The Croatian community of Australia has played an important part in the history of Australian soccer. Countless clubs have been formed over the years in every state and territory, except for the Northern Territory. At present there are 31 active Croatian soccer clubs operating in Australia.
The first Croatian soccer/sporting club founded in Australia was HSNK Zora (no longer in existence), which was founded in 1931, Sydney. Currently the oldest surviving Croatian club in Australia is the Adelaide Raiders, founded in 1952 as Adelaide Croatia. The most successful and largest Croatian clubs in Australia are the Melbourne Knights and Sydney United, both clubs played in the National Soccer League for 21 seasons.
The Croatian community holds the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament which has been held annually since 1974. It is the largest 'ethnic' based soccer cup competition in Australia as well as the oldest national soccer competition in Australia, with clubs from all over the country and even New Zealand competing.
Active Clubs by state Note: clubs in National Premier Leagues in bold text
Australian Capital Territory Canberra Croatia FC HNK O'Connor Knights
New South Wales Sydney United 58 South Coast United Hurstville Zagreb Newcastle Croatia Werrington Croatia FC HNK Edensor Park NK Kralj Tomislav HNK Dalmacija Sydney
Queensland Gold Coast Knights Brisbane Knights FC Sunnyside Croatia NK Adriatic Gold Coast Stratford Dolphins FC
South Australia Adelaide Croatia Raiders Whyalla Croatia Adelaide Croatia Vukovi
Tasmania Glenorchy Knights
Victoria Melbourne Knights St Albans Dinamo North Geelong Warriors Dandenong City Hajduk FC Strathmore Split St Albans Vukovar St Albans Gospić Bears NK Bunker Elcho Park Cardinals Wednesday Knights FC Irymple Knights
Western Australia Western Knights Gwelup Croatia
See also
List of sports clubs inspired by others List of Greek soccer clubs in Australia List of Italian soccer clubs in Australia List of Serbian soccer clubs in Australia
References