Central Coast Mariners' bid for a franchise in the Football Federation Australia's new A-League competition was aimed at filling the one spot for a regional team that was designated by the FFA.

[9] To aid the FFA's goals of building the profile of the sport, the Mariners created formal links with local state league team Central Coast United.

[11][12] The decision made Central Coast Mariners the first Gosford-based professional sports team to play in a national competition.

[23] The club's management was reluctant to sign a star player outside of the $1.5 million salary cap, stipulating that they "would have to contribute on the pitch and get people to come to the ground.

[31] Central Coast again reached the grand final in the 2006 Pre-Season Cup, losing to Adelaide United 5–4 on penalties after the score was tied 1–1 after extra time.

[35][36] In February 2008, Central Coast Mariners signed an arrangement with English Football League Championship side Sheffield United.

The agreement benefits the club by providing an opportunity for the youth programme and senior side to draw from the roster of Sheffield United through transfers.

The teams also formed a property development joint venture, in the hopes that Central Coast could use its share of income to expand and bolster their Mariners Youth Academy.

A 94th-minute goal by Sasho Petrovski, who had scored earlier to level the tie, gave Central Coast a 3–2 win on aggregate, putting the Mariners through to the 2008 A-League Grand Final.

[46] The ban lasted into October;[47] in response, Central Coast signed former Manchester United and Australian international keeper Mark Bosnich on a seven-week contract.

[52] In February 2010, following the club's 2009–10 season, McKinna chose to move into a new role, becoming Central Coast's Football and Commercial Operations Manager.

The Mariners announced the signing of 2005 Under 20s World Cup winner Patricio Pérez of Argentina in June 2010, followed by Dutch defender Patrick Zwaanswijk.

[73] Central Coast finished the 2013–14 A-League regular season in third place, behind runner-up Western Sydney on goal difference.

[74] In the semi-final, the Mariners' championship hopes ended with a 2–0 loss to Western Sydney; the game came three days after the team was eliminated from the 2014 AFC Champions League after losing to Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–0 to finish last in their group.

The only major changes in the side were with the addition of Senegalese international Malick Mané and Hungarian Richárd Vernes, and Marcos Flores leaving the club, with Mile Sterjovski retiring.

[77] Mariners began the season on a high, progressing to the semi-finals of the 2014 FFA Cup and defeating local rivals Newcastle Jets 1–0 at home in the opening round of the A-League.

The decision was made on 6 March 2015, with Mariners appointing technical director Tony Walmsley in an interim capacity and captain John Hutchinson in a dual player-coach role, until the end of the season.

[85] On 29 August 2016, Paul Okon was hired as Central Coast's full-time coach, succeeding the sacked Tony Walmsley.

[86] In Okon's debut as Central Coast manager, the Mariners drew 3–3 with Perth Glory at Nib Stadium, after coming back from 3–0 down at half time.

[89] On 2 August 2017, for the second consecutive year, the Mariners were knocked out of the FFA Cup by a state league team in the first round, after losing 3–2 to Blacktown City.

[108] The team logo is a yellow football at the centre of a blue curling wave, which symbolises the beaches of the Central Coast.

It is constructed to make the most of its location, being open at the southern end, giving filtered views of Brisbane Water through a row of large palm trees.

[112] The stadium has a capacity of 20,059,[I] and the highest attendance for a Mariners game was a sold-out 21,379 in the 2024 Grand Final, assisted with portable seating at the southern end of the ground.

The club's goal was to play closer to its fan base in north Sydney, which majority owner Michael Charlesworth estimated to be about 20% of its total supporters.

[115] The active supporters' group for the Mariners is called the Yellow Army,[116] who sit in bay 16 of Central Coast Stadium during home games.

A May 2005 Oceania Club Championship qualification match, which went to a penalty shootout that the Mariners won, helped create hostility between the sides.

[122] Fans of the clubs battled verbally before and after one 2011 derby match, leading the Newcastle Herald's Josh Leeson to call their actions "immature and laughable.

2023–24 A-League Men Championship2023–24 AFC Cup John Hutchinson currently holds the team record for number of total games played with 271 matches in all competitions.

[145] As of 2020, Central Coast's all-time highest goalscorers in all competitions is Matt Simon with 66 goals, twenty-three more than Adam Kwasnik.

[147] This record attendance at Central Coast stadium was broken during the 2022–23 season for the second leg of the A-league semi-final against Adelaide United FC.