A Word from Tim Cahill

To the people of the South Coast,

I am really excited and proud to be part of South Coast Football's bid for a Hyundai A-League license. Their vision of 'World-Class football - for the people of our region, by the people of our region' shows that what they want is a team that is largely built on local talent, with a pathway all the way from juniors through local and state associations to the Hyundai A-League and beyond. Their philosophy is to look for every opportunity to use the profile and resources of the A-League team to 'give back', not only to the football community, but the wider Southern NSW community. This really appealed to me as a perfect fit with my own dream of creating a youth academy that gives talented young footballers the chance to learn from the best, and achieve their maximum potential in an integrated football structure, where an A-League team represents the pinnacle of local achievement.

This region has a proud football history, producing greats like Peter Wilson and Johnny Warren, and my current Socceroo team-mates Scott Chipperfield, Mile Sterjovski and Luke Wilkshire. It deserves a place on the national stage in what is fast becoming one of the world's most exciting domestic competitions, and I would like nothing better than for the Southern NSW region to be the site of the first Tim Cahill Football Academy.

I urge the community and sponsors to get behind this bid, and be part of making dreams come true.

Tim Cahill

Tim Cahill

Bio of Tim Cahill

Tim was born on September 6th, 1979 to a Samoan mother and English father of Scottish and Irish descent. His parents encouraged him to play football from an early age and in 1997 Cahill asked his parents to allow him to play professionally in England and he was signed by 1st Division club Millwall on a free transfer from Sydney United. He made his Millwall debut on May 22, 1998. In the 2003-2004 season, Cahill was the workhorse in Millwall's heroic campaign which led them to the FA Cup final for the first time in their history, scoring in the semi-final against Sunderland, and securing a UEFA Cup place.

Before the start of the 2004-05 season, Tim secured a transfer to Premiership side Everton. In his first season, Cahill finished as the club's top goal scorer and provided the most assists. He was also named the fans' player of the season as Everton reached the Champions League qualifying stage ahead of cross-town rivals Liverpool.

In October 2006, Cahill was named as one of 50 nominees for the Ballon D'Or, becoming the first Everton player in 18 years to make the shortlist for the European player of the year award.

Tim made his Australia debut on June 30th 2004 in a game against South Africa at Loftus Road England. He also participated in the 2004 Olympic Games later that year was named Oceania Footballer of the Year.

Perhaps the greatest performance of his career so far came in Australia's first match of the 2006 World Cup finals. Brought on as a substitute against Japan with Australia behind 1-0, Cahill scored twice to become the first Australian to score at a World Cup finals. He added a second soon after in Australia's stunning 3-1 victory.