Wollongong, colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound of the sea'. Wollongong lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 85 kilometres south of central Sydney. Wollongong had an estimated urban population of 302,739 at June 2018, making it the third-largest city in New South Wales after Sydney and Newcastle and the tenth-largest city in Australia by population. The city's current Lord Mayor is Gordon Bradbery AM who was elected in 2021.
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongong, Shellharbour and the coastal town of Kiama. Wollongong is the largest city of the Illawarra with a population of 240,000, then Shellharbour with a population of 70,000 and Kiama with a population of 10,000. These three cities have their own suburbs. Wollongong stretches from Otford in the north to Windang in the south, with Maddens Plains and Cordeaux in the west.
Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, the second-tier of the Australian soccer league system under the A-League. It is one of the most successful soccer clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL).
Wollongong Wolves Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW, the second-tier of soccer in Australia. The club plays its home games at WIN Stadium.
Jacob Timpano is a former Australian footballer and current head coach of Wollongong Wolves in the National Premier Leagues NSW.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in the NSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 as Avala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992.
Soccer, also known as football, is the most played outdoor club sport in Australia, and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015. The national governing body of the sport is Football Australia (FA), which until 2019, organised the A-League Men, A-League Women, and still organises the Australia Cup, as well as the men's and women's national teams. The FA comprises nine state and territory member federations, which oversee the sport within their respective region.
Sport in New South Wales describes participation in and attendance at organised sports events in the state of New South Wales in Australia. Sport forms an integral part of the culture of the state.
Adelaide Croatia Raiders SC, formerly known as Adelaide Raiders and historically Adelaide Croatia, is a semi-professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, they currently plays in the South Australian State League 1. It is a Croatian Australian-backed club and its home ground is the Croatian Sports Centre in Gepps Cross, a northern suburb of Adelaide.
Adrian Alston is a former professional soccer player. Born in England, he began his career as a youth player with Preston North End and briefly at non-league Fleetwood before moving to Australia. In Australia, he played for South Coast United, then St George before returning to South Coast United and was called up to the Australia national soccer team after two years in the country.
South Coast Group 7 Rugby League is the divisional boundary drawn from the Southern Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia and is governed by the NSWCRL. The main semi-professional competition,, comprises ten (10) teams from across the region. Group 7 Rugby League also administers reserve grade, third grade, and under-18s competitions, Ladies League Tag, as well as looking over many junior competitions.
Cringila is a southern suburb of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is bounded by Berkeley, Unanderra, Lake Heights and Warrawong.
Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as Footscray JUST or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslav migrants in 1950, and was a founding member of the National Soccer League.
Gold Coast Knights Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Carrara, Queensland, Australia. The Croatian Australian backed club play in the National Premier Leagues Queensland, the top level of the Football Queensland and the second level of the Australian soccer league system. The club has won three NPL Queensland championship, one premiership, one state cup and a variety of regional honours.
Albion Park White Eagles is a mainly Serbian Australian-backed football club based in the suburb of Albion Park, a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales.
The AFL South Coast is an Australian rules football competition in the Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions of New South Wales. The AFLSC has two divisions of senior men's football and one division of senior women's football. In 2012 The South Coast AFL became "AFL South Coast" incorporating the three leagues of South Coast AFL Seniors, Shoalhaven Juniors and Illawarra Juniors.
Wollongong United FC is an Australian soccer club based in Wollongong, currently competing in the Illawarra Premier League. The club played in the 1991 season of the National Soccer League under the name Wollongong Macedonia, where it finished last.
Balgownie Rangers Football Club is an association football club based in Balgownie, New South Wales. They play in the Illawarra District League. Founded in 1883, Balgownie is believed to be the oldest running association football club in Australia.
Football South Coast is a sport governing body and soccer competition based in the Illawarra and South Coast regions of New South Wales. All competitions and soccer activity of Football South Coast is under control of Football New South Wales.
Bulli FC, commonly known as Bulli Football Club are a semi-professional association football team based in Bulli, New South Wales. They compete in the Illawarra Premier League, and are considered one of the most successful teams in the competition having finished Premiers 4 times, the most recently in 2014. The team plays out of Balls Paddock, a small ground located at Woonona, just south of Bulli which was opened in 1988. Bulli FC has had several well known, high-profile players both play, and coach at the club including Socceroos players Adrian Alston, and Dean Heffernan. In addition to their Illawarra Premier League team, Bulli FC also fields junior teams and women's teams in local club competitions in Wollongong.
