Port Adelaide Soccer (Football) Club, also known as The Pirates, is an Australian semi-professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Port Adelaide, South Australia Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

, with their home ground at Ngarrpadla (Aunty) Josie Agius Reserve (formerly known as Taperoo Reserve) in

Taperoo Taperoo is a suburb in the Australian state of South Australia located on the LeFevre Peninsula in the west of Adelaide about north-west of the Adelaide city centre. Description Taperoo is adjacent to Osborne and Largs North. It is bounded ...

. They compete in the South Australian

National Premier Leagues State League 1 The NPL State League 1 South Australia is the second tier state-level football (soccer) competition in South Australia, ranked third tier in the national pyramid. The league are part of the National Premier Leagues (NPL) structure implemented b ...

, and also field women's and collegiate teams.

History

The club was founded in 1903 under the name of ''Port Adelaide British Football Club''. They entered the official competition in season 1904. The founders included F.Salmon, G.Haywood, J.Haywood, EP Rowley, F.Meakin and J.McColl. The amalgamation of Port Adelaide and the Cheltenham British Football Club was formalised on Friday 26 March 1914 in the Globe Hotel Port Adelaide. There were elements of the Cheltenham Club who did not agree with the merger and they formed another Cheltenham Club for the 1914 season. The Port Adelaide club's original ground was on a site adjacent to

Alberton Oval Alberton Oval is located in Alberton, a north-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ground is a public park and is exclusively leased to the Port Adelaide Football Club for Australian rules football. History With the nearby Queens ...

. In the late 1920s the club moved to a wasteland that became known as John Hart Reserve. At the end of the 1941 season the club went into recess and did not field a team in the local competition until 1944. This was because the club lost so many members and players to the war effort. In 1956 the club merged with Port Thistle S.C which had been known as the Port Presbyterian Thistle S.C. Their home ground was Nazar Reserve which was across the road from the Port Adelaide club. The ground was also known as Stevedores Paddock because horses used on the wharves were left in the paddock. The area was notorious for getting flooded every time there was an extra high tide in the

Port River The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...

. The club played at John Hart Reserve for over 75 years except for a period in 1955 and 1956 when they moved to Allenby Gardens Reserve while John Hart Reserve was being redeveloped. There was also a period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the club played its home games at the old ICI Oval at

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

while using John Hart Reserve for training and amateur games. In 1993 the club merged with the Ukrainian Sports Club Lion to form the Port Adelaide Lion Soccer club currently known as the Pirates. On Tuesday 10 July 2018, life and financial members voted on a motion to change the official name of the club from Port Adelaide Lion Soccer Club Inc. to Port Adelaide Soccer Club Inc. With the move to the brand new facility at

on the horizon, name simplification was identified as the way to provide clarity of identity to members, external parties as well as current and potential sponsors. A total of 65 votes were received. As per the constitution a two-thirds majority was required in order for the motion to be passed (44 votes). 49 persons voted in favour of the motion and 16 voted against meaning that the motion was passed. The 'Pirates' nickname was not a part of the motion and remains the moniker of the Club. In a statement from Club officials, the part that the USC Lion name and its people has played in the history of the Club was acknowledged and concluded by stating that "While the Lion name has been removed, the history will never be erased nor the efforts of all parties to keep the club alive be forgotten". On 4 August 2018 after drawing 1–1 against

Western Strikers Western Strikers are a soccer club from Adelaide, South Australia. Strikers play in the South Australian State League 2. Their home ground is at Carnegie Reserve. History The club was founded in 1980 under the name of VC Woodville City Junior ...

, they finished 11th in the 2018 State League 1 season relegating them to State League 2. In September 2018, the Club moved to brand new purpose built facility named Taperoo Reserve in

. The first event was the Seniors Presentation Night held on Saturday 1 September. On Saturday 8 September at the new facility, The Club's Collegiate team secured promotion from Division 3 to Division 2 in their very season participating in the South Australian Collegiate Soccer League. On Sunday 9 September, an official club open day was held that saw the majority of MiniRoos and Juniors sides play a competitive fixture at Taperoo for the very first time. The Senior team finished 3rd at the conclusion of the 2019 State League 2 season, however failed to secure promotion back to State League 1 via the Finals Series, losing their Elimination Final match against Adelaide Cobras at Taperoo Reserve on penalties following a 2–2 draw. The Club was named Football SA 2019 Club of the Year. The COVID-19 impacted 2020 State League 2 season ended in similar heartbreak for the Senior team. After finishing in 4th place at the end of the regular season, they lost their home Elimination Final against Adelaide University by 2 goals 1 after initially leading the game. However, 2020 was a positive year at Junior level with the U14 side winning the Championship and the U16's finishing in 2nd place in their respective JPL C competitions. 2020 also saw the rebirth of female football at the Pirates, with the Club fielding a team in the U15 Girls competition. 2021 brought about a coaching change with Ryan Mogg joining as Head Coach and Lewis Vallelonga taking on the role of Senior Assistant Coach and Technical Director. Their first season in charge brought immediate success as the Senior team secured the State League 2 Premiership on the last day of the season with a dramatic 4–1 victory over Gawler Eagles, the win was enough to leapfrog Adelaide University, who held the advantage going into the final round, as they were held to a 1–1 draw by Seaford Rangers. This first place finish also guaranteed promotion to State League 1 for the 2022 season.

Club honours

As Port Adelaide * 1st Division Champions: 1911, 1912, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1934 (Pt.Thistle) & 1937 (Pt.Thistle) * 2nd Division Champions: 1939, 1948 (Pt.Thistle), 1956, 1969, 1979 & 1988 * Federation Cup Winners: 1926, 1933, 1934 (Pt.Thistle), 1945 & 1979 As USC Lion * 1st Division Champions: 1965 * 2nd Division Champions: 1954 & 1964 * Federation Cup Winners: 1956 & 1961 As Port Adelaide Lion/Port Adelaide Pirates * Premier League Premiers: 1994 & 1999 * NPL State League Champions: 2014 * Football SA Club of Year: 2019 * State League 2 Premiers: 2021

Notable players

* Dianne Alagich *

Richie Alagich Richie Alagich (born 30 October 1973, in Adelaide) is a retired Australian footballer. Club career Early career Born in Woodville, South Australia, Alagich played representative football for his home state from 1985 through to 1991. He started ...

* Charles Perkins *

John Kundereri Moriarty John Kundereri "Jumbana" Moriarty (born ) is an Aboriginal Australian artist, government advisor and former soccer player. He is also known as founder of the Balarinji Design Studio, for painting two Qantas jets with Aboriginal motifs. Today ...

Dario Vidošić Dario Vidošić ( ; ; (born 8 April 1987) is a former Australian footballer and current coach who is the interim manager of A-League Women club Melbourne City FC Women. Club career Early life Vidošić was born on 8 April 1987 in Osijek to ...

Derek Acorah Derek Francis Johnson (27 January 1950 – 4 January 2020), known professionally as Derek Acorah, was a British spiritual medium. He was best known for his television work on ''Most Haunted'', broadcast on Living TV (2002–2010). His career ...

References

External links

Official site
{{AUS fb state SA Soccer clubs in Adelaide Association football clubs established in 1903 1903 establishments in Australia