Sydney United Soccer Club
Edensor Park,
NSW
2176
Australia
Work Fax: 61 2 9610 7925
administration@sydneyunited.com.au
Sydney Croatia sports club emerged in 1957 and began competing as a soccer team one year later. Like most other sports clubs which emerged at that time, Croatia were formed primarily as social and community club pertaining to one ethnic group. Such clubs catered for the waves of migrants who had chosen to make Australia their new home, after travelling from their beloved homelands in Europe.
But the Croatia soccer team soon became an institute in itself. The club initially joined the NSW Soccer Football Association (NSWSFA). However after only one year in the NSWSFA – where they did not lose a match – Croatia transferred to the newly formed “rebel” NSW Soccer Federation (NSWSF). The death of the NSWSFA soon eventuated because the major clubs of the time – essentially the large mono-ethnic clubs – changed their loyalties to the NSWSF. Intolerant of non-British migrants, the Anglo-Australian based NSWSFA became defunct. And today, with millions of dollars of assets, the NSWSF remains the richest soccer federation in Australia.
After competing in the NSWSF third division in 1959, Croatia eventually won promotion to the first division in 1963. They won their first state league championship in 1977, and repeated this effort with NSW first division titles in 1978, 1979, 1981 and 1982.
