Shaun Ontong (born 25 March 1987 in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

) is a retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and coach who is current assistant coach of Yokohama F. Marinos. His father, Paul Ontong, was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and played in the NSL for Canberra City, Mooroolbark SC and

Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...

Club career

Ontong grew up in Canberra, playing junior football for local clubs Belwest Foxes and later Belconnen United. In 2006, he was awarded a place in the AIS football program. In late 2006, he trialled with

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

club 1. FC Nürnberg, but suffered a groin injury during the trial and returned to Australia. He spent time briefly with

Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory ...

before heading back to Europe, trialling with

FC Sion Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...

and later in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

with

NK Maribor Nogometni klub Maribor () is a Slovenian professional Association football, football club based in Maribor, Slovenia. It competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of the Football in Slovenia#League system, Slovenian football league system ...

and Bela Krajina, but his recurrent injury forced another return home. In June 2007, he signed with

Adelaide United Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, u ...

on a one-year contract, followed by a two-year contract with the

Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from the Australi ...

in April 2008. , he was playing with

Oakleigh Cannons Oakleigh Cannons Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in the south-east Melbourne suburb Oakleigh. As of 2025, the club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria). History South Oakleigh Soccer Club was establ ...

in the Victorian Premier League.

International career

Ontong received 10 caps at international U20 level and captained the

Young Socceroos The Australia national under-20 soccer team, known colloquially as the Young Socceroos, represents Australia in international under-20 Association football, soccer. The team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football ...

through the

AFC Youth Championship 2006 The 2006 AFC Youth Championship was the 34th instance of the AFC Youth Championship. It was held from 29 October to 12 November 2006 in India. It was the first time for India to host this tournament. Sixteen teams from the AFC qualified to the f ...

campaign.

A-League career statistics

(')

Football academy

In 2013 Ontong and fellow

Kaz Patafta Kaz Phonesak Patafta (born 25 October 1988) is an Australian sports administrator and former professional association football, footballer. He has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Brisbane Roar FC since July 2023. Prior to ...

set up a football academy in Canberra, ''Ontong Patafta Football Academy''.opfa.com.au: Media
. Accessed 18 June 2013

References

External links

Ontong Patafta Football Academy
*
Profile at ultimatealeague.com
(to 2010). Accessed 11 November 2012 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Canberra Soccer players from the Australian Capital Territory Australian men's soccer players Adelaide United FC players Newcastle Jets FC players A-League Men players Australian Institute of Sport soccer players Kerala Blasters FC non-playing staff Men's association football fullbacks 21st-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-footybio-stub