Jade North, Socceroo #466, revealed to me yesterday at the 4th Football Writer's Festival, that his GrassRoots club is Burleigh Heads SC.
Moving away from his traditional home in Taree, the Birirpi man found football, and his future, at Pizzey Park on the Gold Coast in Queensland as an 8 year old breaking away from the stereotype of falling into boxing or rugby league, and his full story is inspiring.
Jade played every game at right back in the Australian's run to the final of the 1999 U17 World Cup in NZ where he calmly scored his spot kicks in both the semi final and final penalty shootouts. He won the first of his 41 caps for the Socceroos in an Oceania Nations Cup match against Vanuatu in New Zealand in 2002 and would go on the win the A-League with the Brisbane Roar and represent Australia at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
He now joins Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold in naming Burleigh as his grassRoots club.
Moving away from his traditional home in Taree, the Birirpi man found football, and his future, at Pizzey Park on the Gold Coast in Queensland as an 8 year old breaking away from the stereotype of falling into boxing or rugby league, and his full story is inspiring.
Jade played every game at right back in the Australian's run to the final of the 1999 U17 World Cup in NZ where he calmly scored his spot kicks in both the semi final and final penalty shootouts. He won the first of his 41 caps for the Socceroos in an Oceania Nations Cup match against Vanuatu in New Zealand in 2002 and would go on the win the A-League with the Brisbane Roar and represent Australia at the Athens Olympics in 2004.
He now joins Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold in naming Burleigh as his grassRoots club.
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