Newcastle United Jets Football Club is a professional football (soccer) club based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The club competes in the A-League and plays its home games at Ausgrid Stadium (EAS). The Jets have won one A-League championship, defeating arch rivals the Central Coast Mariners 1 – 0 in the 2007-08 Grand Final. In 2009, Newcastle played in the AFC Champions League for the first time, reaching the Round of 16.
The club was formed in 2000 when it joined the National Soccer League (NSL) as Newcastle United, and is one of only four former NSL clubs to appear in the A-League.
On 2 October 2010, Tinkler Sports Group (now Hunter Sports Group) secured the future of the club by extending their temporary ownership until 2020. Tinkler Sports Group has had a positive influence at the Jets. A new price for tickets includes a season pass for children younger than 15, a family pass for 11 home games with reserved grandstand for $100 and general admission for $10. As part of a new initiative called “Be a part of it”, the Jets hosted a community day, where 10,000 fans were admitted free for the clash against Melbourne Heart on October 31 2010.
The club has a new sponsor with Hunter Medical Research Institute. The Jets will have the institute’s logo on the front of their playing strip and will donate $5000 for every goal they score at home and $2500 for an away goal. The changes continued when the club set up a new administration office, extended the contract of coach Branko Culina until March 2015 and unveiled a $2.5 million blueprint for the football department.
