| Version 3.0 - May 2019 |
| ADDED – A-League and W-League player appearance records for season 2018-19 – 435 players. |
| UPDATED – Overseas club appearance records for every Australian abroad in 2018-19 – 129 players. |
| UPDATED – Selection of club appearance records for foreign players that have played in the A-League and NSL – 177 players. |
| UPDATED – International caps and goals updated for all Socceroos and Matildas as of May 2019. |
| Version 2.0 - June 2018 |
| ADDED – Summary totals for player appearances and goals along with starting and substitute appearances where possible – 4,380 players. |
| ADDED – A-League and W-League player appearance records for season 2017-18 – 330 players. |
| ADDED – Overseas club appearance records for every Socceroo that has made their international debut since January 2000 – 153 players. |
| ADDED – Overseas club appearance records for every Matilda involved in the 2018 AFC Asian Cup squad – 23 players. |
| ADDED – Overseas club appearance records for selected Australian born players – an additional 144 players. |
| UPDATED – International caps and goals updated for all Socceroos and Matildas as of June 2018. |
| Version 1.0 - October 2017 |
| Complete A-League player appearance records from 2005-06 to 2016-17. |
| Complete W-League player appearance records from 2008-09 to 2016-17. |
| Complete W-NSL player appearance records from 1999-2000 to 2004. |
| Complete NSL player appearance records from 1977 to 2003-04. |
| Selected W-NSL player records from 1996-97 to 1998-99. |
| Sources |
| Much of the domestic league information has been sourced directly from the OzFootball archive, with additional player information gathered from official W-League, A-League and NSL media guides, several Australian newspaper publications, Soccer Action and Australian & British Soccer Weekly. A number of online sources have proven helpful in gathering overseas playing records. Barry Hugman's Footballers - English league players. BDFutbol - Spanish league players. Croatian Football Statistics - Croatian league players. FitbaStats - Scottish league players. Historical Lineups - Selection of European leagues in the pre-internet era. National Football Teams - International players. Neil Brown's Database - English and Scottish league players in the post-war era. Romanian Soccer - Romanian league players. RSSSF Archive- - Selection of historical leagues from across the globe. Soccerway - Selection of present day leagues from across the globe. Soccer Base - English and Scottish league players in the post-internet era. Transfermarkt - Selection of present day leagues from across the globe. Turkey Football Federation - Turkish league players. Tutto Calciatori - Italian league players. Ultimate A-League - A-League players. the women's game - W-League match reports. worldfootball.net - Selection of present day leagues from across the globe. |
| An explanation from the author |
| Originally devised at the turn of the century by Greg Stock, the Australian Player Database was invoked as a means to aggregate much of the player data contained in the NSL, International and State League section of the OzFootball website. I had embarked upon and concluded a similar project with the Australian Club Database and was soon adding my own research to the mix, with a wealth of overseas data I had acquired via my role as a researcher with Games manufacturer Sports Interactive. |
| Then, a hiatus. With Greg and I investing our energies in professional and personal pursuits, the player database lay dormant through one of the most chaotic periods in the sport, with regular World Cup appearances complimented by the death and rebirth of two domestic leagues. Inspired by the number of regular enquires from players and relatives seeking more and more information about career records, I ultimately picked up the ball once again in 2017, with a renewed and clear focus. |
| An archive is reborn |
| Rebranded Aussie Footballers, this archive sets about documenting the historical playing records of the following players: any player who has made at least one appearance in the National Soccer League, A-League, WNSL and W-League, and any Australian born player who has played professionally abroad. |
| The initial release of Aussie Footballers focused on aggregating the information I gathered from the Australian national leagues in all of their respective incarnations. Bringing the NSL and A-League historical records together for the first time proved quite the challenge and some effort remains in verifying specific records from the NSL era. Amalgamating the statistical playing history of men and women is a first for any archive of this type. There is considerable difficulty sourcing information from various periods of the WNSL - most notably the first three seasons - thus what is presented here is coupled with the knowledge that it is incomplete. |
| None of this work could have been accomplished without the herculean efforts of a select band of individuals, namely Andrew Howe, Thomas Esamie and Jonathan Punshon, and of course Greg Stock, whose original idea sparked this concept at the turn of the century. |
| Where to now? |
| With the first release complete, I have turned my attention to completing the records of every Australian who has played professionally abroad. A herculean task, particularly the further back in time you delve, the first incarnation of this appears with Version 2.0 in June 2018 and Version 3.0 in May 2019, with over 450 players researched across both releases. This continues to be a work-in-progress over the remainder of 2019 and well into 2020, with new players in obscure countries regularly uncovered. Any assistance with this challenge is more than appreciated. |
| Corrections |
| I often receive correspondence from former players, descendants and keen observers, whether it be filling in holes in my research or simply expressing gratitude for the existence of this archive. Despite the attention to detail I may afford to this project, there will be errors in these pages from time to time, as well as gaps - so many gaps. Australians playing in Belgium in the 1980’s? - simply finding individual season records for them is impossible. Even in the post-internet era - there are still some countries who haven’t fully embraced the digital world, never mind their football administrations. If you can shed light on any of these less researched and documented leagues, it would be much appreciated, but as with anything historical, documentary evidence is essential, so please attach anything which may support your findings. Translations are welcome if they’re in another language too. |
| To get in touch, you can e-mail Aussie Footballers or drop us a message on twitter. |
| Tony Persoglia © Aussie Footballers |