Each week we will be celebrating our amazing clubs and learning more about their history, accomplishments and about the special people that make the club what it is today.
Here is what Lions FC’s Chief Schlub, Jamie Marcuson, had to say:
2002 was a time of great upheaval in Australian football. While the Socceroos and the nation mourned Montevideo, a group of pioneers from Bondi established something utterly wonderful to lift Australian football up to new heights that would directly lead to the nirvana of qualification in 2005.*
Lions FC – a home for footballers without a home.
Born amidst the chaos of the early noughties, Lions FC has always been a community- building club that focuses on winning trophies side-by-side with an inclusive, comprehensive social calendar. As a tight-knit club, we strive to open up to new friends each season, whether its local Sydneysiders, new players moving from interstate or new arrivals from shores far away. When you play for Lions, you end up with over one hundred close friends who cheer you on each week and celebrate all year round.
Since those fateful early days in 2002, Lions FC has grown to become a staple in the ESFA competitions, picking up trophies in the League and Cup. What started as just a men’s club is now so much more!
In 2016, under the new stewardship of President Rob Gertskis, Lions FC began the process to move in a new direction. Gertskis famously proclaimed in his inaugural club address that “we aren’t a real club until we have a women’s team”.
In 2018, that oft-repeated mantra came to fruition after two years of lead-up work, with the Lionesses born to much fanfare. It didn’t take long for the Lionesses to make a stir in the competition, coming second and making the Grand Final in their first season, before winning both the Minor Premiership and the Grand Final in 2019.
The philosophy from Gertskis and the Lions FC Committee is to be able to provide a footballing home for all people, regardless of gender, ability, work schedules or family commitments, which also focuses as much on off-field activities as on-field. We never turn away a player and want everyone to feel at home at Lions.
Led by Head of Lionesses Shoshi Port, the phrase, “how can you fight for each other on the pitch if you don’t like each other off it?” has formed the culture behind all the teams.
In 2022, Port grew the Lionesses to three teams from just one the year before and already she is planning more teams into 2023, including options in the Over 30s competition.
It is humbling to have almost 100 players this year to celebrate Lions FC’s 20th anniversary and we’re hopeful to finish the season with some more silverware.
You can watch the Lions and Lionesses taking on all challengers at the Lions’ Den (also known as Mission Fields) in Centennial Park every second Sunday, or trying their hand at bowls at the Bondi Bowlo, who are our long-term and very valued sponsors.
