Jade Bronson North (born 7 January 1982) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a centre back or right back. He was a member of the Australian national team, and is as of November 2021 co-chair of Football Australia's inaugural National Indigenous Advisory Group.

Jade North
North in 2008
Personal information
Full name Jade Bronson North
Date of birth (1982-01-07) 7 January 1982 (age 42)[1]
Place of birth Taree, New South Wales, Australia
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre back, right back
Youth career
1998 QAS
1999 AIS
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–2001 Brisbane Strikers 48 (3)
2001–2003 Sydney Olympic 59 (3)
2003–2004 Perth Glory 22 (0)
2005–2009 Newcastle Jets 80 (2)
2009 Incheon United 9 (0)
2010 Tromsø 6 (0)
2010–2011 Wellington Phoenix 19 (0)
2011 FC Tokyo 4 (0)
2012 Consadole Sapporo 23 (0)
2013–2018 Brisbane Roar 115 (4)
2019 Murray United 12 (0)
2020 Eastern Suburbs 14 (0)
2023– Brisbane Strikers 9 (0)
International career
1998–1999 Australia U-17 19 (4)
2001 Australia U-20 6 (1)
2004 Australia U-23 12 (1)
2008 Australia Olympic (O.P.) 3 (0)
2002–2013 Australia 41 (0)
Managerial career
2023– Brisbane Strikers
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Australia
FIFA U-17 World Championship
Runner-up 1999 New Zealand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Early life edit

Jade Bronson North was born in Taree,[3] of Biripi descent.[4] He lived in New Zealand until the age of 11, then moved back to Australia, taking up residence in the suburb of Sunnybank in Brisbane, with his brother Brook North and parents. He attended Sunnybank High School until he was offered a place with the AIS in Canberra at the age of 15.[citation needed]

Club career edit

North joined the Brisbane Strikers as one of the youngest players to join the National Soccer League and then later moving to the Perth Glory.[citation needed]

 
North with the Newcastle Jets in 2007.

He was named as the captain of the Newcastle Jets for the 2007–08 A-League season following the departure of Paul Okon.[5]

On 9 June 2008, Australian newspapers suggested that North was due to sign with Belgian club, Club Brugge, or with Armenian club Mika F.C. However any rumours of offers proved to purely speculative, with North admitting no concrete offers had materialised.[6]

On 3 November 2008, he was announced as the inaugural North Queensland Fury marquee player for the 2009–10 A-League season, however, after a week of rumours surrounding North's future, on 12 December 2008 it was publicised that North Queensland Fury would be releasing him from contract as he signed with South Korean K-League club Incheon United on a rumoured $2 million contract.[7]

North trialled with Swedish side Trelleborg but on 26 February 2010, Norwegian side Tromsø IL signed the Australian defender from Incheon United.[8][9] He spent four months in Norway before joining Wellington Phoenix on 30 July 2010 on a one-year deal.[10]

On 2 April 2011, he moved from Wellington to Japanese second-tier club FC Tokyo.[11]

On 8 January 2013, he signed a three and a half-year deal to play with Brisbane Roar in the A-League,[12] leaving after five years in April 2018.[13]

On 15 May 2019, North signed for National Premier League Victoria 2 side Murray United for the remainder of the season.[14]

On 7 January 2023, North's 41st birthday, Brisbane Strikers announced a return to the club for the upcoming Football Queensland Premier League season.[15]

International career edit

 
North playing for Australia

North's breakthrough came when he played every game of Australia's runner's up side at the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship where his country lost the final to Brazil on penalties. He was also a member of Australia's quarter-final effort[citation needed] at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, five years later.[16]

In 2008, prior to the 2010 World Cup Qualifier against China, North became the first ever Aboriginal Socceroos captain for the 0–0 Draw with Singapore.[citation needed]

He participated in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.[16]

Other roles edit

In 2017, North launched a non-for-profit soccer program called "Kickin' With A Cuz" which was designed to reach young boys and girls through soccer, with a vision to create sustainable pathways and outcomes for kids to make better life choices.[17]

In November 2021 North was appointed as co-chair of the inaugural National Indigenous Advisory Group of Football Australia. The group aims at supporting and increasing Indigenous participation in the game.[4]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League[a] National cup[b] League cup[c] Continental[d] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Newcastle Jets 2005–06 A-League 21 0 3[e] 0 24 0
2006–07 18 1 5[e] 1 23 2
2007–08 25 0 4[e] 0 29 0
2008–09 16 1 0[e] 0 16 1
Total 80 2 12 1 92 3
Incheon United 2009 K League 9 0 9 0
Tromsø IL 2010 Tippeligaen 6 0 2 0 8 0
Wellington Phoenix 2010–11 A-League 19 0 19 0
FC Tokyo 2011 J2 League 4 0 4 0
Consadole Sapporo 2012 J1 League 21 0 2 0 23 0
Brisbane Roar 2012–13 A-League 10 0 1 0 11 0
2013–14 22 1 22 1
2014–15 19 0 19 0
2015–16 29 3 29 3
2016–17 26 0 26 0
2017–18 9 0 3 0 9 0
Total 115 4 4 0 119 4
Career total 254 6 2 0 2 0 4 0 12 1 274 7
  1. ^ Includes A-League final series.
  2. ^ Includes A-League, Korean FA Cup, Norwegian Cup, Emperor's Cup.
  3. ^ Includes J.League Cup.
  4. ^ AFC Champions League statistics are included in season commencing during group stages (i.e. ACL 2013 and A-League season 2012–2013 etc.)
  5. ^ a b c d Appearances in Pre-Season Cup

International edit

Appearances and goals by national team and year[18][19][20]
National team Year Apps Goals
Australia 2002 4 0
2003 0 0
2004 6 0
2005 1 0
2006 3 0
2007 1 0
2008 8 0
2009 5 0
2010 3 0
2011 3 0
2012 5 0
2013 2 0
Total 41 0

Honours edit

Newcastle Jets

Perth Glory

Sydney Olympic

  • NSL Championship: 2001–02

Brisbane Roar

Australia

Australia U17

Individual

References edit

  1. ^ Jade North at Olympedia  
  2. ^ "Jade North". Brisbane Roar players. Football Australia. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Jade North: the former Socceroo using the power of sport to build bridges | Samantha Lewis". the Guardian. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Rugari, Vince (8 November 2021). "'It's groundbreaking': Football is finally getting serious about Indigenous Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  5. ^ Newcastle Jets look North for Captain Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Newcastlejets.com.au. Retrieved on 11 July 2011.
  6. ^ Gardiner, James. (26 June 2008) North staying put Jets captain to see out contract Archived 17 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Theherald.yourguide.com.au. Retrieved on 11 July 2011.
  7. ^ "Fury happy to free North". Archived from the original on 8 February 2009. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  8. ^ "Incheon United's North to trial with Trelleborg - Tribal Football". 3 June 2023.
  9. ^ North in from cold with Norway move Archived 9 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Goldcoast.com.au (26 February 2010).
  10. ^ Phoenix snare Socceroo North Archived 13 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Wellingtonphoenix.com. Retrieved on 11 July 2011.
  11. ^ "North to join FC Tokyo". FIFA. 2 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011.
  12. ^ "Defending A-League champions Brisbane Roar sign experienced Japanese-based Socceroo Jade North". Foxsports.com.au. 8 January 2013.
  13. ^ "Brisbane Roar announce Jade North exit". Fox Sports. 26 April 2018.
  14. ^ Greenway, Beau (15 May 2019). "Murray North-bound with signature of former Socceroo". The Border Mail. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Brisbane Strikers FC on Instagram: "Socceroo returns to Strikers! 🦘 The club are thrilled to announce the signing of 4x Australian National Champion and 41x capped Socceroo Jade North. Having last played for the club in 2001, the veteran centre back has enjoyed a fantastic career winning silverware at Brisbane Roar, Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory, and Sydney Olympic as well as playing for several other well known clubs around the world. Celebrating his birthday today, Jade is set to bring immense leadership, experience, and quality to our first team in 2023. ⚡️⚡️⚡️ #NPLQLD #FQPL"". Instagram. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Australian Indigenous Olympians" (PDF). Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 September 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  17. ^ "Jade North launches "Kickin With a Cuz" Football Program". Football NSW. June 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  18. ^ "Jade North". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  19. ^ Jade North at Soccerway
  20. ^ "Jade North » Internationals". 3 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Roar's North named NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year". FourFourTwo. Retrieved 9 July 2016.

External links edit