Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament

Last updated

Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament
CSA Australia Savez.jpg
Organising bodyCSA Australia Savez
Founded1974;50 years ago (1974)
Region
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
Number of teamsVaries
Current champions Sydney United (10th title)
Most successful club(s) Sydney United (10 titles), St Albans Saints (10 titles)
Website croatian.savez

The Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament, also known as Croatian Soccer Tournament [1] [2] (Croatian : Hrvatski nogometni turnir [3] ) is an annual tournament run by the Croatian Soccer Federation of Australia and New Zealand, an organisation founded in 1974. The inspiration for the tournament came from the successful examples in North America with the Croatian-North American Soccer Tournament founded in 1964 and West Coast Croatian Soccer Tournament founded in 1973.

Contents

The Tournament kicked off in 1974 with a trial event staged in Melbourne where six soccer clubs participated at Melbourne Croatia's ground, Montgomery Park in Essendon. Only six clubs participated. The Tournament's beginning was spawned from Melbourne Croatia's expulsion from the Victorian Soccer Federation in 1972, with the clubs leadership including Tony Vrzina and Josip Solic together with Mirko Furjanic, the now Honorary President of the Tournament, being instrumental in getting the Tournament established.

The first official Tournament was staged in 1975, hosted by Sydney Croatia and won out by Canberra FC who defeated Sydney Croatia 3–1 in the Final. The Tournament has gone on to become the largest and oldest ethnic football tournament in Australia, having been hosted in every state and territory except for the Northern Territory. It also holds the honour of being the oldest national soccer competition still running in Australia.

Melbourne Knights and Sydney United are the only two clubs to hold Life Membership to the Australian Croatian Soccer Federation due to their pioneering in the early days in establishing the Tournament, as well as their success on the national footballing stage.

List of Tournaments

YearWinnerHost
2024TBA St Albans Saints (3)
2023 Sydney United [3] (10) Adelaide Raiders [1] [2] (8)
2022 St Albans Saints (10) Kralj Tomislav Sydney (3)
2021Cancelled due to COVID19 Gold Coast Knights (N/A)
2020Cancelled due to COVID19 North Geelong Warriors (N/A)
2019 Dandenong City Dandenong City
2018 Melbourne Knights (7) Gold Coast Knights (3)
2017 St Albans Saints (9) Canberra FC (5)
2016 St Albans Saints (8) Adelaide Raiders [1] (7)
2015 Melbourne Knights (6) Brisbane Knights (4)
2014 North Geelong Warriors South Coast United (2)
2013 Melbourne Knights (5) Melbourne Knights (5)
2012 Melbourne Knights (4) Gold Coast Knights (2)
2011 Melbourne Knights (3) Kralj Tomislav Sydney (2)
2010 Melbourne Knights (2) Auckland Croatia
2009 Adelaide Raiders (5) Adelaide Raiders (6)
2008 St Albans Saints (7) North Geelong Warriors (4)
2007 Ljubuski FC Western Knights (2)
2006 Sydney United (9) Sydney United (3)
2005 Canberra FC (6) Melbourne Knights (4)
2004 O'Connor Knights Canberra FC (4)
2003 Auckland Croatia Luddenham Bosna
2002 Adelaide Raiders (4) Adelaide Raiders (5)
2001 Canberra FC (5) Brisbane Knights (3)
2000 St Albans Saints (6) St Albans Saints (2)
1999 Hajduk Sydney Hurstville Zagreb
1998 St Albans Saints (5) North Geelong Warriors (3)
1997 Adelaide Raiders (3) Adelaide Raiders (4)
1996 Sydney United (8) Canberra FC (3)
1995 Adelaide Raiders (2) Gold Coast Knights
1994 Canberra FC (4) South Coast United
1993 Melbourne Knights Melbourne Knights (3)
1992 Canberra FC (3) North Geelong Warriors (2)
1991 St Albans Saints (4) Adelaide Raiders (3)
1990 St Albans Saints (3) St Albans Saints
1989 Sydney United (7) Brisbane Knights (2)
1988 Sydney United (6) Canberra FC (2)
1987 Sydney United (5) Sydney United (2)
1986 Canberra FC (2) Melbourne Knights (2)
1985 St Albans Saints (2) Adelaide Raiders (2)
1984 Adelaide Raiders Irymple Knights
1983 St Albans Saints North Geelong Warriors
1982 Brisbane Knights Brisbane Knights
1981 Sydney United (4) Kralj Tomislav Sydney
1980 Western Knights Glenorchy Knights
1979 Sydney United (3) Western Knights
1978 Sydney United (2) Canberra FC
1977 Whyalla Croatia Adelaide Raiders
1976 Sydney United Melbourne Knights
1975 Canberra FC Sydney United
1974 ^ Sydney United Melbourne Knights

^ 1974 Tournament was a trial event

Tournament Winners

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Pagonis, Antonis (27 September 2023). ""These people aren't normal!" - Croatian Soccer Tournament celebration returns to Adelaide". frontpagefootball.net. Front Page Football. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Croatian Soccer Tournament Australia & New Zealand Adelaide 2023". croatiaraiders.com.au. Croatia Raiders. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 Fantov, Suzana (4 October 2023). "'Sydney United' – šampioni ovogodišnjeg uspješnog turnira u Adelaideu". Croatian Herald (in Croatian). Vol. 40, no. 1955. p. 8.
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