In 2001 the reward for a nine-year-old who won the Eastern Suburbs Football Association’s unders-10s Division 4 competition with his Mascot Kings teammates was season-long free entry into North Sydney Oval for Northern Spirit games.

The evening car rides with my dad and uncle from the south-east of Sydney which, for a small child, seemed to take an eternity, culminated in football games played against a picturesque setting, with the pleasant aroma of grilled sausages filling the air from the vendors below the stands.

It was my first exposure to professional club football in Australia, and while I wasn’t converted into a fully-fledged Northern Spirit fan, it helped nurture my taste for regular live sport.

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Fast-forward to 2017 and, sadly, I’m in the middle of a 16-year North Sydney Oval hoodoo.

This sporting enthusiast spends a good part of the calendar year at both Allianz Stadium and the Sydney Cricket Ground, whether it’s among the Cove serenading Sydney FC, screaming from the members bay at Sydney Roosters games, watching all forms of cricket under clear blue skies or stunning sunsets or cheering on the Sydney Swans.

I could almost call Moore Park a second home. A home which Sydney FC will have to farewell for the better part of two and a half years.

The New South Wales government today unveiled their ambitious plans to rebuild Allianz Stadium and ANZ Stadium from the end of 2018.

Sydney FC chairman Scott Barlow backed the proposal, stressing the importance of having a world-class stadium in harbour city.



“As reigning A-League Champions our players and members deserve world-class facilities, and this announcement will deliver on that,” he said in an official statement.

“I am happy that this decision will benefit our club and football in this country in the long term and I look forward to great times ahead in our new home.

“We will engage with our members and undertake a rigorous consultation process to ensure we achieve the best outcome for the club and our fans during our relocation.”

Sydney fans have long been calling for a smaller capacity stadium at Moore Park, and come 2021 they’ll have their wish. Plans envision Allianz with the ability to alter capacity from 30,000 in club mode to 45,000 in championship mode.

But until then the likely home base for the boys in blue from Moore Park Road will be Leichhardt Oval, where earlier this year they defeated Melbourne City on route to a maiden FFA Cup.

The club’s affiliation with the ground stretches further to preseason, W-League and Youth League matches.

In an October report by Fairfax football writer Dominic Bossini Sydney FC identified the inner west due to it being a large catchment region for members.



“While the southern corridor between the airport and Sutherland remains the strongest supporter base for the Sky Blues, the ability to turn the intimate, rectangular Leichhardt Oval into a cauldron-like atmosphere made it the preferred choice over Jubilee Oval at Kogarah. However, under the Leichhardt Oval plan, Sydney FC will play one or two games out of Jubilee Oval,” Bossini wrote.

Excluding finals, Sydney FC’s average home crowd attendance in 2016–17 was 16,001, which makes 20,000 capacity stadiums like Leichardt and Kogarah viable fits. Kogarah holds claim to a significant part of Sydney FC history – in 2011 Brisbane Roar’s 36-game unbeaten run came to an end.

But the long relocation provides Sydney FC with an opportunity to make its mark on another 20,000-seat ground that hasn’t seen A-League football since 2014: North Sydney Oval.

That game saw host team Central Coast Mariners lose 3-0 to Melbourne Victory and was marred by a poor-quality pitch. But unlike Kevin Muscat’s war on the turf, a real turf war between Sydney FC and the Mariners could reinvigorate the rivalry between these two clubs.

If Sydney FC is willing to play one or two games at Kogarah, then why not one or two at North Sydney? Depending on the draw, there’s a potential to host two home games against the Mariners per season.

Cricket Australia uses North Sydney regularly for its domestic one-day and Test cricket tournaments, and just recently the Women’s Ashes drew well over 10,000 fans. One or two games there per A-League season shouldn’t hurt cricket scheduling.

With the right draw and marketing, what’s to say a Sydney-Mariners clash wouldn’t draw close to capacity? It would be an opportunity for Sydney FC to start a new tradition in a home away from home. Should it be a success, both clubs might want to make an annual game there a regular fixture.



The start date for the Allianz Stadium renovations is still far off, and I myself break my North Sydney hoodoo before that. But the prospect of Sydney FC making a claim to all points on the compass is enticing.

As The Cove sings, “wherever you go, we always follow”. So, if fans will follow Sydney FC to the west and to the south, then why not over the bridge?