''Football Superstar'' is an Australian reality television series that aired on FOX8. It was hosted by Lee Furlong and

Brian McFadden Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter. He rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo ...

, with

Kris Smith Kris Smith (born 20 August 1978) is an English Australian model, television presenter and former professional rugby league player. Career Rugby league In England, Smith played for a number of British Super League clubs including the Leeds Rhi ...

replacing McFadden in the third season. The show aimed to find a new

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

star from male contestants aged 16 to 21. In its three seasons, the winners were Adam Hett, Luke Pilkington and Liam McCormick.

Season One (2008)

The first series aired between 19 June 2008 and 7 August 2008, and had an initial first-season run of 8 episodes. The series was hosted by

with former Australian Women's player Amy Taylor co-hosting. The winner was Adam Hett from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

who beat out Evan Christodoulou in the final. Hett scored a contract under Australian association football club,

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

. He started playing immediately for Sydney FC in the 2008–2009 season of the new 8 team

A-League National Youth League A-League Youth, formerly known as the National Youth League and Y-League is a defunct Australian national soccer youth developmental and under-21s league, founded by Football Federation Australia and later run by the Australian Professional Le ...

. The team was coached by Steve O'Connor. Hett also won a one-year sports scholarship with

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

. The series was co-funded by Kellogg's Nutri-Grain and FOXTEL at the instigation of Mindshare Australia's Adam Ross.

Contestants

''(Ages stated are at commencement of airing)''

Eliminated

*Aleksander Milisavljevic, 17, Sydney *Oscar Sanchez, 17,

Adelaide, South Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

*Christopher Roulston, 17,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Queensland *Rhys Giovenali, 17, Sydney *

Tom Cullen Thomas Cullen (born 17 July 1985) is a Welsh actor and director. He had roles in the independent film ''Weekend'' (2011), as Anthony Foyle, Viscount Gillingham in the television series ''Downton Abbey'', and as Sir Landry in the historical dr ...

, 16,

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

*Carlo Coelho, 17,

*William Dixon, 18,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

*Alexander Sopina, 18, Sydney * Calum O'Connell, 19,

*Zachary Tung, 19,

, Queensland *David Price, 19,

*Corey Slevin, 19,

, Queensland

Finalists

*Reno Damianou, 19,

*Evan Christodoulou, 17,

Winner

*Adam Hett, 17, Sydney, NSW

Season Two (2009)

In March 2009 a second series was announced. The winner of the contract to Melbourne Victory was Luke Pilkington. The producers were offering, as a major prize open to any permanent resident of Australia aged between 16 and 20 years of age, a contract with the

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 ...

organisation for season 5 of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. Lee Furlong co-hosted with

. Trial days were held in all mainland state capitals beginning on 22 March in Perth and ending in Melbourne on 19 April. Intending trialists had to submit an audition form and a short video before being invited to attend the one-day trials. Ten players were selected on merit from each of the trials and invited to attend an intensive training camp in Melbourne over a weekend in late April. Fifteen players from the weekend camp were then selected for an all expenses paid month long training camp under the supervision of Melbourne Victory staff as well as play competitive matches against local teams whilst living as a group in a house in Melbourne. As with the 2008 series the hopeful participants where culled from the groups at each level using both objective and subjective criteria.

Contestants

''(Ages stated are at commencement of airing)''

Eliminated

*Kynon Melling, 18,

*Michael Marchi, 20,

*Thomas Renzi, 19,

Mount Gambier, South Australia Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with a population of 25,591 as of the 2021 census. The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier (volcano), Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about ...

* Daniel Mitwali, 17, Sydney *John Lazaridis, 20,

, 16, Perth, Western Australia *Trent Wood, 19,

*Matthew Heath, 19,

, Queensland *Gilly Buckley, 20, Sydney *Sebastian Petralito, 20,

, Queensland *Steven Topalovic, 18,

*David McMurray, 19, Sydney

Finalists

*Chris Kozionas, 20,

, Queensland *Jack Petrie, 20,

, Queensland

Winner

* Luke Pilkington, 19,

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 ...

, ACT

Season Three (2010)

Foxtel confirmed a third season of the show during the Melbourne Victory vs Sydney FC game on 7 March 2010. The Major Prize was a contract with

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

. Auditions started in late March. The show returned in June with Furlong co hosting with Kris Smith, a former rugby player, model and partner of

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

. Roar manager

Ange Postecoglou Angelos "Ange" Postecoglou ( ; ; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who was most recently manager of club Tottenham Hotspur. Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spen ...

was head coach. The winner of the

contract was Liam McCormick.

Eliminated

''(Ages stated are at commencement of airing)'' * Jeremy Walker, 16,

Taroona, Tasmania Taroona is a major residential suburb approximately 15 minutes drive from the centre of Hobart, Tasmania on the scenic route between Hobart and Kingston. Although on the edges of the City of Hobart, Taroona is actually part of the municipality o ...

(Episode 3) *Nicholas Krousoratis, 16,

Templestowe, Victoria Templestowe is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 16 km north-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Templestowe recorded a population of 16,966 at the . The ...

(Episode 3) *Phillipe Bernabo-Madrid, 18,

Mawson, Australian Capital Territory Mawson () (postcode 2607) is a suburb in the Canberra, Australia district of Woden Valley. The suburb was gazetted in 1966 and named after the Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson. The theme for street names is Antarctic exploration. Mawson ...

(Episode 4) *Jesse Fuller, 19,

Bunbury, Western Australia Bunbury () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's third most populous city after Perth and Mandurah, with a population of approximately 75,000. Loca ...

(Episode 4) *Ahmed Yakoub, 19,

Modbury, South Australia Modbury is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of Tea Tree Gully. Modbury is located at the end of the Adelaide O-Bahn and is home to the Tea Tree Plaza shopping complex and Modbury Hospital. It was named Modbury by R. S. Kel ...

(Episode 4) *Alessandro Stazio, 18,

Sandringham, Victoria Sandringham ( or sometimes ) is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Bayside local government area. Sandringham recorded a population of 10,926 at the 2021 c ...

(Episode 5) *Jesse McDonnell, 17,

Lennox Head, New South Wales Lennox Head is a seaside village in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the stretch of coast between Byron Bay and Ballina in Ballina Shire local government area. It had a population of 7,741 in the 2016 Aust ...

(Episode 5) *Jared Austin, 19,

Albany Creek, Queensland Albany Creek is a southern suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. In the , Albany Creek had a population of 16,385 people. Geography Albany Creek is located approximately 17 kilometres north-west of the Brisbane central bu ...

(Episode 6) *Ian Kamau, 18,

Magill, South Australia Magill is a suburb of Adelaide straddling the City of Burnside and City of Campbelltown council jurisdictions, approximately 7 km east of the Adelaide CBD. It incorporates the suburb previously known as Koongarra Park. History Before t ...

(Episode 6) *Elias Tsintzas, 19,

Northcote, Victoria Northcote () is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Darebin Local government areas of Victoria, local go ...

(Episode 6) *Julian Zullo, 19,

West End, Queensland West End is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , West End had a population of 14,730 people. The Aboriginal name for the area is ''Kurilpa'', which means ''place of the water rat''. Geography Ge ...

(Episode 7) *Troy Ruthven, 19,

Menai, New South Wales Menai is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 29 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the Sutherland Shire. History Menai ...

(Episode 7)

Finalists

*Devon Gibson, 18,

Casuarina, Western Australia Casuarina is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia and located within the City of Kwinana. Casuarina is one of the Kwinana suburbs named after a ship. , under the command of Louis de Freycinet, was a 30-ton cutter used in the French exploration o ...

*Aaron Turner, 18, Elizabeth Grove, South Australia

Winner

*Liam McCormick, 18

References

External links

Official Website
* {{IMDb title, 1288423, Football Superstar 2008 Australian television series debuts 2010 Australian television series endings Fox8 original programming Association football reality television series Australian English-language television shows Australian sports television series 2000s Australian reality television series A-League Men on television Television shows set in Sydney 2010s Australian reality television series

Season One (2008)

Contestants

Eliminated

Finalists

Winner

Season Two (2009)

Contestants

Eliminated

Finalists

Winner

Season Three (2010)

Eliminated

Finalists

Winner

See also

References

External links