HISTORY
The Story Of The
Australian Football Shirt Museum & Me
Some may already know the little story and the man behind the Australian Football Shirt Museum, others may not. To put everyone to the same level of knowledge:
"Hello guys, this is me, Dennis from Germany with an intense passion for Australian national team football or soccer, whatever you like to call it."
When my brother's godfather brought me my first Australian national team jersey after his trip to Australia in 1997, it was also the birth of my eternal dream:
A football museum which shows the history of Australian national football jerseys.
It often takes many years, patience and a portion of ambition to fulfill a dream, because there are some rocky roads to overcome along the way.
My first attempt began with contacting the Mick Simmons Sports store in Sydney when the worldwide web finally made its mark. I bought my first Socceroos national jerseys through them before I understood that these were so-called “replicas” and not the jersey version which the national players wore during the games.
One of the main differences was the logo used on the jerseys, as instead of a distinctive A letter with the added signature “Soccer Australia”, the national players wore the Australian national coat of arms. In order to create a museum, I was aware that I couldn't run an exhibition with replicas, but of course I needed the jerseys worn by the national players. This was the biggest challenge at the time and perhaps still is today, although it is precisely this that makes the subtle difference and makes my passion for collecting beat even faster.
Living in Germany, it was almost impossible to contact Australian players or attend a match live in the stadium. Perhaps the biggest obstacles to fulfilling my dream at the time. In the German Bundesliga, football players like Mark Schwarzer, Ned Zelic and later Joshua Kennedy played, to mention the first Australian internationals within the Bundesliga, but that didn't mean it was easy for a teenager to make contact.
I needed a little more patience, more precisely until March 30, 2004, when the Australian national team scheduled a test match against South Africa in London (England).
Now I was not only a supporter of the Australian national team, but I was also able to experience my first live match in the stadium. There I came into contact with the aussie supporter group “Green & Gold Army” (GGArmy), with whom I was later able to experience several away games. Made a lot of fun to design huge flags and several banners, which I all painted on my apartment floorground. Wherever I travelled to see the Socceroos, I have taken some supporter gear with me and later shared it to the fans who live in Australia.
Watching several matches live gave me the chance to get in touch with the individual players and, in the best case, even get a player's jersey. This happened for the first time
in 2008, after the match between the Netherlands and Australia in Eindhoven through midfielder Jason Culina, who gave me his jersey on the way to the players' bus after taking a souvenir photo together. Two months later, it was goalkeeping legend Mark Schwarzer in Bahrain who donate his jersey to me after the match and gave my passion for collecting an absolute boost.
My dream of a museum with jerseys worn by professional Australian players now had a real chance.
On my way there, I was lucky enough to meet a few people who helped me to buy a few players' jerseys and I also got to know two other collectors who had a similar passion. Nelson from Melbourne and Shaun from Adelaide are still among my closest Australian friends and well-known collectors of Australian national jerseys. As collectors, we were also comrades-in-arms, but the focus has changed to supporting each other in collecting.
While collecting Australian national jerseys was a passion for only a few, social media channels have ensured that even jersey collectors without a connection to the Australian national team want to expand their collection with Socceroos jerseys. In addition, more and more spectators and fans are asking for soccer jerseys, which has made collecting Australian national jerseys noticeably more difficult, especially if you don't live in Australia.
To counteract this effect, it often requires a greater investment of money, or the understanding of the Australian national players, which is why I collect Australian national jerseys and thus pave the way for the opening of a large museum.
Especially with some retired players and coaches, such as Andy Bernal and Raul Blanco for example, I find this understanding and receive a great deal of support, which I really appreciate. But the list of former players and active players who supported me already is very long and I couldn't name them all in one sentence. You all deserve my thanks and a considerable part of the jersey collection.
The Australian Football Shirt Museum collection is certainly one of the biggest in the world, if not already the largest collection of Australian national shirts followed by Australian national football gear. But this was not my primary goal, it simply reflected my commitment to collecting the Australian national jerseys, preserving them to the highest degree, cataloging them and then displaying them in a museum in Australia.
None of these collectibles should and must never be lost, because these stories cannot be reconstructed if they are lost somewhere. And from my point of view, every player (including former), every coach (including former), as well as all people and officials (including former) within the Australian national team contribute to sporting history.
I am happy to have achieved a partial goal over the many years, the football museum that I dreamed of as a teenager in its still electronic but also real form. The final milestone will be the construction of the museum building in Australia and I hope to achieve this goal so that this lovely country can showcase a sporting part of its football/soccer history.
Until then, I will pursue my passion for collecting Australian national jerseys with unreserved devotion and will give the jerseys a shared, honorable place until the museum doors open.
Live the shared dream with me and let us realize it as one.
Dennis Kylau
Some rocky paths and goals have been completed and a new obstacle has to be overcome. The creation of a football museum in Australia to showcase the history and jersey exhibition to guests worldwide. As a private collector, this is almost impossible financially, which is why sponsors and the help of the Australian Football Association are required.
Since this path will not be an easy or short one, I have created the Online Museum, a first platform that is freely available to all guests around the world. I hope to be able to reflect the football history of the Australian national team and each individual player.
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