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Western Knights Soccer Club is an Australian
Western Knights was established by Croatian immigrants in the state of Western Australia under the name of Metropolitan in 1968, joining the semi-professional Second Division (third tier) the following year as Croatia. In 1970, under their new name of North Perth Croatia, they were promoted from the Second Division to the First Division. Throughout the years following, Croatia went up and down from First Division to the Premier Division.
With the moving from division to division also came the moving from different home grounds over the years. Wellington Square in East Perth, Velodrome in Mount Hawthorn and Perry Lakes Stadium were all homes to North Perth Croatia over those years.
In 1994, the club was forced by the then sport governing bodies to remove all ethnic references from their name, so the club changed their name from North Perth Croatia to Western Knights and in 1995, the club returned to the state's premier league until the 2013 season.
1998 proved to be the most successful year in the club's history so far, the Knights take home the Premier League Minor Premiership, the Championship Final Series Grand Final for the first time in their history and the West Ham Cup.
The club claimed back to back minor premierships in 2009 and 2010 after finishing the home and away seasons on top of the league table.
The Western Knights has 3 Men's Senior Team which compete in the Football West State League Division 1. It also has Junior Boys and Girls teams from under 6 – 18. Through a joint arrangement with Perth AFC, the club encourages Senior Women, Men's Amateur and Social, and Futsal players to play for Perth AFC.
The Knights were a founding club in the Football Wes
Equal Footingball
competition (for those with competitive disadvantages), with both a Junior and Senior male team in competition. In 2017, the Western Knights became the first Western Australian club outside of the National Premier Leagues Western Australia to reach the Round of 32 of the
2020
*Western Australian Third Division Champions: 1969 *Australian-Croatian Tournament Champions: 1980 *Western Australian First Division (Second Division) Reserves Champions: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986 *Western Australian Cup Reserves Winners: 1976, 1999, 2004, 2008 *Western Australian Premier League Under 18 Champions: 2007 *Western Australian Cup Under 18 Winners: 2007
Official Western Knights Website
Official Western Knights Facebook Page
{{WASL Clubs Soccer clubs in Perth, Western Australia Football West State League teams Croatian sports clubs in Australia Association football clubs established in 1968 1968 establishments in Australia
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 currently playing in the Football West State League Division 1 in Perth, Western Australia. Its home ground is Nash Field, in the Town of Mosman Park. Since 2018, the club expanded its junior program to include Len Packham Reserve in the City of Cockburn as well as Nash Field.
History
Western Knights was established by Croatian immigrants in the state of Western Australia under the name of Metropolitan in 1968, joining the semi-professional Second Division (third tier) the following year as Croatia. In 1970, under their new name of North Perth Croatia, they were promoted from the Second Division to the First Division. Throughout the years following, Croatia went up and down from First Division to the Premier Division.
With the moving from division to division also came the moving from different home grounds over the years. Wellington Square in East Perth, Velodrome in Mount Hawthorn and Perry Lakes Stadium were all homes to North Perth Croatia over those years.
In 1994, the club was forced by the then sport governing bodies to remove all ethnic references from their name, so the club changed their name from North Perth Croatia to Western Knights and in 1995, the club returned to the state's premier league until the 2013 season.
1998 proved to be the most successful year in the club's history so far, the Knights take home the Premier League Minor Premiership, the Championship Final Series Grand Final for the first time in their history and the West Ham Cup.
The club claimed back to back minor premierships in 2009 and 2010 after finishing the home and away seasons on top of the league table.
The Western Knights has 3 Men's Senior Team which compete in the Football West State League Division 1. It also has Junior Boys and Girls teams from under 6 – 18. Through a joint arrangement with Perth AFC, the club encourages Senior Women, Men's Amateur and Social, and Futsal players to play for Perth AFC.
The Knights were a founding club in the Football WesEqual Footingball
competition (for those with competitive disadvantages), with both a Junior and Senior male team in competition. In 2017, the Western Knights became the first Western Australian club outside of the National Premier Leagues Western Australia to reach the Round of 32 of the
2017 FFA Cup
The 2017 FFA Cup was the fourth season of the FFA Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. 32 teams began competing in the competition proper (from the round of 32), including the 10 A-League teams and 21 Football Fed ...
, also becoming the first team since 1991 to win the State Cup from outside of the Premier Division, when they defeated Sorrento. It followed this success by also winning the Football West State League Division 1 league title, the first time the club has completed the league and State Cup double.
Notable former players
*Robbie Dunn
Robert Dunn (born 6 July 1960) is a Scottish-born Australian former soccer player. Dunn played as a defender in a career that spanned 15 years.
Playing career
Club career
Dunn played in the National Soccer League for Preston Makedonia, We ...
. 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 ...
with West Adelaide, Preston Makedonia
Preston Lions Football Club (formerly Preston Makedonia Soccer Club) is a soccer club from Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was established in 1947 to play non-professional soccer matches against other tea ...
and Melbourne Croatia
Melbourne Knights Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the suburb of Sunshine North, Victoria, Sunshine North, Melbourne. The club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, t ...
and has 25 international caps for the Australia national soccer team Australia national soccer team may refer to:
* Australia men's national soccer team
** Australia men's national under-23 soccer team
** Australia men's national under-20 soccer team
** Australia men's national under-17 soccer team
** Australia ...
.
* Australia women's national soccer team player Sam Kerr began her career at Western Knights.
* Other players from the Western Knights who have continued their careers in the National Soccer League or A-League are Tommi Tomich
Tomislav "Tommi" Tomich (born 14 February 1980) is an Australian goalkeeper who plays for Sydenham Park.
Biography
Tomich has previously played with Bassendean Caledonians, Cockburn City, Melbourne Knights FC, Western Knights and a stint with ...
, Craig Deans, Andrija Jukic, Anthony Skorich
Anthony Skorich (born 19 March 1990) is an Australian footballer.
Biography
Skorich was born in Perth. He attended John Curtin College of the Arts and graduated in 2007. In May 2009, Skorich was signed to a professional contract by Perth Glory.
...
and David Micevski
David Micevski (born 25 February 1986) is an Australian footballer who has played for Stirling Lions.
Club career
He was identified by former Perth Glory technical manager, Mich d'Avray as one of the brightest young prospects in the WA State ...
.
Honours
*Western Australian Premier League Champions: 1998, 2004 *Western Australian Premier League Runner-Up: 1988, 2000, 2009, 2010 *Western Australian Premier League Minor Premiers: 1998, 2004, 2009, 2010 * Football West State Cup Winners: 2000, 2008,2017
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 ...
*D’Orsogna Cup Runner-Up: 1992
*Night Series Winners: 2003
*Night Series Runner-Up: 1996, 2002, 2004, 2010
*Charity Shield Winners: 2009
*West Ham Cup Winners: 1998
*Western Australian First Division (Second Division) Champions: 1971, 1975, 1995, 2017
*Western Australian First Division (Second Division) Runners up : 1973, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 2019
*Western Australian First Division Night Series Winners: 20152020
*Western Australian Third Division Champions: 1969 *Australian-Croatian Tournament Champions: 1980 *Western Australian First Division (Second Division) Reserves Champions: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1986 *Western Australian Cup Reserves Winners: 1976, 1999, 2004, 2008 *Western Australian Premier League Under 18 Champions: 2007 *Western Australian Cup Under 18 Winners: 2007
See also
* List of Croatian football clubs in Australia * Australian-Croatian Soccer TournamentReferences
External links
Official Western Knights Website
Official Western Knights Facebook Page
{{WASL Clubs Soccer clubs in Perth, Western Australia Football West State League teams Croatian sports clubs in Australia Association football clubs established in 1968 1968 establishments in Australia