Welland Lions Croatia was a

soccer club In Association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as a ...

based in Welland, Ontario. The club was founded in 1970 and originally played in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

as Hamilton Apollos. It was later renamed Hamilton City in 1973 and ultimately relocated to Welland in 1976. The club played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

(NSL) for seven seasons from 1970 until 1976. In 1977,

St. Catharines Roma St. Catharines Roma Wolves (also known as St. Catharines Wolves or simply Roma Wolves), are a Canadian soccer team, founded in 1967. The team currently plays in the semi-professional League1 Ontario in both the men's and women's divisions. The ...

replaced Welland in the NSL by acquiring their franchise rights. The club's home venue was originally at Ivor Wynne Stadium, and later when relocated to Welland at Plymouth Park.

History

Hamilton Apollos was granted a franchise in the

(NSL) in 1970. In 1971, Andy Pollock served in a dual capacity of general manager and head coach. Hamilton's player recruitment policy was generally geared towards a developmental approach with the average player being 20 years old. In 1973, the club was rebranded as Hamilton City and became associated with the Croatian Canadian community in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1975, the NSL ownership decided to partition the league into two separate divisions with a

promotion and relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

system with Hamilton being placed in the First Division. Andy Pollock returned as head coach for the 1975 season, and the club avoided relegation by finishing in seventh place. The following season the club was relocated to Welland, Ontario, and became known as Welland Lions Croatia. Their home venue was located at Plymouth Park. After the 1976 season, Welland was relegated to the Second Division by finishing at the bottom of the table. In 1977, the club's franchise rights were purchased by St. Catahrines Roma.

Coaches

* Andy Pollock (1971) * Andy Pollock (1975)

Seasons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Welland Lions Croatia 1970 establishments in Ontario Association football clubs established in 1970 Association football clubs disestablished in 1977 Defunct soccer clubs in Canada Canadian National Soccer League teams Sport in Welland Soccer clubs in Hamilton, Ontario