Kylie-Maree Smith

Newcastle Jets Football Club

On November 1 2004, Football Federation Australia (FFA) – the governing body for football in Australia – announced that the Newcastle United Jets (Newcastle Jets) was one of eight franchises to have successfully bid for a place in the freshly founded Hyundai A-League – the new top, fully professional division of football in Australia. Alongside foundation clubs from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Gosford, Brisbane, and Auckland (New Zealand), Newcastle's bid had been given the privileged opportunity to represent the Northern New South Wales region – an area steeped in football history and tradition – in what would ultimately become one of the most exciting, engaging and rapidly growing sporting competitions in Asia. Following the announcement of Newcastle's fresh football franchise by FFA, the club – which had previously been competing in the National Soccer League (NSL) under the name Newcastle United – revealed a change to its title and crest. The addition of the word ‘Jets' is in reference to the Royal Australian Air Force base located at Williamtown – just 25 kilometres from the club's home ground of Hunter Stadium – and the alteration of the crest complete with three F/A-18 Hornets ensures that the club possesses unique, symbolic and iconic branding that distinctly sets it apart from rival Hyundai A-League clubs and can be used to effectively position itself in the football world.