The defender has signed a four-year contract at the Stadium of Light and becomes the Club’s second summer signing, following the arrival of Luis Hemir Silva Semedo from S. L. Benfica.
Triantis featured 26 times for the Mariners during the 2022-23 campaign, as the Australian outfit won their first A-League title since 2013 courtesy of a 6-1 Grand Final victory over Melbourne City.
Born in Sydney, the Australia youth international has represented the Socceroos at Under-20 and 23 level, whilst also spending time with Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers during the early stages of his career.
After arriving on Wearside, Triantis said: “I’m buzzing to be here – I just can’t wait to get started and play in front of the fans at this historic stadium.”
“When a massive Club like Sunderland comes in, you can never say no. It was a dream to have won the league with Central Coast Mariners, but now I hope to enjoy similar success with Sunderland,” Triantis added.
The Club’s Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman said: “Nectar’s progressed rapidly over the last 12 months – at both club and international level – and we are delighted that he selected Sunderland as his next step.”
“On the pitch, and in possession, we feel he’s well aligned to our playing identity, whilst also possessing the balance of being a robust defender, which is vital in our league,” Speakman continued.
“We’ll be patient as he adjusts to new surroundings and adapts to a new style of play in a higher league, but we are confident that he’s got the personality to progress and develop his game.”
This critical step paves the way for the next phase of the NST application process. Among the 26 shortlisted applicants are four Greek football clubs – Sydney Olympic FC (NSW), South Melbourne FC (Victoria), Heidelberg United FC (Victoria), and Olympic FC (Queensland).
Football Australia CEO, James Johnson, acknowledged the commencement of the RFP phase: “The progression of the 26 shortlisted clubs to the RFP phase brings us another step closer to the realisation of our vision for this competition and an aligned football pyramid.”
The 26 clubs, which successfully transitioned from the Expression of Interest (EOI) phase, will now engage in a comprehensive evaluation process.
The RFP materials, which include vital information, will aid the clubs in preparing their proposals. Upon receiving these materials and following a thorough briefing, the clubs will confirm their intent to submit a proposal and will have until early August to finalise their submissions.
Football Australia has reached a significant milestone in the National Second Tier (NST) Application Process, distributing the Request for Proposal (RFP) Materials to the 26 shortlisted applicants today.https://t.co/EGPLh8g0nh
This will mark the conclusion of the RFP phase, with the Assessment and Review Phase scheduled to commence in August, and the Completion Phase slated for September.
The remaining phases of the NST Application Process will be conducted confidentially, with Football Australia appointing accounting and advisory experts, BDO, as an independent third party to assist.
The anticipated commencement of the NST competition is March 2024, with an expected participation of between 10 and 16 teams, featuring a home and away league structure and finals. This bold initiative will not only elevate Australian football but also provide a platform for the growth and development of our nation’s clubs.,
“We are excited about the continuing evolution of the National Second Tier from concept to competition and creating new opportunities for sustainable growth and development,” Johnson added.
While the structure of the NST competition is yet to be finalised, Football Australia is also considering a possible phased ‘group based’ model utilising the National Premier Leagues, commonly referred to as the ‘Champions League’ model.
Greece and Saudi Arabia are set to withdraw their joint bid with Egypt to co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
According to Ekathimerini, the Saudi government decided to withdraw due to public opinion it was time for a European country host soccer’s prime international competition.
There has been increasing pressure for the World Cup to be co-hosted by Spain and Portugal.
Saudi Arabia’s Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb confirmed the joint bid last year.
Aircraft from the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) took part in a joint training exercise on Tuesday.
According to a statement by the HAF, the exercise focused on aerial refuelling procedures for F-16 aircraft.
The HAF participated in the joint training with 50 sorties of F-16 aircraft and the USAF with two sorties of KC-135 aircraft of the 134 Air Refueling Wing that have been stationed at the 110th Fighter Wing at Larissa Air Base.
The purpose of the exercise was to train and maintain F-16 aircraft crews in Air to Air Refueling (AAR) procedures day and night.
When elderly Greeks are resistant to being placed aged care facilities, their adult children have to make decisions on how they will be cared for.
Yvonne from Adelaide, South Australia, spoke to The Greek Herald about her family’s decision to support her ageing parents, Nick and Helen, in their home.
In 2018, Yvonne, her husband Nicholas and son Jamieson moved back to the family home. It was, she said, the ‘right’ thing to do.
“We wouldn’t say that it was a hard choice, more so we knew that it was the right decision,” she said.
“The ‘hard’ part was acknowledging that we were going to be living a different type of life than what we had been used to.”
Her elderly father Nick had onset dementia with constant mini seizures affecting how he interacted with people. To watch him change from a happy and social person to one who became argumentative was difficult for the whole family.
Yvonne with her father Nick and her mum Helen.
“I recall the time that I left the house, drove to the beach and broke down and sobbed for hours. Then having to compose myself in order to come back home and start the routine all over again,” she said.
Despite working full-time, Yvonne drove her parents to appointments and assisted with chores – shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing and organising their medications. Support also came from her husband Nicholas, who helped with medical emergencies – and there were many.
Nicholas would take his in-laws to the emergency department and stay on for interpreting and support. Often, he would stay at the hospital all night, drive his mother-in-law home and then go to work.
“There were also times where mum would call my husband at work (as he worked closer to home) to say that dad had fallen over in the back yard and she couldn’t get him up,” Yvonne said.
“Nicholas would have to leave work to come home, help get dad back into a chair, make sure he was okay and then go back to work.”
On 17 October 2019, Yvonne’s father passed away at the age of 94 and the family are now looking after her mum. Within weeks of her father passing, her mother’s behaviour changed. They noticed Helen was forgetting, not remembering recent events and conversations.
Late last year, Helen, 87, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and displayed changes in her cognitive and social behaviour. She finds it difficult performing familiar tasks, misplaces items, has left pots cooking unattended and has difficulty planning or making decisions.
Yvonne and her mum Helen
“Mum is my best friend,” Yvonne said.
“But I lost that special bond when Alzheimer’s took over. I grieved for months over that course of change.”
Yvonne found working full-time and supporting her mum was wearing her down. At times she would leave her job, which was 45 minutes away, pick up her mum, take her to appointments, take her home again before returning to her workplace and working till late to make up the time lost.
“I started to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, where I neglected my own physical and emotional wellbeing,’’ she said.
Yvonne’s mum and dad enjoyed attending social events.
“I felt so overwhelmed, stressed and guilty that I was in and out of the office frequently, I felt that I was on a constant treadmill and I couldn’t come off.”
Although Yvonne had dropped to working four days, it was still too much so she resigned, found a part-time role closer to home and began to look into in-home support through an aged care package.
Despite the journey, Yvonne is proud that this experience was a factor that influenced her son Jamieson to study counselling to help others in the mental health field. Jamieson was 16 when they moved in her with her parents and he also pitched in to help.
“Jamieson feels tremendously honoured and humbled that he has been blessed with the opportunity to care for his grandparents in the same way they looked after him,” Yvonne said.
“He wants younger people to know that there is no greater blessing than to care for those around us, especially family.”
St Andrew’s Grammar students took part in an Olympic Day on Thursday, June 15, in Western Australia.
The celebration started on the primary school oval rings with students and teachers forming the five Olympic rings.
Students from Kindergarten to Year 6 then participated in an opening ceremony, where the Olympic torch was lit.
Year 6 student leaders then spoke to the school about the meaning of Olympic Day.
A special speech followed from the day’s guest Giona Ryan, who represented Australia in hockey at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Ryan shared memories from her high school years, when she represented her nation at an Olympic level, including both the struggles and achievements of being a professional athlete.
Students competed in cross-country races, which were split into boys’ and girls’ events, for each year level.
Demeter was the winning house on the day, while the top three winners were recognised at an award ceremony. Students from Years 3 to 6 were presented with a gold, silver or bronze medallion, and a laurel wreath was given to the winner.
A unique surprise is waiting the fans of cooking show MasterChef Australia on Channel 10 today. For the show’s Greek friends in particular, Wednesday’s episode is expected to be more than special.
— MasterChef Australia (@masterchefau) June 21, 2023
According to a teaser trailer, contestants will visit the colourful ‘Temple of the Boom’ (a Parthenon-replica) at the National Gallery of Victoria, before preparing for a cooking service challenge based on Greek cuisine.
There will be Greek dancesThe Temple of Boom.
In the trailer, one contestant can be heard saying “Opa,” while another appears to be dancing to Greek music.
“We want to see Greek food, but we want to see it reimagined,” one judge stressed.
Whether it is souvlaki, tzatziki or another traditional Greek recipe transformed, one thing is sure, today’s MasterChef episode is going to have a Greek taste!
The Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM) welcomed the newly elected National Union of Greek Australian Students Victoria’s (NUGAS) committee to The Greek Centre for a roundtable discussion and agreed on the joint formation of a subcommittee that will formulate a plan on engaging with the youth.
The meeting was organised by ex-NUGAS president and current GCM Board Member Tass Sgardelis who emphasised the two organisations long history of collaboration. Joining Tass were GCM President Bill Papastergiadis OAM and Vice President Michael Karamitos who were also eager to listen to the new NUGAS committee’s vision, and to see how the GCM can best play a supporting role.
Discussions focused on the GCM facilitating a youth subcommittee with plans to meet once a month to collaborate on programs and events. NUGAS Co-Presidents Marissa Robotis and Billy Battista confirmed NUGAS’ interest in the proposal and expressed their excitement to the idea.
Bill Papastergiadis OAM stated that the youth subcommittee “is a pathway for input at a critical part of our community and which will assist in the facilitation of leadership for the GCM going forward.” Agreeing with Bill, Michael Karamitos explained that this current GCM board is “dedicated to creating a pathway in which the Greek Australian youth can directly communicate with the GCM and work together on new ideas.”
Further to discussing the youth subcommittee, Billy Battista and Marissa Robotis updated the GCM on their planned events including their End of Semester Festa a collaboration with VITA (Victorian Italian-Australian Tertiary Association). With this, the co-presidents explained a substantial focus of NUGAS’ 2023/24 executive team is to celebrate NUGAS’ 50-year anniversary with an alumni event.
NUGAS at the Greek Centre
The GCM delegation were enthusiastic about this project and where happy to offer a helping hand. Bill Papastergiadis OAM advised the NUGAS committee that “the GCM will value add where we can and help maximise [NUGAS’] vision. It is imperative that the GCM listens to the voices of NUGAS and is proactive in developing programs that allow for engagement on cultural and educational matters”.
NUGAS Education Officer Christina Savopoulos also spoke on the assistance the GCM gave with the 2022 VCE Oral Greek Exam Help Session and was looking to see how to further involve the GCM with future educational activities NUGAS plans to run. Christina stated that a great ambition of her education committee was to help assist post VCE students continue their journey with modern Greek into tertiary levels and beyond.
Tass Sgardelis who sits on the GCM’s education committee along with Bill Papastergiadis offered to help promote NUGAS’ educational activities within the GCM schools, but to also promote their programs further across the Greek schools in Victoria.
The youth subcommittee will have its first meeting in late July.
In attendance were:
Bill Papastergiadis OAM | President of the Greek Community of Melbourne
Michael Karamitos | Vice President of the Greek Community of Melbourne
Tass Sgardelis | Board Member of the Greek Community of Melbourne
Billy Battista | Co-President of NUGAS | MUnGA
Marissa Robotis | Co-President of NUGAS | RUSH
Jenna Pletsias | Secretary of NUGAS | DUGS
Chris Giannaros | Treasurer of NUGAS | DUGS
Christina Savopoulos | Education Officer of NUGAS | MUnGA
Greek Australian Teresa Polias has become the first female inducted into the Sydney FC Hall of Fame at the club’s prestigious Sky Blue Ball.
Polias was inducted alongside Alex Wilkinson. Together, they played a combined 18 seasons for Sydney FC, winning 11 major trophies and making 366 appearances in Sky Blue.
On the night, Polias was among other award winners including Adam Le Fondre, who claimed the A-League Men’s Golden Boot, and Madison Haley who picked up the Women’s award.
Patrick Wood and Sarah Hunter were named U20 Players of the Year, while Sydney FC NPL NSW star Mitchell Glasson picked up the Rising Star award.
Sydney FC’s double-winning Captain Natalie Tobin and Slovakian international Robert Mak took out the Player of the Year Awards.
The newly appointed Ambassador to Greece from Australia visited recently the Greek Centre in Melbourne, Victoria before her departure to Greece.
Ambassador Alison Duncan is a senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and will be replacing Ambassador Arthur Spyrou.
Ms Duncan received an enthusiastic welcome from President Bill Papastergiadis OAM of the Greek Community of Melbourne (GCM), along with GCM Vice President Michael Karamitos, Secretary Nick Koukouvitakis, Assistant Secretary Vicky Kyritsis, GCM Board Members Dr Nick Dallas, Dr Spiridoula Demetriou, and Christos Sikavitsas. Also in attendance were Greek Centre Director Jorge Menidis and the GCM staff.
During the visit, Ms Duncan engaged in productive discussions with the GCM representatives.
Ms Duncan’s visit to the Greek Centre further solidified the longstanding relationship between Australia and the GCM, highlighting the mutual commitment to promoting cultural understanding and strengthening the ties that bind Australia and Greece together.
During the visit, Ms Duncan engaged in productive discussions with the GCM representatives, where they shared their personal experiences from Greece and applauded Ms Duncan’s determination to learn the Greek language during her 3-year appointment.
In the course of the discussions, the GCM representatives noted the GCM’s involvement in the various bilateral agreements between the two countries. Reference was made to the Tourist Working Visa Agreement. Mr Papastergiadis then noted the GCM’s lobbying on how a bilateral health agreement can be progressed.
The board members delved further into the service centres hosted at the Greek Centre, which included Greek Lawyers, the National Bank of Greece, school facilities, and plans were underway to establish the Greek National Tourism office.
Ms Duncan expressed her gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality extended by the GCM.
Ms Duncan expressed her excitement upon learning that the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO) will soon open an office at the GCM’s iconic Greek Centre on Lonsdale Street in Melbourne. This office is considered a valuable addition to the Greek Centre as it will serve as a bridge between the two countries, fostering stronger connections.
Ms Duncan expressed Australia’s continued support for initiatives that promote Greek language and culture. In addition to cultural collaboration, the Ambassador and the GCM Board explored potential areas of cooperation.
Ms Duncan expressed her gratitude for the warm welcome and hospitality extended by the GCM and emphasised her desire for the relationship between the GCM and her office to continue to flourish.
