Wollongong, informally referred to as "The Gong", is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is thought to be derived form the word woolyungah in the language of the Aboriginal inhabitants at the time of settlement, meaning five islands. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
The DW Stadium is a stadium in Robin Park, in Wigan, within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The ground is owned and managed by Wigan Football Company Limited, which is 85% owned by Wigan Athletic and 15% owned by Wigan local authority. It is used by Wigan Athletic football club and Wigan Warriors rugby league club, the rugby league club having a 50 years lease on tenancy to play games at the stadium. Built and opened in 1999, it is named after its main sponsor, DW Sports Fitness. In UEFA matches, it is called Wigan Athletic Stadium due to UEFA regulations on sponsorship.
The Division of Throsby was an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. The division was named after Charles Throsby, a prominent pioneer and explorer in the early nineteenth century of the areas to the south of Sydney.
Wollongong Wolves Football Club is an Australian semi-professional association football club based in Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW, the second-tier of football in Australia. The club plays its home games at WIN Stadium.
Jubilee Oval, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one of the home grounds of the National Rugby League (NRL) team St. George Illawarra Dragons. The stadium has hosted football matches, including hosting Sydney Olympic FC in the 2003–04 National Soccer League and recently, Sydney FC in the 2018–19, 2019–20 A-League, 2020-21 and 2021-22 due to the rebuild of the Sydney Football Stadium. The Cronulla Sutherland Sharks are temporarily playing at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium during the major redevelopment of their leagues club and stadium.
The Willows Sports Complex, currently known as 1300SMILES Stadium through sponsorship, is a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It has been a predominantly rugby league ground as the home ground of the North Queensland Cowboys National Rugby League club. The ground has also been used for rugby union and soccer. From 2009 to 2011, A-League football club North Queensland Fury called it home. Since inception as a rugby league ground, the ground has had sponsored naming rights: Stockland Stadium (1995–97), Malanda Stadium (1998) and Dairy Farmers Stadium (1999–2013). The last NRL match to be played at 1300SMILES Stadium was on Thursday 29 August 2019 between the North Queensland Cowboys and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs.
Wollongong Showground, known as WIN Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Wollongong, Australia. The stadium was officially opened in 1911. From 1982 until 1998 it played host to every home match for the Illawarra Steelers NRL team, and is still the team's home ground in the lower grade competitions. It is now used as one home ground of the St George Illawarra Dragons rugby league side and Wollongong Wolves of the National Premier Leagues NSW.
Cringila is an intercity train station located in Cringila, Australia, on the South Coast railway line's Port Kembla branch. The station serves NSW TrainLink trains travelling south to Port Kembla and north to Wollongong and Sydney.
Seagulls Stadium was a rugby league stadium located on Gollan Drive in West Tweed Heads, New South Wales.
Sport in New South Wales describes participation in and attendance at organised sports events in the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is an important part of the culture of the state. In terms of participation, the most popular sports in the state are netball, tennis and soccer.
Marden Sports Complex is a multi-use stadium in Marden, South Australia. It is mainly used for soccer and is the home ground for National Premier League side Adelaide Blue Eagles. It was also used for the 2004 OFC Nations Cup and the 2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
Cringila is a densely populated southern suburb in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong.
Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian rules football, an athletics track and field, three baseball diamonds, two soccer fields, four softball diamonds, administration centers and park land.
Macarthur Rams Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia. The club compete in Football NSW League 2 Men's, the fourth tier of the Australian football league system and the third tier of the Football NSW league system. The club's home ground is the 3,000 capacity Lynwood Park, located in St. Helens Park. Founded by an amalgamation of 'Campbelltown City Soccer Club' and modern-day Gunners Soccer Club, the 'Rams' serve as the premier football club within the Macarthur region, and operate as Macarthur's highest-ranked club outside of the A-League Men competition. The Rams also have a corresponding women's club who compete in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women's competition.
A-League expansion in the South Coast and Illawarra regions of New South Wales has been proposed since the establishment of the A-League in 2005. Before the introduction of the league, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the competition into cities such as Wollongong, among others. Supporting a South Coast bid for admission into the A-League is its strong junior participation rates in football, with the area widely regarded as a regional heartland of football.
Sydney Football Club Women is an Australian women's football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It competes in the A-League Women, the top tier of women's football in Australia. The club is directly affiliated with Sydney FC.
The Expansion of the A-League is the ongoing process of establishing new clubs in the A-League. The A-League was established to replace the NSL as the top soccer division in the Australian league system and is the only fully professional league in the country. It was founded in 2004 with eight teams commencing competition in 2005 and has since expanded into new markets across Australia and New Zealand. The league is currently contested by 12 teams, although a total of 15 have competed at some stage in its short history.
Lakeside Stadium is an Australian sports arena in the South Melbourne suburb of Albert Park. Comprising an athletics track and soccer stadium, it currently serves as the home ground and administrative base for association football club South Melbourne FC, Athletics Victoria, Athletics Australia, Victorian Institute of Sport and Australian Little Athletics.
Football South Coast is a sport governing body and soccer competition based in the Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales. All competitions and soccer activity of Football South Coast is under control of Football New South Wales.
Yusuke Ueda is a Japanese footballer who currently plays for Wollongong Olympic of the Australian Illawarra Premier League as of 2016.
