Central Coast Mariners FC
Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mariners were founded in 2004 and are one of the eight original A-League teams. It is the first professional sports club from the Gosford region to compete in a national competition. Despite being considered one of the smallest-market clubs in the league, the Central Coast Mariners have claimed two A-League Championships from five Grand Final appearances and topped the table to win the A-League Premiership twice. The club has also appeared in the AFC Champions League five times.
Full name | Central Coast Mariners Football Club | |||
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Nickname(s) | Mariners, The Yellow & Navy, Coasties | |||
Short name | CCMFC | |||
Founded | 1 November 2004 | |||
Ground | Industree Group Stadium | |||
Capacity | 20,069 | |||
Chairman | Richard Peil | |||
Head coach | Mark Jackson | |||
League | A-League Men | |||
2022–23 | 2nd of 12 (champions) | |||
Website | Club website | |||
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The club plays matches at Central Coast Stadium, a 20,059-seat stadium in Gosford; its purpose-built training facility, Mariners Centre of Excellence, is located in the suburb of Tuggerah. The facility is also home to a youth team that competes in the A-League Youth.
The Mariners' main supporters' group is known as the Yellow Army, for the colour of the club's home kit. The club shares a rivalry with Newcastle Jets, known as the F3 Derby, after the previous name of the highway that connects the cities of the teams. Matt Simon is the Mariners' all-time leading goalscorer as of May 2022, with 66 goals in all competitions. The team record for matches played is held by John Hutchinson, who has appeared in 263 games for the Mariners.