Volunteer Simon Cox has helped to create an inclusive sporting club
For Simon Cox, President of North Sydney United Football Club (NSU), soccer has always gone beyond the playing field.
At a recent 50th birthday celebration, he reflected on the club’s extensive reach both on and off the pitch after speaking with a former member who’d moved to the Central Coast.
“He said to me, ‘Just have a look around this room…all of the people in this room are basically here because of (NSU),’” Simon says. “The thing that had brought everybody in that room together was our club.”
In his 27 years of voluntary service with NSU, Simon Cox has helped to grow the club into one of the region’s largest and most inclusive football organisations. In recognition of this work, Simon was presented with a NSW Community Service Award by North Shore MP Felicity Wilson in May.
Simon got involved in NSU almost by chance, after arriving from England. Having befriended some club members, he was told that that they were ‘looking for some younger, more enthusiastic people’ to take on executive roles. “I went along to the AGM and put my hand up to be secretary,” he says.
In 2011, Simon became club president. When he first signed up to volunteer, he was told, ‘if I lasted two years I’d be doing quite well.’ But as long as he is making a difference, he has no plans to stop.
In Simon’s first season in 1998, the club had three teams and about 50 members, but has since expanded to around 1,800 members.
But it is community and inclusivity that matter most to Simon. “If people want a competitive game, we’ve got that, and if people want a social game, we’ve got that,” he says. The aim is to ‘include everybody.’
The club’s efforts to expand women’s participation have paid off and NSU is made up of nearly 30% women. With Football NSW aiming for a 50/50 gender participation split across the board, the club is well on its way there.
“If there was any growth and we were approached to add more junior or senior women’s teams, we would give that priority,” says Simon.
Earlier this year, the club launched All Abilities – an inclusive program for players with disability to train and play football. “We’re hoping to eventually run an expanded program, summer competition and do some things throughout the year with All Abilities,” he says.
Simon is particularly proud of establishing the North Sydney Community Fund, which is used to help in-need families in the club community.
“Over the years, we’ve donated well over $100,000 to families that struggled with either injury, with loss of life unfortunately, or just with general financial hardship,” he says. “That’s probably one of the best things that I look back on and I think, ‘yeah, that’s made a difference to people’s lives.’”
Simon met his wife at the club and now their two children play for NSU too.
“It’s given me personally a lot, and that’s why it’s easy for me to keep going,” Simon says. As for what he hopes for others to get out of being an NSU member, Simon ‘would like anyone that’s part of the club to feel like they’re part of a family.’
