George Vasilopoulos

Born in Greece in 1951, George Vasilopoulos emigrated to Australia in 1965. He settled in Melbourne, starting a career in the finance industry. Vasilopoulos joined South Melbourne in 1978 and devoted a large part of his life to soccer in Australia and Victoria. He became president of South Melbourne in 1989 after serving as a committee member and later treasurer when South won its first national title. He retired in 2002 after 13 years as president and 25 years of service to the club. During his long administrative career, Vasilopoulos served as NSL and Soccer Australia Commissioner, treasurer of Soccer Australia’s finance committee and Victorian Soccer Federation treasurer. He brought former Hungarian great Ferenc Puskas to the club as coach, helped steer Souths to NSL titles, the Oceania club title and a place in the World Club Championship finals in Brazil. Vasilopoulos was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000.