Top End FC

Top End FC is a professional soccer club based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The club participates in the newly founded A-League NXT, the fourth division of the newly organised Australian league system. The club was founded in 2022 due to a desire from Football Federation Northern Territory (FFNT) and the NT Government for a professional side to enter the new Australian pyramid. They are the only fully professional sporting team in the Northern Territory.

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SantiNava's story with this ficitional Australian database inspired me to have a look at it and I couldn't help but be drawn in by the chance to manage a genuine professional football club from Darwin, my home for the last eight years. I will be attempting to build a club from scratch that can rise in the pyramid and become the pride of the Northern Territory.

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March 3 2022

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Football Federation NT and the NT Government have revealed in a joint statement that the proposed professional football team to be entered in the new Australian league pyramid will go ahead for the 2022/23 season.

The venture, to be known as Top End FC, will play out of the 6,000 capacity Darwin Football Stadium in Marrara and go away from the traditional ochre, black and white typically worn by NT representative teams and will instead sport a pastel pink and black kit and logo.

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner spoke to journalists outside the stadium alongside FFNT President Stuart Kenny.

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"We are so proud to announce that the Top End Football Club will compete in the A-League NXT division next season. We're thrilled to be involved in this massive new step in Australian football and the team will be the very first, fully professional sporting club in the Northern Territory. This has been the culmination of a lot of work from our friends at the Football Federation as well as countless members of our government, of the local community and of course the footballing community of Darwin."

Tourism Australia have been secured as the major sponsors of the side, with funding expected to be provided by a combination of the Australian federal tourism budget as well as the NT local government, who have committed $20 million over the next ten years.

The club is expected to draw heavily on local talent in the Darwin-based Norzone Premier League and there are low expectations for immediate success, with little precedent for a professional team in the city.

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4 April 2022

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Local manager Hugo Montgomery has been named manager of the newly formed Top End FC, and Adam Hodor (picured) will return to his hometown as the club's first major signing.

Montgomery, 33, was most recently manager of Norzone Premier League side Casuarina FC after spells at Mindil Aces and Palmerston Rovers. The two-time PL winner was also previously an Adelaide United academy player before injuries cut short his career and he moved to Darwin for a sea change.

The club has also confirmed the signing of four returning Territory stars, the first marquee players in the club's history. Most prominent among those is Adam Hodor, signed from Victorian NPL side St Albans Saints. Hodor, 22, left Hellenic Athletic as a teenager before carving a career in the Victorian state leagues.

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Timorese international Pinto returns from his native land and will captain the new side, with the 33 year old boasting experience in the A-League with Newcastle Jets before carving a six year career with Hellenic, winning four Norzone PL titles.

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The Top End have also confirmed a deal with Perth Glory for the transfer of young goalkeeper Cameron Cook, who has played over 50 games at National Premier League level with the youth sides of Adelaide United and Perth, but originally hails from Alice Springs in Australia's Red Centre.

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Finally, another Alice Springs product in Michael Lloyd-Green returns to Australian football after living for a number of years as an expat in Spain. The 36 year old will be the most experienced player in the Top End set-up and even boasts experience in the old National Soccer League with the Northern Spirit.

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15 May 2022

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After weeks of speculation and a number of trials held at Darwin Football Stadium, Top End FC have announced the nineteen locally based footballers that will be awarded one-year professional contracts to join the club.

Eight Darwin clubs are represented along with a number of talented youngsters from the Northern Territory National Training Centre's under-17 representative team.

Included among them is local Aussie Rules star and St Mary's captain Nathaniel Paredes, who has switched codes to pursue professional football with Top End FC. The side will also include a number of expats from around the globe, including Darwin Hearts' pair Oshim Bimali and Sulav Maskey, Mindil Aces' English left back Dave McArdle and Hellenic's Estonian midfielder Mario Kuokkanen.

Here's the full list of local players added to the Top End payroll:

Player	Position	Nat.	Age	NT Club
Bimali, Oshim	DF	NPL	23	Darwin Hearts
Casimiro, Mark	FW	AUS	25	Casuarina FC
Cecchini, Matteo	DF	AUS	15	NT NTC
Gittens, Jacob	MF	AUS	26	Port Darwin
Karpathios, George	DF	AUS	18	Hellenic Athletic
Kirkby, Zac	MF	AUS	23	Mindil Aces
Kocev, Bojan	MF	AUS	16	NT NTC
Kuokkanen, Mario	MF	EST	23	Hellenic Athletic
Lagudah, Josh	GK	AUS	27	Mindil Aces
Leighton, Marcus	GK	AUS	16	NT NTC
Lewthwaite, Matthew	DF	AUS	17	Litchfield
Maskey, Sulav	MF	NPL	29	Darwin Hearts
McArdle, Dave	DF	ENG	33	Mindil Aces
McLennan, Brayden	MF	AUS	22	Casuarina FC
Moon-Burgess, Kaleb	DF	AUS	25	Port Darwin
Mukhlis, Imam	FW	INA	29	Casuarina FC
Paredes, Nathaniel	FW	AUS	27	Uni-Azzurri
Passmore, Reza	DF	AUS	27	Casuarina FC
Saunders,Ethan	DF	RSA	18	Darwin Olympic

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Note: With the exception of the NT NTC teenagers, these are all real players from the Darwin's top league.

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The Australian Professional Leagues dramatic new re-organisation has been a long time coming, after a long period of sustained growth following the 2006 World Cup that saw the establishment of the original A-League, the professionalisation of large numbers of NPL clubs, and eventually the deal for overseas entities to begin investing heavily in soccer in this sports-mad country.

Today we'll walk you through the new four tier A-League pyramid that is due to get underway in just a month's time.

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The A-League 1 is a continuation of the original A-League, but has now been expanded to include 18 teams. Expansion sides Canberra United and Dandenong Foresters will make their debuts in this division, whilst NPL powerhouses South Melbourne and Wollongong Wolves, New Zealand champions Auckland City, and former A-League side Gold Coast United have also been invited to compete.

Unlike previous iterations of the league, there is no more final series and the 18 teams will simply play eachother home and away to decide a champion at the end of 34 games. The bottom 3 teams will be relegated to the A-League 2.

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For the first time there will be an organised, national and fully professional second division in Australian football, with a number of historic clubs invited to form the A-League 2. Melbourne Knights, Sydney Croatia, Adelaide City and Brisbane Strikers are just a handful of the former NSL clubs competing alongside the likes of North Queensland Fury, Hobart Rangers and WA's new second team, Fremantle City.

Like the A-League 1, there are 18 teams and 34 games with the top two sides going up automatically and places 3 through 6 playing off for the final promotion spot. The bottom 3 sides are relegated at the end of the season.

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The A-League 3 contains some more suburban clubs that were still prominent NPL players, such as Green Gully SC, Manly United and Ipswich Pride, along with expansion side Geelong Town playing out of a revamped Kardinia Park. The A-League 3 is also where 3 foreign-owned satellite teams will begin play, in the forms of Atletico Dunedin (Atletico Madrid), Harbour City United (Manchester United) and Red Bull Sydney.

Just like the division above it, it's two up automatically with the next four going into one playoff spot and then three down.

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The final professional tier is the A-League NXT, which includes a number of expansion sides and reborn concepts as well. Gold Coast Galaxy is owned by its Los Angeles counterpart, whilst Ballarat Stockade, FC Launceston, Cairns Athletic and Top End FC are all regional sides intended to boost the following of the sport in the country's major regional centres. The national competition welcomes back former NSL sides Spirit FC and Gippsland Falcons as well as the phoenix club Heart of Melbourne FC.

Following a trend, it's the top two going up automatically and once again a four team playoff for the final promotion spot. There is no relegation from this division.

Incredible writing so far. I'm drawn to this save! Keep me tagged & I can't wait for updates.