Sign of the times as federation heads for Azzurri blue

BY CRAIG KERRY
17 Mar, 2012 04:00 AM

A BUSINESS owner whose father died the day Azzurri FC were cut from the Northern NSW State League is facing resistance to his plan to bring the Italian word back to prominence in local soccer.

Robert Valentinis is the owner of Azzurri Newcastle Pty Ltd, a property development and mortgage financing company.

Valentinis, whose father Decimo was a life member and president of the now-defunct Azzurri, is sponsoring the Charlestown City Blues from this season and wants to display his business logo on the front of the team’s away jerseys and warm-up shirts.

The logo carries large lettering of Azzurri, the Italian word for blue, in the Italian national colours of red, green and white.

Charlestown City Blues, who are back in the top-flight, are an amalgamation of Azzurri and Charlestown United.

Azzurri, formerly Highfields Azzurri, were cut in a revamp of the state league at the end of 2008 despite making the grand final that season.

Azzurri were then forced to change their title because of regulations aimed at taking ethnicity out of Australian soccer.

The regulations barred the inclusion of a foreign language in the name of clubs.

Charlestown City sought advice from Northern NSW Football over the sponsorship plan.

NNSWF chief executive David Eland did not reject or approve the initiative, but asked the club and Valentinis to reconsider using the business logo on the jerseys.

Valentinis, an over-35s player with the Blues who is giving the club $5000 a year, said he was told the club could be forced to take the logos off the jerseys if he went ahead with the plan.

He has already had warm-up shirts printed and believes players should be allowed to wear his logo on the field.

‘‘I can’t see any problem with it,’’ Valentinis said.

‘‘It’s a registered business, whatever I call it, it’s up to me. It’s not in any way discriminative to anyone.

‘‘I’m of Italian background myself, hence the colours and the name.’’

He believed the obvious Greek flavour at Hamilton Olympic and Macedonian influence at Broadmeadow Magic set precedents.

‘‘I don’t want to create too much trouble at the club itself, but I just find it interesting that Broadmeadow Magic have the red and yellow sun of Macedonia in the background of their logo, and then there’s Hamilton Olympic,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s stirred me up a bit.’’

Valentinis, 39, who played for and was on the committee at Highfields Azzurri, said his father’s death, which came three days after he suffered a stroke, ‘‘put a sting in this for me’’.

‘‘That’s why, with the club back in the top division, I wanted to get back into being associated with the club and now I’ve been told I possibly can’t.’’

Charlestown City secretary Peter Gaddes said the club had taken NNSWF’s advise on board and would meet with Valentinis and discuss their options.

Eland said the governing body acknowledged how difficult it was for clubs to find sponsorship, but added that it was essential regulations were followed.

‘‘The issue that I brought to the club’s attention is that I think they have done a terrific job of positioning themselves as the premier football club servicing the area of Charlestown,’’ Eland said.

‘‘I think they have left Azzurri FC well behind now and I just challenged the club to think whether or not this was a step forward for the club.’’


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