Western United is raring to go for the third year of its Junior Academy program with squads announced ahead of the season kicking off this weekend.
The teams have been put through their paces in pre-season, learning the Western United way and looking to carry on the success of the Club’s Academy program in recent years.
This year, a large contingent of the Under 14’s squad is formed by the first graduating class of the WUFC Development Centre, the Club’s pre-Academy pathway program that identifies talented young players in the West from ages nine through to 13.
With Sai Gottipati leading that side as head coach as well as overseeing the Development Centre in his role as Talent Pathways Lead, it begins an exciting chapter for the Club’s youngest Academy side in 2025.
Last season saw a large number of players progressing through the age groups and featuring in higher divisions, taking invaluable development opportunities with them.
Many of these young players will be hoping for a similar occurrence in 2025 as they look to earn a Senior Academy berth and follow in the footsteps of the 13 players that have signed Isuzu UTE A-League Men scholarship contracts directly from the Academy in the last 18 months.
Western United Academy Director Anthony Frost is looking forward to seeing the four squads take to the pitch at Ironbark Fields this weekend ahead of an eagerly anticipated season.
“I am delighted with the work that we have achieved in our Junior Academy space, recruiting talented players for our squads to be led by fantastic coaches and people throughout the department,” he said.
“Our ambition is only growing to become the most well-respected Academy in the country, and we are looking forward to taking further positive steps towards that end this year.
“I encourage all Western United supporters to keep an eye on the fixture and take the opportunity to watch the next generation of stars in the West in 2025, and I wish all players, coaches, staff and families the very best for a fantastic year ahead.”
Follow the full season fixture for the Western United Junior Academy teams
Full Western United Junior Academy Rosters
Under 14’s
| FIRST NAME | SURNAME | 2024 CLUB |
| Sven | Babic | Altona Magic |
| Ben | Blewett | Western United |
| Xavier | Bouteloup | Altona North Soccer Club |
| Luca | Chiodo | Manningham United |
| Suren | Derakhshi | Gold Coast United/Western United |
| Jerome | Georges | Williams Landing |
| Caden | Ha | Brimbank Stallions |
| Ibrahim | Mayondo | Geelong Soccer Club |
| Archie | Mikronis | Brunswick Juventus |
| Tomi | Molnar | Altona North Soccer Club |
| Xavier | Monfries | Altona North Soccer Club |
| Mohamed | Mussa | Altona North Soccer Club |
| Nathaniel | Ong | Malvern City |
| Tomi | Prusac | North Geelong Warriors |
| Maison | Ramani | Northcote City |
| Mohamed | Saad | Oakleigh Cannons |
| Baris | Salih | Brimbank Stallions |
| Rizz | Shawal | Williams Landing |
| Alexander | Simosis | South Melbourne |
| Jayden | Surmiak | Williams Landing |
Under 15’s
| FIRST NAME | SURNAME | 2024 CLUB |
| Aidan | Adams | Western United |
| Rehan | Aujla | Eltham Redbacks |
| Aleksandar | Bateson | Western United |
| Zak | Brancatisano | Williams Landing |
| Santiago | Brown | Western United |
| Kaden | Cinan | Altona North Soccer Club |
| Alazar | Demissie | Western United |
| Luka | Gal | Western United |
| Neer | Ghoshal | Western United |
| Luka | Jarausek | North Geelong Warriors |
| Alexander | Karaiskos | Western United |
| Ray | Kularatne | Williams Landing |
| James | Macfarlane | Western United |
| Levi | Manasiev | Williams Landing |
| Jason | Novacevski | Altona Magic |
| Seth | Popovski | Western United |
| Kaden | Servin | Western United |
| Oscar | Veselinovski | Western United |
| Sebastian | Vlahek | St Albans Saints |
| Abdulmalik | Yusuf | Western United |
Under 16’s
| FIRST NAME | SURNAME | 2024 CLUB |
| Maleek | Bakkar | Altona Magic |
| Matthew | Catalano | Western United |
| Orlando | Chrysis | Melbourne Victory |
| Zane | Chakik | Western United |
| Fox | Fairweather-Oxbek | Moreland City |
| Lucas | Germano | Western United |
| Akim | Gumbo | FC Bulleen Lions |
| Evan | Horvat | North Geelong Warriors |
| Chaouki | Kaddour | Western United |
| Karim | Kaddour | Western United |
| Rinor | Kutleshi | Western United |
| Zac | Meilak | Western United |
| Phoenix | Pete | Caroline Springs George Cross |
| Luka | Primarano | Western United |
| Flynn | Slater | Altona Magic |
| Joshua | Traikos | Western United |
| Jordan | Vonja | Western United |
| Darcee | Westerlo | Murray United |
| John | Woldegiorgis | Western United |
Under 17’s
| FIRST NAME | SURNAME | JUNIOR CLUB |
| Felipe | Arrua | Adelaide NTC |
| Ahmed | El Souki | Western United |
| Noah | Grieve | Western United |
| Issachar | Hailu | Western United |
| Zain | Imran | Western United |
| Arham | Islam | Western United |
| Zackaria | Kaddour | Western United |
| Lindon | Kamber | Melbourne Victory |
| William | Kengni | Melbourne Victory |
| Karl | Leban | Western United |
| Thomas | Malliaras | Western United |
| Noah | Milis | Western United |
| Dimitrios | Panagiotou | Northcote City |
| Erton | Salievski | Brunswick Juventus |
| Jahan | Sanghera | Western United |
| Ali | Seifeddin | Northcote City |
| Tobias | Servin | Western United |
| Lenny | Van Heer | Western United |
| Nahom | Yohannes | Western United |
