Newcastle Croatia FC

Newcastle Croatia
Full nameNewcastle Croatia Football Club
NicknamesCroatia, Wickham Croatia
Founded1984 (defunct 1994);
2021
Ground
Capacity1,000
LeagueNorthern League One
20251st of 12 Zone Football League (promoted)
Websitehttps://www.facebook.com/NewcastleCroatiaFC

The Newcastle Croatia Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in the region of Newcastle, New South Wales. Newcastle Croatia FC currently compete in the Hit106.9 Northern League One which is the second tier of competition in Northern NSW.

The club was formed by the city's Croatian Australian community as Newcastle Croatia in 1984 and debuted that year in the 5th Division of the Newcastle League. The club was based in Wickham, New South Wales and would in following years change its name to Wickham Croatia. The club eventually disbanded in 1994.

In 2021, under the umbrella of the Croatian Wickham Sports Club, the club was re-established and set to play its first season since re-establishment in 2022 in the Northern NSW Zone Football League Three (5th division of Northern NSW).[1]

History

First Iteration (1984-1994)

• 1986, Minor Premiers of the 5th Division and were promoted to 4th Division

• 1987, Grand Finalists and Minor Premiers of 4th Division

• 1988, Grand Final Runners-Up and Minor Premiers of 3rd Division. Promoted to 2nd Division

It was a remarkably quick rise from the club, by 1991 the club had made it all the way to the premier competition, the NBN State Football League, only 7 years after its formation. The club immediately cemented itself as one of the top sides in the league, finishing an impressive 4th in its debut season.

The club had a few stellar seasons in the NBN State Football League where it came 3rd in seasons 1992 and 1993. In 1992 the club had a great run in the finals, with the club making the Grand Final against West Wallsend FC. Unfortunately Newcastle Croatia went down 2–1 at Austral Park in front of a crowd of 2,500 spectators. The club would again make the Grand Final in 1994, losing 2–1 to Highfields Azzurri.

However the club was disbanded following the 1994 season when it couldn't field a team in the NBN State Football League. The club had also been a regular participant in the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament.

The 1992 Newcastle Croatia Grand Final squad:

  • David Connor
  • Grant Brinkworth
  • John Tonkin
  • Craig A. Jones
  • Michael Boogaard
  • Reg Chilby (captain)
  • John Govan
  • Steve Bajzath
  • Karl Freeman
  • Steve Brown
  • Lorenzo Saetta

Substitutes:

  • Craig L. Jones
  • Doug Elphick
  • Chris Breasley
  • Jason Coombes
  • Michael Kmet

Richard Hartley (coach)

Second Iteration (2021-present)

In 2021, under the umbrella of the Croatian Wickham Sports Club, the club was re-established and is set to play its first season since re-establishment in 2022 in the Northern NSW Zone Football League Three.[1]

• 2023, Promoted to Zone League Two

• 2024, Promoted to Zone league One

• 2025, Promoted to Hit106.9 Northern League One

It was a remarkably quick rise from the club, 2026 the club had made it all the way to the premier competition, the Northern League One, only 4 years after its re-establishment. The club immediately cemented itself as one of the top sides once again.


Home Ground

All Newcastle Croatia FC home games will be played out of Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility,Speers Point.

Honours


See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Newcastle Croatia FC added a new photo. - Newcastle Croatia FC". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
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