Central Coast Mariners

Central Coast Stadium

Central Coast Mariners FC is an Australian professional soccer club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia (FFA). The Mariners was founded in 2004 as one of the eight original A-League teams. It was 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, Central Coast Mariners has won the A-League Premiership twice and claimed one A-League Championship from four Grand Final appearances. The club has also appeared in the AFC Champions League four times. 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 National Youth League. The English Football League One's Sheffield United has invested in the Central Coast-based club, and the Mariners has affiliation agreements with several international clubs. 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 motorway that connects the cities of the teams. Matt Simon is the Mariners' all-time leading goalscorer as of December 2014, with 43 goals in all competitions. The team record for matches played is held by John Hutchinson, who has appeared in 252 games with the Mariners as of December 2014.