CLUB STORY
Melbourne City are a member of the A-Leagues in Australia and joined the City Football Group family as its third member in 2014.
Melbourne City are a member of the A-Leagues in Australia and joined the City Football Group family as its third member in 2014.
Formerly known as Melbourne Heart, the Club was established in 2009, inspired by a vision for a community team celebrating cultural diversity and sporting passion through football. The name change came in 2014 after Melbourne City became wholly owned by the CFG.
Home is AAMI Park, a 30,000-capacity stadium in the centre of Melbourne’s sporting precinct.
Since its inception, the Club has built a reputation as one of Australia’s best, both on and off the pitch, with a proud history of youth development and sporting success.
Melbourne City quickly established themselves as a powerhouse on the field, wrapping up a hat-trick of A-League Premiership wins in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 – securing the Championship trophy after the first of those successes with a Grand Final win over Sydney FC. They lifted the FFA Cup in 2016, also against Sydney FC.
Melbourne City have shown huge ambition off the pitch, too, opening the City Football Academy Melbourne in the suburb of Bundoora in 2015. At the time, this investment in infrastructure was a statement of intent from Australia’s newest football club, with the facility soon becoming the inspiration for all future CFG academy developments outside of Manchester.
With a bold vision for the future, Melbourne City waved goodbye to their home at Bundoora after 6 years and established a state-of-the-art football and administrative centre at Casey Fields in the City’s southeast. The all-new City Football Academy Melbourne features advanced training pitches for all its teams, dedicated community pitches, world-class medical and sports science facilities, and expansive office space. It is also CFG’s centre for football operations in the Asia Pacific.
Melbourne City Women could not have had a more significant impact since their inaugural season. The 2015/16 campaign saw them win 12 consecutive league games to become the Invincibles. They made more history by adding the 2016 Grand Final to the Premiers Plate. In 2017, they entered the record books again when they won the Grand Final for a second consecutive year, the first team in the competition to win back-to-back titles.
In 2018, Melbourne City Women went one further, entering the realms of the sporting elite in completing a fairytale ‘three-peat’ under the direction of former Melbourne City captain Patrick Kisnorbo, who went on to lead the men’s team to two Premierships and a Championship.
In 2020, Melbourne City Women rewrote history again, becoming the first team to win four Championship titles, incredibly producing their second invincible season.
Melbourne City’s Academy was introduced in 2016 when two additional development squads were established to provide a pathway for talented young Victorians. The Club’s National Youth League team delivered the Club’s first trophy in February 2015, winning the Youth League on the final day of the season. Two years later the NYL team defeated Sydney FC to win the same trophy a second time.
The Club’s youth system now includes the National Premier Leagues Seniors and Junior teams.
The Academy squads for Under-14 to Under-23 players are provided with training, coaching and development opportunities within a professional environment at the CFA.
Continuing to set the benchmark for youth development in Australia, City has had over 25 Academy graduates make their senior debuts for the Club, with a number of players earning their first Socceroos caps while playing for Melbourne City.
GALLERY
ACHIEVEMENTS
1
A-League Men’s Championship
3
A-League Men’s Premierships
2
A-Leagues Club Championships Men’s and Women’s Combined
1
Australia Cup (formerly FFA Cup)
4
A-League Women’s Championships
3
A-League Women’s Premierships
2
National Youth Leagues
