As the new Canberra men's A-League team announcement awaits, a new documentary about soccer in the capital has highlighted the desperation for young players calling for a better professional pathway.
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This weekend top Canberra NPL teams will go head to head for the men's and women's Charity Shields, a friendly with all money raised to be donated to Sock it to Sarcoma.
While the current iteration of the NPL Men and NPL Women competitions showcase a strong foundation of talent in the Canberra region, there are hopes that a new A-League men's team joining the existing women's United side will be a major step toward producing the next Tom Rogic-calibre player from the capital.
A documentary called 'InFocus' by local filmmaker Tadiwa Zvidza highlighted the buzz surrounding the incoming new A-League Men team, sharing the story of up-and-coming youngster Connor Mynott-Smith and speaking to other players and coaches in Canberra's first grade competition.
"Through his life story he highlights his goal to make it into that Canberra team and further his career," Zvidza told The Canberra Times.
In the film, Gungahlin United's Samuel Habtemariam also reveals how excited he, his teammates and the whole community are for the Canberra A-League bid to progress.
"It's what we've all waited for since we were young watching A-League," he said.
"I think there's been a distance between Canberra and the A-League.
"There's people who will go and watch games, so having an A-League team is a big, big thing and I can't wait for it."
Rogic is the highest-profile Canberra-raised export in recent years.
He kicked off his career as a junior with Woden Weston and Tuggeranong United before playing senior grades with ANU and Belconnen United.
Also a talented futsal player, Rogic, like many other talented rising stars had to leave Canberra for his big break and it came with the Central Coast Mariners, before a successful move to Celtic in Scotland and 53 caps with the Socceroos.
Last year Rogic announced his retirement, and there are hopes that Canberra's soccer community can entice him to get involved in the A-League Men's team in some capacity.
A major $25 million investor along with reported backing from Aston Villa is yet to be officially announced by the Australian Professional Leagues, but it is hoped the Canberra A-League backer is revealed soon.
Capital Football Charity Shield
Gold coin donation entry at Deakin Stadium with all proceeds donated to Sock it to Sarcoma
NPLW: Belconnen United v Canberra Olympic, Sunday 2.15pm
NPLM: O'Connor Knights v Canberra Croatia, Sunday 5.15pm
Melanie Dinjaski
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
