MORE than 300 of the state’s best young soccer players arrived in Cleveland on Thursday for the four-day State Schools Football Championships at Redlands United Football Club.
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Ten boys’ teams and 10 girls’ teams, from as far as Cairns to the South Coast, gathered at Cleveland District State High School to compete for a state title and vie for state selection at the four-day event.
The event will finish with the girls’ final at 9am on Sunday and the boys’ final at 11am.
Games will be played on fields at Redlands United and on the Cleveland District State High School main oval from 9am to 4.30pm until Saturday.
Host school, Cleveland District State High has a strong representation in the tournament fielding two Metropolitan East teams.
The Metropolitan East girls team features Demi Robins, Elise Franco and Lauren Spreadborough.
The Metropolitan East boys team features Liam O’Bryan, Daniel Driver and Lachlan Moore.
Twenty-three referees from all over the state, including two former Cleveland students Zac Irving and Marcus Austin, will referee the matches.
Both Irving and Austin graduated from the Cleveland Referees program and are now recognised as top referees in Redlands.
Cleveland Sports Precinct Cluster sport and recreation coordinator Martin Hampson, based at the Cleveland District State High, said the tournament was “a starting point” for many students to kick off careers.
“Many students have gone on from tournaments such as this to make it to the professional leagues,” he said.
“Students from this system include players such as Dario Vidosic who played for Metropolitan East and now plays for Adelaide United in the A league.
“He has played professionally in Germany and is a current Socceroos squad member hopeful of playing at next year’s World Cup.”
Another former Cleveland player, Mitch Nicholls, has played for Brisbane Roar in their two premierships and has signed to play for Melbourne Victory.
Nicholls, a former South Coast player, is also a Socceroos squad member.
In the girls competition, the Sunshine Coast’s Tameka Butt and Cleveland’s Emily Gielnik have gone on to play for Brisbane Roar and represent the Matildas.
Gielnik, who also went to Cleveland District State High, has played professionally in England and is now playing in Canada.
