for the national team. In 2002, Sanfrecce became the first former stage winner to be relegated to the lower division, J2, but it only spent a year there, finishing second the next season to regain promotion back to J1. The club finished 16th in the 2007 season and were relegated to J. League Division 2 after they were beaten by Kyoto Sanga in the promotion/relegation play-off. In 2008 they won the J2 title at the first attempt, having 84 points with six matches left. By virtue of earning fourth place in the 2009 season and Gamba Osaka retaining the Emperor's Cup, Sanfrecce qualified for the Asian Champions League, where they were knocked out in the group phase. On 24 November 2012, Sanfrecce defeated Cerezo Osaka 4–1 to seal their first J. League Division 1 title. On 7 December 2013, Sanfrecce defeated Kashima Antlers 2–0, securing their second J.
League Division 1 title following a thrilling finish to the season which saw first-place Yokohama F. Marinos losing their final league game, handing Sanfrecce the title. With their second consecutive title win, Sanfrecce became the second team to defend their crown since Kashima in 2009. KeyTms. = Number of teams Pos. = Position in league Attendance/G = Average league attendance Division 1: 1965–83 Division 2: 1984–85 Division 1: 1986–87 Division 2: 1988–90 Division 1: 1991–92 Division 1: 1993–02 Division 2: 2003 Division 1: 2004–07 Division 2: 2008 Division 1: 2009–presentTotal: 45 seasons in the top tier and 7 seasons in the second tier. Domestic J. League Player of the Year Hisato Satō Toshihiro Aoyama J. League Top Scorer Hisato Satō J. League Best Eleven Takuya Takagi Hisato Satō Tomoaki Makino Hiroki Mizumoto Shusaku Nishikawa Toshihiro Aoyama Yojiro Takahagi Tsukasa Shiotani Douglas J. League Rookie of the Year Kazuyuki Morisaki Takuma Asano J. League Cup New Hero Award Yojiro Takahagi J.
League Manager of the Year Hajime Moriyasu International FIFA Club World Cup Top Scorer Hisato Satō FIFA Puskás Award nominee Hisato Satō As of 4 April 2019Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility
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