Manly United Football Club is an Australian
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in the northern beaches area of Sydney. The club competes in the
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
and their home ground is
Cromer Park
Cromer Park is a community football (soccer) ground located in the Northern Beaches suburb of Cromer in Sydney. It is home to Manly United FC and Manly Warringah Football Association.
History
In 1969, the area was selected to be the site of Cr ...
, in the suburb of
Dee Why
Dee Why is a coastal suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district. It is the administrative centre of the local government area of Northern Be ...
, approximately 15 minutes away from Manly.
Its main grandstand is named after former
Socceroo
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated wi ...
captain
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...
, who played for the club as a junior before playing overseas at Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United.
Manly United Football Club Ltd. was officially formed in 2004 by the Manly Warringah Soccer Association.
However, there have been many representative teams competing for the association prior to this date. Notably, the previous club was called Manly Warringah Dolphins, that formed from the merger of Manly-North Shore United and Warringah Freshwater at the close of the 1991
NSW Division 1 season for the start of the upcoming 1992 NSW Super League season.
History
Neerlandia / Manly Warringah
A Dutch club called Neerlandia competed in the 1959
Sydney Federation Division Two, won the premiership and gained entry into the
Sydney Federation Division One for 1960.
The club changed its name to Manly Warringah from 1960. The side had spent 14 seasons throughout the New South Wales top flight in 1960, 1968, and from 1976 to 1987 before being relegated to Division Two. With the club struggling, it merged with North Shore United in 1991. North Shore United itself was a merger of two clubs Ku-Ring-Gai and North Sydney-Artarmon (for the 1989 season). The Manly-North Shore United merger dissolved after the 1991 NSW Division One season, with Manly merging with Warringah Freshwater.
North Shore United would continue to send representative teams to tournaments as Ku-Ring-Gai Districts.
Warringah Freshwater
Warringah Narrabeen (and from 1986 Warringah Freshwater) was a club that had competed throughout the early 1980s in NSW Division Two, even winning the title in 1983. With promotion in 1984 to NSW Division One, the club maintained mid-lower half of the table across their eight-year sojourn in the top flight. Their highest place finish was 5th, achieved in 1991 before merging with Manly for the newly revamped "NSW Super League" in 1992.
Manly Warringah Dolphins
The merger of Manly-North Shore United and Warringah Freshwater created the Manly Warringah Dolphins at the close of the 1991
NSW Division 1 season for the start of the upcoming NSW Super League season.
The club had gained promotion into the
NSW Premier League
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
for the start of the 2004–05 season. At the time, the club was operating solely as a representative branch for the Manly Warringah Soccer Association (MWSA). However, it was a requirement from
Soccer NSW that all Federation Clubs be a separate incorporated body and so Manly United Football Club Ltd. was formed.
Manly United (2004–present)
Manly United have competed in the NSW Tier 1 since 2004–05 when they were elevated to the
NSW Premier League
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
after winning the Super League Division. Manly United is considered an important side in the
NSWPL, as it is based on a geographical area, rather than founded by a single ethnic group like some other ex-NSL clubs.
The original Logo of the renamed Manly United Football Club in 2004 was a collective of an Osprey sea bird, a Football & a Dolphin joined as one, these three icons represent the local MWFA Association (Osprey), a Football & Manly Warringah Dolphins (Dolphin). The Club again changed its logo in 2016 to reflect the evolution of Manly United Football Club and its ownership and association with Manly Warringah Football Association.
The club is the representative arm of the Manly Warringah Football Association (MWFA), the largest community Football Association in Australia with more than 20,000 players.
Divisional History
*2004–2012:
NSW Premier League
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
(NSW Tier 1)
*2013–present:
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
(NSW Tier 1)
Manly Warringah Dolphins
*1992–1996:
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
(NSW Tier 1)
*1997–1999:
Division One
The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
(NSW Tier 2)
*2000: Super League (NSW Tier 1)
*2001–2004:
Winter Super League (NSW Tier 2)
Lucas Neill Scholarship and Medal
Between 2006 and 2012 ex-Manly junior
Lucas Neill
Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...
helped provide opportunities for up and coming footballers from his junior club. Each year the scholarship was awarded to a different young player from Manly to trial in Europe.
Due to a number of factors including difficulty getting clubs in Europe to provide the opportunity for the players, the scheme was discontinued as Lucas and his advisors looked for a different way to reward the junior
players from his junior club.
In 2014 the scholarship was re-branded the Lucas Neill Medal and was extended to include ALL junior members of the club, it was determined that there should be two medals awarded each year, in recognition of the advancements in ladies football.
The medal is made from Sterling silver and is laser engraved on the front with a photograph of Lucas when he first became captain of Australia in 2007.
Current Men's squad
Current Women's squad
.
Men's Seasons
Men's Honours
*
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
:Men's Club Champions (1): 2016
*
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
Grand Finals
:Champions (1): 2017
*
Waratah Cup
The Waratah Cup is a knockout cup competition in New South Wales, run by the governing body of football in NSW, Football NSW. Teams competing in the Waratah Cup come from the National Premier Leagues NSW, National Premier Leagues NSW 2, Natio ...
:
:Champions (1):
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
:Runners-up (3): 2007, 2009,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, 2016
Manly Warringah Dolphins (1992–2004)
*
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
:Premiers (1): 1995
:Runners-Up (1): 1992
*
National Premier Leagues NSW
The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
Grand Finals
:Champions (1): 1995,
:Runners-Up (0):
*
National Premier Leagues NSW 2
The NSW League One Men is an Australian semi-professional association football league comprising teams from New South Wales. The league sits at Level 2 on the New South Wales league system, behind the National Premier Leagues NSW, (Level 3 of t ...
:Premiers (1): 2004
:Runners-Up (1): 2002
*
National Premier Leagues NSW 2
The NSW League One Men is an Australian semi-professional association football league comprising teams from New South Wales. The league sits at Level 2 on the New South Wales league system, behind the National Premier Leagues NSW, (Level 3 of t ...
Grand Finals
:Champions (1): 2001
:Runners-Up (2): 1994, 2004
References
External links
Official site
{{NSWPL
New South Wales Premier League teams
National Premier Leagues clubs
Manly, New South Wales
Association football clubs established in 2004
2004 establishments in Australia
Northern Beaches