Perth Glory Football Club History
Perth Glory Football Club is one of Australia’s leading football clubs, winning back to back championships in 2002/03 and 2003/04.
Mr Tony Sage is sole owner and Chairman of Perth Glory after completing a buy-out of partner Mr Brett McKeon in February 2008. Mr Sage has enthusiastically set about reinvigorating one of the country’s most successful sporting franchises and has bold plans for the future success of the club.
Mr Sage was the driving force behind the club returning to private ownership following the departure of former owner Mr Nick Tana (2005/06) and one season under the guidance of Football Federation Australia in 2006/07.
Since the club’s inception in 1996, Perth Glory has been synonymous with success on and off the pitch. A loyal and passionate fan base coupled with strong corporate support has been the hallmarks of the two time championship winning club.
Perth Glory is one of only two clubs in the Hyundai A-League to have a history prior to the start of the new national competition. The Glory was the most successful club during the latter stages of the National Soccer League (NSL). Perth Glory’s introduction into the NSL for the 1996/97 season immediately brought a new professionalism to the sport and captured the imagination of WA sports fans.
The club’s success was quickly measured with more than 10,000 people packed into Perth Oval to view the first match at home. An average attendance in the first season of 11,909 set a lofty standard for the remainder of the competition.
Perth Glory achieved a finals berth in their third season and drew 25,000 people to the WACA ground in a semi-final showdown against Adelaide City. The club fell one match short of reaching the Grand Final but the benchmark had been set and from that point on the club featured prominently in finals each season.
Perth hosted the Grand Final the following season and set a record domestic football crowd of 42,000 at Subiaco Oval. Despite going down on the day in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to Wollongong, the Perth Glory brand continued to make inroads into non-traditional football households throughout WA.
The club would go on to play in another Grand Final at Subiaco Oval in the 2001/02 season and again fall just short, this time 1-nil to Sydney Olympic.
The wait for Championship success was finally over in 2002/03 when Perth was crowed the nation’s best in an emphatic 2-nil victory against their 2002 nemesis in front of a packed Subiaco Oval.
The joy of the debut title carried through to the following season when the club achieved back to back victories in the final season of the NSL competition with a 1-nil win away to Parramatta Power. A dynasty had been created and Perth Glory was Australia's most powerful football club.
In eight NSL seasons Perth featured in the finals six times, played in four grand finals, won two championships, and was crowned premiers (top of the table after regular season matches) three times.
A new era in Australian football began with the formation of the Hyundai A-League in August 2005. Despite still being in its infancy the new competition has captured a large portion of the Australian sporting marketplace as Australian’s embrace the world’s biggest game.
The popularity of football at a grass roots level around the country is unsurpassed and in Western Australia there are more than 30,000 registered junior participants.
Mr Sage and Chief Executive Officer Mr Paul Kelly have overseen a significant increase in the areas of sponsorship and corporate hospitality while the club continues to grow its membership base which sits at more than 5000 loyal supporters.
In the 2009/10 season, Perth Glory featured in their first finals campaign since the inception of the Hyundai A-League. After finishing fifth on the table at the end of the home and away season, Glory took on Wellington Phoenix in Wellington but fell just short of a win as a result of a penalty shoot-out.
Board and Management
Perth Glory Owner & Chairman: Tony Sage
Tony has in excess of 20 years experience in the fields of corporate advisory services, funds management and capital raising.
Based in Western Australia he was formerly a successful funds manager with Growth Equities Mutual for a period of 13 years. During the last 10 years he has been involved in the management and financing of several listed companies.
Tony was instrumental in the successful listing of Gabriel Resources Ltd which operates in the Golden Quadrilateral in Romania. Since listing Gabriel has accumulated a total reserve of over 13 Million ounces of Gold and 60 Million ounces of Silver.
He is currently chairman of two listed mining companies, Cape Lambert Iron Ore Ltd and International Goldfields Ltd.
Tony was also one of the original founders of Redwave Media Ltd, a company which operates one of the largest radio networks in Australia. He also owns a publishing company which produces Kurv magazine.
Tony is married to Lucy and has three children: daughters Jessica and Emily and son Matthew.
Perth Glory Advisory Board
Chairman: Mr Tony Sage
Deputy Chairman: Mr Lui Giuliani (Director of Aspire Capital Partners)
Board Member: Mr Paul Kelly
Board Member: Benny Elias
Board Member: Mr Paul Niardone (Executive Director, Professional Public Relations)
Board Member: Mr Declan Kelly
Management & Administration
Chief Executive Officer: Paul Kelly
Media and Marketing Manager: Steve Nelkovski
Media and Marketing Coordinator: Jenna Stummer
Corporate & Sponsorship Manager: Anthony Radich
Merchandise Manager: Lucy Sage
Administration Manager: Tracy Costanzo
Events Co-ordinator: Annabelle Revie
Community Development Manager: Callum Salmon
Membership Manager: Chris Edwards
Player Welfare: Ante Kovacevic