The Central Coast Mariners are pleased to announce that promising youngsters Bailey Brandtman and Nicholas Duarte have both signed scholarship deals with the club.
The pair now join the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s first team for regular full-time training, learning off our current Isuzu UTE A-League players as they begin their professional footballing career.Â
Brandtman has been a mainstay of the Mariners academy over the past season, making regular appearances and consistently scoring goals across both first grade and the NPL NSW Championship winning Under 20’s.
A tall striker with a strong shot, the 18-year-old was rewarded for his academy efforts by being named on the bench for our last two AFC Cup matches.
Brandtman was most recently away with the Young Socceroos at the Marbella Week of Football, scoring against both France and Denmark as the team went undefeated.
Nicholas Duarte officially becomes a Scholar after previously joining the Mariners Academy from NPL side Wollongong Wolves.
He went on to play twice for the Mariners A-League Men’s squad during our Championship winning 2022/23 campaign, making his debut against Western Sydney Wanderers in Round 19.
Duarte also suited up the next week in his second and final appearance of the season, with the 19-year-old playing almost 30 minutes against Macarthur FC in our 4-1 win in Mudgee.
Central Coast Mariners Football Manager Mark Jackson is pleased to be able to offer the pair scholarship deals, excited to watch them continue their footballing development with the Mariners.
“I am delighted to be able to give both Bailey and Nico this opportunity with a scholarship. They are two players who have great potential, and this follows on from what we want as a club, to develop our young players,” Jackson said.
“We feel these two can really develop in the coming years and be of great value to the Central Coast Mariners. We look forward to continuing the hard work with them and putting things in place to help them develop.”
The Mariners can provide scholarship contracts as a result of the generous support of the TAG Foundation. The organisation gives vital funds for promising young footballers to train full time with the first team, helping them develop in their footballing careers.
The program has helped support the development of numerous current first team players and many who have moved overseas.
Graduates include Josh Nisbet, Jacob Farrell, Lewis Miller, Gianni Stensness, Garang Kuol, Alou Kuol and Jing Reec, with many of them currently plying their trade in top leagues across the world.
The club would like to thank the TAG Foundation for its continued support in the development of young footballers on the Central Coast.
