Sturt Lions Soccer Club is an Australian professional
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 in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. Nicknamed the Lions, Sturt are associated with
FFSA, and they currently play in the
NPL South Australia. The league is a first tier-league in South Australia and second-tier
nationally
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
. The club, while based in the suburbs in and around the
city of Mitcham
The City of Mitcham is a local government area in the foothills of southern Adelaide, South Australia. Within its bounds is Flinders University, South Australia's third largest, and the notable, affluent suburb of Springfield which contains so ...
, they currently play their senior home games at Adelaide Shores Football Centre in
West Beach West Beach may refer to:
;Australia
*West Beach, South Australia
West Beach is a seaside suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in both the City of Charles Sturt and the City of West Torrens.
History
West Beach was first laid out in ...
. The club has one of the largest junior programs in South Australia.
In 2017 the Lions were Champions of State League 1 after defeating White City, Adelaide Raiders, South Adelaide and Western Strikers in the Final Series. As the Champions, the Lions were promoted to the NPL in 2018.They were again promoted to the NPL in 2021 after winning the state league final through spectacular goals from Gonzalo Rodriguez. Sturt has gone from strength to strength under long term manager Lino Fusco. They are hot favourites to challenge for the NPL Title in 2023.
In 2020 the Lions were again Champions of State League 1 after defeating South Adelaide over 2 legs before beating White City in the Promotion Final. As the Champions, the Lions were promoted to the NPL in 2021.
Notable players
In May 2018 Sturt signed Italian striker Matteo Federici. Federici came through the ranks for Serie A sides Lecce and Chievo Verona. Federici scored 6 goals in his first 7 appearances for Sturt and his performances have been acclaimed in the local media.
In August 2021 Sturt signed Adelaide United legend Michael Marrone. After amassing 250+ games in the A-League and making 1 appearance for the National Team, Michael returned to the local league with Sturt. After signing on the 3rd of August, Michael scored 7 minutes into his debut on the following weekend.
Honours
*
SL1 South Australia Champions:
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
,
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
Divisional history
References
External links
Official club websiteSturt Lions Facebook
{{AUS fb state SA
Soccer clubs in Adelaide
Soccer clubs in South Australia
Association football clubs established in 2003
2003 establishments in Australia