Melbourne Victory can confirm that ahead of this season’s Big Blue on Australia Day, it will host its 15th consecutive Australian Citizenship Ceremony.
The ceremony will take place in the Olympic Rooms at AAMI Park ahead of the Isuzu UTE A-League fixture against Sydney FC on Monday, January 26, kick-off 5:40pm AEDT.
The Club’s 2026 Citizenship Ceremony will bring the number of people to receive citizenship on a Victory match day to more than four figures, with the 1,000th conferee being amongst the festivities this year.
This season’s ceremony will welcome 63 new citizens from 24 different countries to both Melbourne Victory and the A-Leagues: Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam.
The ceremony will be overseen by the Federal Member for Melbourne, Minister Sarah Witty MP, with the State Member for Albert Park, Nina Taylor, MP, also in attendance.
The ceremony is part of a long-standing partnership between the Club and Home Affairs, and this year, Home Affairs VIP Slava Graskoski, the mother of Victory’s A-League Men’s goalkeeper Daniel Graskoski, will also play a role in the ceremony, which will end with a conferees tradition of playing the national anthem.
Head of PR at Angel City Football Club, Stephanie Rudnick, a good friend of Melbourne Victory, is among those receiving citizenship, and the Club is excited to be part of Rudnick’s journey as she cements herself into life in Australia while continuing her good work with arguably the largest NWSL football franchise.Â
