It’s Membership Week in the A-Leagues and to celebrate, we’re shining the spotlight on some of our members who have dedicated their lives to their chosen club.
We’re celebrating the fans who have supported their side through thick and thin, home and away, come rain or shine and highlighting their incredible stories to hopefully inspire more fans to start their own membership journey.
From living next door to players, getting hooked on football thanks to a TV advert or attending their first game with a grandparent these are just a handful of stories from some of the A-Leagues’ most dedicated members.
Read on for part one!
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What does it mean to be an A-Leagues member?
For some, it’s a seat at every home game. For others, it’s family traditions, lifelong friendships and memories that stretch far beyond the final whistle.
As part of Membership Week, we asked members from around the country to share why they signed up, what keeps them coming back and why they would encourage others to become members.
These are their stories.
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‘The Wilson Row’: How Adelaide United became a way of life
Some football stories begin with a goal or a trophy. Josh Wilson’s started with a television advertisement.
An 11-year-old Josh convinced his father to take him to Adelaide United’s inaugural match against the Brisbane Strikers. More than two decades later, the 34-year-old from southern Adelaide is still there every season.
What began as his parents buying his membership eventually became something he continued himself, and over the years that single seat alongside his dad has grown into what he affectionately calls “The Wilson Row” – his father, sister, niece, nephew, two close friends and his fiancée, whom he met through Adelaide United’s active supporter group, the Red Army.
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Now President of the Red Army, Josh helps organise chants, TIFOs and away trips, playing his own role in creating the atmosphere at Coopers Stadium.
“I met heaps of my closest friends through the Red Army at Adelaide United games who have been in my life for as long as I can remember.
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“We have all travelled to all 4 corners of Australia together supporting Adelaide United with many memories made.”
When asked for his favourite football memory, there is one moment that immediately comes to mind.
“As an Adelaide United supporter, you can’t look past the 2016 A-League Grand Final.
“As a supporter, that was 13 years of hope and frustration leaving the body when the final whistle went.
“The entire day was perfect. 50k at Adelaide Oval. Not a cloud in the sky. Surrounded by family and friends and community in the Red Army that I had built over the previous years.
“The pre game march to the stadium was epic. The post game partying in the streets of Adelaide were unforgettable.
“There were tears of joy from many that day including myself. I can’t believe it’s been 10 years.”
For Josh, however, membership has always meant much more than what happens during the 90 minutes.
“It’s given me more than I can ever articulate in words,” he says.
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“Adelaide United has given me another connection with my family, and a community. Without Adelaide United, I wouldn’t have met my fiancée.”
Every home match still begins with the same routine: a stop at the Red Army’s regular pre-match gathering for a chevap and a chat before making the walk to Coopers Stadium.
It’s a tradition Josh wouldn’t change, and one he hopes more supporters get to experience.
“We all want football to be a success in this country. We all want our clubs to be successful. This is one of the ways we can help the club we love be successful. Put yourself out there, make friends, watch football – you’ll never look back.”
A Brisbane Roar tradition passed from one generation to the next
For Sarah Reed, supporting Brisbane Roar has become part of family life.
Alongside her wife Becky and daughter Liley, Sarah has spent the past decade attending Brisbane Roar Women’s matches, in part, due to their neighbours.
“We used to live next door to some Roar players and came along to watch them play,” Sarah said.
“We both used to play soccer and it was so good we kept coming back even when our neighbours had moved on.”
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What started as a casual trip to support their neighbours quickly developed into a weekly tradition, and as Liley grew older, so too did her passion for football.
Mascot walks, community events and post-match interactions with players helped create lasting memories, while receiving goalkeeping gloves from former Roar goalkeeper Keeley Richards as well as current Matildas star Chloe Lincoln gave Liley keepsakes she’ll treasure for years to come.
For Sarah, it is those connections that make membership special.
“They play their best, but they are great role models and make the time for the kids who idolise them,” she says.
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“Over the years we have come to know some of the players and support them as they have moved on to bigger things or even smaller things like stepping back to NPL, we still go and support them and they love spotting us in the crowd too.”
Watching Liley grow in confidence has been one of the greatest rewards of being involved with the club.
“It has given our daughter such a passion to play herself with the goal of maybe one day being a Roar player.
“Walking out as a mascot gives her so much confidence and often on family days the team might play a game with the kids and they make it such fun for all to have a turn and do their best.”
Sarah also believes seeing women play football at the highest domestic level can have a lasting impact on young supporters.
“It’s great for young girls to see the older girls play and inspire the younger generation or girls who may think soccer is a boys sport etc.
“(It’s) definitely a great investment and will keep you entertained for six months of the year!”
For anyone considering becoming a member, Sarah believes the experience goes well beyond simply having a ticket to matches.
CLICK HERE TO BECOME AN A-LEAGUES MEMBER TODAY
“Becoming a member not only gets you into all the home games but you become part of the community,” she says.
“There are often merch discounts and having first access for the finals was great as it was absolutely sold out.”
For the Reed family, every season brings another chapter of memories together, and they’ll continue making the trip to Brisbane Roar matches, sharing those moments as a family and inspiring the next generation of football supporters.
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