Canberra United Football Club is an Australian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in the southern Canberra suburb of

Wanniassa, Australian Capital Territory Wanniassa () (postcode 2903) is a suburb in Australia's capital, Canberra: more specifically, in the city's southern district of Tuggeranong. The suburb takes its name from a pastoral property granted to Thomas McQuoid in 1835, which he named a ...

. Founded in 2008 by

Capital Football Capital Football is the trading name for the ACT Football Federation Incorporated, the state governing body for association football, soccer in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), but also has affili ...

, the club was an inaugural member of the W-League and the only club not affiliated with an

A-League Men A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

team. Canberra United currently competes in the

A-League Women A-League Women (known as the Liberty A-League for sponsorship reasons), formerly the W-League, is the top-division women's soccer league in Australia. The W-League was established in 2008 by Football Australia (then known as Football Federatio ...

A-League Youth A-League Youth, formerly known as the National Youth League and Y-League, is an Australian national soccer youth developmental and under-21s league, founded by Football Federation Australia and now run by the Australian Professional Leagues. Th ...

and NPLW leagues. Canberra's home stadium is

McKellar Park McKellar Park (also known as just McKellar) is a neighbourhood located in Kitchissippi Ward in the west end of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes considered to be part of the greater Westboro Westboro may refer to: Places Canada *Westbor ...

and the club is two time champions and three time premiers of the W-League.

W-League History

2008–09 Season

The first announcement of the club came in July 2008, coinciding with the establishment of the new W-League. The formation of the new club presented a unique situation in the league, that it was not associated with an established A-League side. In August, Canberra appointed Matildas assistant coach

Robbie Hooker Robert Hooker (born 6 March 1967) is an Australian former soccer player and coach. He played for and later became assistant coach of the Australian national team. Playing career Hooker started his playing career with Mount Colah Soccer Club a ...

as coach for the inaugural season, and ACT

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Kate Lundy Kate Alexandra Lundy (born 15 December 1967) is a former Labor Party member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Capital Territory. Lundy served as the Minister for Multicultural Affairs and the Minister Assisting for the Digi ...

as club chair. United also announced its first key signing in local Canberran and Matildas goalkeeper

Lydia Williams Lydia Grace Yilkari Williams (born 13 May 1988) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Women's Super League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Australia national team. Williams previously played for Melbour ...

. Hooker made a number of key signings in the first registration window, also securing

Caitlin Munoz Caitlin Rose Munoz (born 4 October 1983) is an Australian soccer player who played for Canberra Eclipse in the Women's National Soccer League and Canberra United in the W-League. She retired from soccer after the end of the 2019 NPL ACT Wom ...

Amy Chapman Amy Lucille Chapman (born 12 February 1987 in Albury) is an Australian soccer player, playing with Brisbane Roar. She represented Australia between 2007 and 2013. Playing career Chapman played 12 times for Canberra United in the Australian ...

, Grace Gill-McGrath,

Hayley Crawford Hayley Crawford (born 27 March 1984) is an Australian soccer player who played as a midfielder for Newcastle Jets and Canberra United in the W-League and for Macarthur Rams. She has also captained Newcastle Jets. She has represented Austral ...

, Rhian Davies,

Thea Slatyer Thea Kay Slatyer (born 2 February 1983) is an Olympian, and former member of the Australia Women's National Football Team, The Matildas. She was an intimidating, no-nonsense defender similar to Manchester United's Vidic. Slatyer was a tough tack ...

for the inaugural season. The squad was further expanded in the lead up to the first round, signing on a number of players from the ACT and Southern NSW, and also signing Sasha McDonnell and Kara Mowbray from Queensland. The final squad presented significant strength on paper, boasting eight full internationals and a further four Young Matildas. United started the season steadily, alternating losses and wins in the opening rounds, including a win over eventual Premiers

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisb ...

. Scoring came with some difficulty for the side, with four goals in their opening first five matches. Influencing this record was an injury to striker Caitlin Munoz in Round 1, keeping her sidelined for a number of weeks. Munoz's return to the side in Round 6 immediately lifted the scoring rate, contributing four goals in the last five rounds. Despite early losses, Canberra were unbeaten in the last seven rounds of the competition, achieving a third-placed finish with a record of four wins, four draws and two losses. Canberra's strength throughout the season has been in defence, drawn from a number of experienced players. In front of a dependable Williams in goal, a defensive backline led by Thea Slatyer and captain Ellie Brush frustrated opposition and ensured the second-best defensive record in the competition, bettered only by Premiers Queensland. United won their away semi-final against Newcastle Jets, and progressed to the inaugural final, where they were defeated by Queensland Roar.

2009 season

There were a number of changes at Canberra for their second season, most notably the departure of Robbie Hooker and appointment of

Ray Junna Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gr ...

as coach. Junna has commenced preparations for the new season to establish a new squad, and has retained most of the locally based players. Star striker from the previous season Caitlin Munoz is unable to play this season due to a knee operation, but has accepted an assistant coach role with Junna.

2013–14 season

Before the season the team appointed Liesbeth Migchelsen, a former Dutch International, as head coach and Raeanne Dower as assistant coach.

2014–15 season

Canberra United booked their place in the W-league Finals series with the most unlikely of wins over Premiers Perth Glory in the final match of the regular season. United needed at least 1 point to make the finals but faced off against the hardest of opponents in the Glory who had run away with the Premiership title with ten wins from eleven matches heading into the final match at Viking Park, Canberra. Things did not seem like they were going to plan when United went behind in the 53rd minute but they came from behind with goals to Heyman &

Sykes Sykes may refer to: People * Sir Alan Sykes, 1st Baronet, businessman and British politician * Annette Sykes, New Zealand human rights lawyer and Māori activist * Bob Sykes (American football), American football player * Bob Sykes (baseball), ...

clinching third spot in the league and finals football. Canberra United drew Melbourne Victory for the W-League semi-finals and headed down to

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major AFL stadium, a secondary football oval, a cricket field, an open air swimming pool, a number of ...

in Geelong to square off for the right to line up in the Final. American import,

Chantel Jones Chantel Nicole Jones (born July 20, 1988) is a retired American professional soccer player who works as a goalkeeping coach at Canberra United in the W-League. She previously played as a goalkeeper for the professional Icelandic team, Þór ...

, proved to be the influential winner as United progressed to the Grand Final thanks to her glovesmenship in a tightly fought penalty shootout after the match ended nill – nill. Chantel revealed after the match she chose to go left in the Victory's final penalty kick because their previous four penalties also went to the left hand side. This proved a treat as Jones saved the shot before guest signing,

Kendall Fletcher Kendall Lorraine Fletcher (born November 6, 1984) is an American professional soccer player who most recently played as a defender for North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Fletcher previously played for the Los ...

, stepped up to slot the final shot into the net and book the girls from the Capital a ticket to the Grand Final. United came up against familiar foe in the Grand Final as they faced the Premiers

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...

for the second time in three matches. the Glory were heavy favourites leading into the match after setting a string of records including most goals scored, most points accumulated, highest winning streak to start the season and getting the privilege to play at home for the final at

Perth Oval Perth Oval, currently branded HBF Park (under a sponsorship agreement with HBF Health Fund) and called Perth Rectangular Stadium for international football matches, is a sports stadium in Perth, the capital of the Australian state of Western A ...

. But it was United who would cause a boilover in the west to secure their second Championship in the club's history. United opened the scoring with a pulsating strike by

Stephanie Ochs Stephanie Elise Ochs (born August 29, 1990) is an American soccer forward. Early life Born in San Diego, California to Carol and David Ochs, Stephanie attended Patrick Henry High School where she played on the varsity soccer team all four yea ...

but the Glory pulled level through their own long range strike by

Shelina Zadorsky Shelina Laura Zadorsky (born October 24, 1992) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a centre-back for FA Women's Super League club Tottenham Hotspur and the Canada national team. She previously played for Australian W-League ...

. This set the stage for a tense finish to the match and the 2,671 fans were treated to some football drama as just when it looked like the Glory would go on with things and get a second, it was in fact the visitors who snatched a second goal through the ever reliable

Ashleigh Sykes Ashleigh Sykes (born 15 December 1991) is an Australian international football player, who plays for Canberra United FC in the W-League (Australia) and has previously played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League. Early l ...

. A minute later Perth had won a penalty and up stepped Australia international

Kate Gill Kathryn Anne "Kate" Gill (born 10 December 1984) is an Australian soccer player who played the majority of her career in Australia, in the Women's National Soccer League (WNSL) and the W-League. She also played in Sweden in the Damallsvenskan ...

to take the shot.

stood strong and pulled off a good save to keep United in the lead which was duly doubled a minute later as

grabbed her Grand Final brace and secured the title for Canberra. Canberra did miss a penalty in stoppage time with Mackenzie Arnold saving Grace Gill's shot but it was already all over by that stage.

2015–16 season

Reigning champions Canberra United have signed up 5 new players for the 2015–16 season. These include Mexican international Veronica Perez, New Zealand forward Emma Kete, Emma Checker, Jenna McCormick and rookie Nickoletta Flannery. Veronica Perez is the first Mexican international to play in the W-League. Emma Kete is also returning to the club after previously have won the W-League title in its 4th season. Meanwhile, Nickoletta Flannery is a local Canberra product who has been in tremendous form. Goalkeeper Lydia Williams is back in the squad, returning from a knee injury that put her out of action last season. Canberra United's leading goalscorer of all time, Michelle Heyman also signed on for a 6th successive year with the club. Michelleheyman canberra

Club identity

Colours and badge

The primary club colour of Canberra United is green, chosen principally since it did not clash with the other seven clubs in the inaugural competition. They are the second elite sporting team from the city to wear a green jersey after

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

club,

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

. This has led to some cross-promotion between the two 'green machine' teams. The Canberra United badge depicts the flagpole of Parliament House, a symbol of Canberra.

Stadium

Canberra's current home ground for W-League home matches is

Viking Park Viking Park is an 7,000 capacity (1,000 seated) multi-sport stadium located in the Tuggeranong Valley suburb Wanniassa, Canberra, Australia. It has a rectangular playing surface which is used primarily to host rugby union matches but additional ...

, a multi-purpose stadium within the

Tuggeranong The District of Tuggeranong () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory used in land administration. The district is subdivided into divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks and is the southernmost town cent ...

region in Canberra's south. The stadium has a grand stand and hills surrounding a rectangular playing surface. The capacity for Viking Park is 7,000 with 1,000 seats in the grand stand. United moved into Viking Park at the beginning of the 2020/21 W-League season following the closure of McKellar Park by the owner due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Canberra United's maiden home ground was

, a purpose built football ground within the

Belconnen The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconn ...

region in Canberra's north-west. The club played at McKellar for seven years with a handful of matches played at alternative grounds including:

Deakin Stadium Deakin Stadium is an association football ground located in the south-central Canberra suburb of Deakin, ACT. It is the home ground of Canberra Croatia FC in the NPL ACT. Primary Use Canberra FC are the primary tenants of Deakin Stadium. C ...

, AIS Enclosed, Viking Park and

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium (GIO Stadium for commercial reasons) is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sports v ...

. The FFA partnered United with

Central Coast Mariners 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 Ma ...

in 2009 and 2016/17 to feature in 'double-header' W-League and

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

fixtures at Canberra Stadium.

Supporters

Canberra United had the highest attendance in the W-League in the inaugural season with an average crowd of 1,029. Their first home match attracted a crowd of 1,637 against Central Coast Mariners (9 November 2008). The largest attendance to watch a Westfield W-League match at McKellar Park was 2,512 for the Grand Final against Brisbane Roar (28 January 2012). The largest attendance to watch a Westfield W-League match at

was 2,595 against Melbourne City (12 November 2016).

Personnel

Current squad

Club officials

''Current as of 30 January 2017''

Head coaches

''Current as of 17 September 2021''

Honours

* W-League: ** W-League Champions (2): 2011–12, 2014–15 ** Runners-up (1): 2008–09 ** W-League Premiers (3): 2011–12, 2013–14, 2016–17 ** Runners-up (1): 2015–16

Records

Academy and Youth

The Canberra United Academy was set up in 2016 to represent the Capital Football High Performance Program, aligned with the FFA national technical strategy, catering for players from the ACT and the surrounding region. Originally the Academy ran programs for both girls and boys from U-10 to first grade. The boys program was met with opposition by the established ACT NPL clubs, who believed the Academy would take their best young players. The Clubs lobbied and threatened to break-away and establish a new league if the Academy was not removed from the first grade Capital Football NPL league. In 2017, after just one season, the boys program was amalgamated with the

FFA Centre of Excellence The FFA Centre of Excellence (formerly the Australian Institute of Sport Football Program) was a football talent identification and player development program run by Football Federation Australia (FFA) and was based at the Australian Institute ...

program. As of 2020, the Academy runs girls and women's programs including U-13, U-15, U-17, Reserves and First Grade at NPLW level. In addition, the Academy also runs a men's U-23

Y-League A-League Youth, formerly known as the National Youth League and Y-League, is an Australian national soccer youth developmental and under-21s league, founded by Football Federation Australia and now run by the Australian Professional Leagues. T ...

program, having been granted a National Youth League licence from the 2017–18 season onwards.

Season-by-season results

References

External links

Canberra United websiteCapital Football websiteW-League Official Website
{{Canberra Sports Teams Women's soccer clubs in Australia A-League Women teams Soccer clubs in Canberra Association football clubs established in 2008 2008 establishments in Australia Canberra United FC