Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mariners were founded in 2004 and are one of the eight original A-League teams. It is the first professional sports club from the Gosford region to compete in a national competition. Despite being considered one of the smallest-market clubs in the league, the Central Coast Mariners have claimed one A-League Championship from four Grand Final appearances and topped the table to win the A-League Premiership twice. The club has also appeared in the AFC Champions League five times. The club plays matches at Central Coast Stadium, a 20,059-seat stadium in Gosford; its purpose-built training facility, Mariners Centre of Excellence, is located in the suburb of Tuggerah. The facility is also home to a youth team that competes in the A-League Youth. The Mariners' main supporters' group is known as the Yellow Army, for the colour of the club's home kit. The club shares a rivalry with Newcastle Jets, known as the F3 Derby, after the previous name of the highway that connects the cities of the teams. Matt Simon is the Mariners' all-time leading goalscorer as of May 2022, with 66 goals in all competitions. The team record for matches played is held by John Hutchinson, who has appeared in 263 games for the Mariners. History Formation (2004) Central Coast Mariners' bid for a franchise in the Football Federation Australia's new A-League competition was aimed at filling the one spot for a regional team that was designated by the FFA. Media speculation prior to the announcement of the franchises in the new league suggested that the Mariners' bid may be favourable due to its new blood. Backing from former Australian international player and club technical director Alex Tobin, as well as Clean Up Australia personality Ian Kiernan—who would act as inaugural club chairman—also strengthened its proposal. As the only regional bidder, Central Coast was expected to make it into the league by default. Following a reported signed deal with the FFA, the club signed former Northern Spirit coach Lawrie McKinna as manager and Ian Ferguson, a former Rangers and Northern Spirit player, as coach. To aid the FFA's goals of building the profile of the sport, the Mariners created formal links with local