Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier women's competition, A-League Women. The team was established in 2008, with the founding of the new league.[1][2]
After Australia reached the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, head coach Tom Sermanni felt the establishment of a professional league was vital for continuing the development of players.[3] Perth Glory was one of eight teams included in the establishment of the league the following year by Football Federation Australia.[4]
During the team's inaugural season, the women's team was managed by Nicola Williams who improved to be a top–four performing side in the second half of the season.[5][6] In 2010, Jamie Harnwell was named head coach and led the team to second and first place finishes and a first-time trip to the finals.[7] In July 2015, former A-League striker Bobby Despotovski was named head coach with former Matilda and Perth Glory captain Collette McCallum as assistant coach.[8] After five years as a coach, Despotovski stepped down in November 2020[9] and was replaced by Alexander Epakis a few weeks later.[10]
Despite signing a two-year contract extension in August 2023,[11] Epakis left the coaching role for personal reasons in June 2024.[12]
In July 2023, A-Leagues administrators the Australian Professional Leagues appointed receivers to manage the sale of Perth Glory's licence, after accepting the immediate return of the club's licence from the previous owner Tony Sage.[13]
In October 2023, Australian Professional Leagues confirmed new owners had been found for the club, which was to be Robert Brij and John Nekic.[14] However in November 2023, it was reported that the sale would be terminated.[15]
In February 2024, Pelligra Group was confirmed as the new owners of the club.[16]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
