On Sunday 30th May, APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic will go head to head at Lambert Park in a new event known as the Festival of Football. The two teams will settle a debate: who is the best in the Inner West?
The women’s 1st Grade match between APIA and Olympic is sure to be one of the biggest games of the NSW NPL season, with the two clubs having a total of 20 W-League players between them. This game is part of a double header with the men’s sides for both clubs, and there will be an overall club championship including results for women’s, men’s and youth teams.
Off the field, there will be food stalls, as well as entertainment from both the Italian and Greek communities. The hope is that the event will break the current NSW NPL regular season attendance record which stands at 3,500.
The number of highly talented players involved is one of the reasons why APIA midfielder Rhianna Pollicina is excited about this game. Pollicina is now in her second season with APIA and is enjoying her time at the Leichhardt-based club.
“When you know who they have, you want to beat them even more. It’s going to be a very good game against Olympic.
“It [APIA] is probably the most professional club in the league. The access that we get, the gym, photographers, the facilities, it’s on par with some W-League clubs, so I’m very grateful, and that was the drawcard for me.”
Pollicina also reflected on the progress both clubs have made with their women’s teams.
“Both clubs started in State League [the old NSW third division] and had to build up to NPL 1, so both clubs have only been around in the top league for a couple of years. It’s going to be massive and it’s always a privilege to play for a big club, I’m really looking forward to the event.”
Sydney Olympic coach George Beltsos has been at the club since their women’s team was established. He is eager to be involved in a double header with the men’s teams.
“I was here from the year the women’s program started, so this is my 11th season. We started in State League / Division Three back then, and now we are one of the best teams in the competition.
“It’s always good to have men and women playing one after another, it brings more people to the game, it makes it a bigger rivalry, so it’s exciting and I can’t wait.”
Beltsos also explained that he is relishing the challenge of coaching in such a high quality league.
“The competition is so much harder [than before], it’s like an extension of the W-League. We’ve got about 100 W-League players in this NPL competition this year. It’s great for the players, it’s going to give them a really big challenge and it’s a really open competition. I think anybody can beat anybody on their day, there’s no weak clubs.”
The Women’s match between APIA Leichhardt and Sydney Olympic will kick off at 3:30pm on Sunday 30th May – NPL.TV will show the game live. Click here for more information on the event.
Beyond 90 will also be providing a wrap of the game as part of our NSW NPL coverage.
