APIA Leichhardt FC

APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1954 as APIA Leichhardt, by Italian Australians. APIA, winner of the national Australian championship of 1987, is currently a member of the NPL NSW. APIA Leichhardt are one of just three winners of the 1960s Australia Cup that are still active, the other being Caroline Springs George Cross FC and Hakoah Sydney City East FC.

APIA Leichhardt

Full name	APIA Leichhardt Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Tigers, Marronazzuri
Founded	1954 (as APIA Leichhardt)
Ground	Lambert Park, Leichhardt, New South Wales
Capacity	5,000
President	Tony Raciti
Coach	Franco Parisi
League	NPL NSW
2023	1st of 16 (Premiers & Champions)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

History

The club was founded as the Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana ("APIA") in 1954 by members of the Italian-Australian community in Sydney's Inner West. After several years in the Canterbury District competition, the club joined the NSW Federation's state league.^[1]

In the 1960s APIA became one of the foremost soccer clubs in Australia and won the Premiership of NSW of the years 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1975, which was the highest level of achievement in the absence of a national competition. Between 1966 and 1974 APIA also won three times the State Cup of NSW, then named after a sponsor Ampol Cup. The 1974 final was considered "one of the most incredible finals" of the history of the club when skipper Jimmy Rooney and centreforward Peter Ollerton, who scored five goals, won 9–1 against Auburn in front of a crowd of 5210 at Wentworth Park, the highest finals result ever.^[2]

Rooney and Ollerton were also in the team that represented Australia a few months later in its first World Cup participation in Germany.

In 1979 APIA was given access to the National Soccer League, the top tier of Australian soccer since 1977. In 1987 APIA won the national championship, six points ahead of the Preston Makedonia Soccer Club from Melbourne, with then only two points awarded per win. The coach in that season was Rale Rasic. Charlie Yankos and Peter Katholos are probably the best known players from that side. The main cast of that year consisted of Tony Pezzano; Charlie Yankos, Arno Bertogna, Mark Brown, Jean-Paul de Marigny, Peter Tredinnick, Peter Katholos, Edward Lorens, Hilton Phillips, Gary Ward, Rod Brown and Tony Parison. In 1988 APIA won the National Soccer League Cup. By 1992 the APIA Leichhardt was overwhelmed by financial difficulties. The club was somewhat restructured and forthwith played on state level with the moniker "Tigers."^[3][4][5]

In 2017, APIA won the National Premier Leagues NSW premiership, but lost the grand final to Manly United FC on penalties. APIA also made the grand final of the 2017 Waratah Cup, but lost 3–1 to Hakoah Sydney City East FC.

In 2018, APIA won the 2018 Waratah Cup.^[6] On 21 August 2018, APIA defeated reigning A-League champions Melbourne Victory FC in the Round of 16 of the 2018 FFA Cup, becoming the seventh state-league side to beat a top-tier team in the knockout tournament.^[7] The result was billed as one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history.^[8]

APIA won the National Premier Leagues NSW Grand Final with a 2–1 victory over Sydney United in 2019.^[9] This was the first final ever played at Bankwest Stadium.

When the Football Federation Australia repealed its controversial National Club Identification Policy, which effectively banned clubs from having ethnic identities APIA dropped the "Tigers" moniker and reverted to its original badge.^[10]

The club was announced on 20 November 2023, as one of the eight foundation teams for the National Second Division, due to start either March or April 2025. They will continue to play in the NPL NSW for the 2024 season, before transitioning to the new league.^[11]

Venues

 

Lambert Park under floodlights with the old turf surface

Lambert Park in Leichhardt is the club's traditional home ground. It was opened in 1954 and has, over the years, been used for most of the club's home games. It is still APIA's main ground and hosts all of the club's NPL matches. APIA has also hosted home games at a number of other venues, including Wentworth Park, Henson Park^[12] and, most notably, Leichhardt Oval, where Australia Cup ties against high-profile teams have typically been hosted.^[13][14]

Current squad

Updated June 2023.^[15][16]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   AUS Ivan Necevski 3 DF   AUS Paul Galimi 4 DF   AUS Joshua Symons 5 DF   AUS Nicholas Azzone 6 DF   AUS Anthony Sparacino 7 FW   AUS Jack Stewart 8 FW   ARG Diego Celis 14 MF   AUS Jack Armson 15 DF   AUS Themba Muata-Marlow 16 MF   AUS Sean Symons

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW   AUS Rory Jordan (on loan from Newcastle Jets) 18 MF   AUS Adrian Ucchino 19 MF   AUS Fabian Monge 21 DF   AUS Michael Kouta 23 MF   AUS Dakota Askew 29   AUS Harry Stavris 37 MF   AUS Corey Bizco 38 DF   AUS Yianni Nicolaou 42 GK   AUS Anthony Bouzanis 98 MF   AUS Franco Farinella

Seasons

Key to league competitions Div. 1 = Division One NSL = National Soccer League NSWSL = NSW Super League NSWPL = NSW Premier League NPL NSW = National Premier Leagues NSW ^P Draws went to penalty shoot-outs during the 1993–1995 seasons (2 points for win, 1 point for loss). ^1 Stage 1 of 1996 NSW Super League ^2 Stage 1 of 1996 NSW Super League Key to position colours and symbols 1st or W Winners 2nd or RU Runners-up 3rd Third ♦ Top scorer in division

Key to cup competitions AMP = Ampol Cup NPLF = National Premier Leagues Finals Key to cup and finals results 1R, 2R, 3R...7R = 1st Round, 2nd Round, 3rd Round...7th Round GS = Group Stage EF = Elimination Final PF = Preliminary Final PO = Playoff Final R32 = Round of 32 R16 = Round of 16 QF = Quarterfinals SF = Semifinals RU = Runners-Up W = Winners Unk = Result unknown

Season	League										Waratah Cup	Australia Cup^[a]	Other	Top scorer
	Div	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos	Finals				Player(s)	Goals
1957	Div. 1	20	3	4	13	39	57	10	9th	–	QF		2R^AMP
1958	Div. 1	22	7	4	11	41	41	18	8th	–
1959	Div. 1	26	19	4	3	72	33	42	2nd	RU
1960	Div. 1	26	18	5	3	71	25	41	2nd	SF
1961	Div. 1	22	10	4	8	55	43	24	6th	–	–
1962	Div. 1	22	13	3	6	65	38	29	3rd	SF	W	QF
1963	Div. 1	22	14	3	5	70	37	31	2nd	RU		QF
1964	Div. 1	22	14	3	5	59	35	31	1st	W		RU		John Watkiss	24
1965	Div. 1	18	11	0	7	51	28	22	3rd	W		RU		John Giacometti	21
1966	Div. 1	18	13	4	1	55	16	30	1st	RU	W	W	W^AMP	John Giacometti	20
1967	Div. 1	22	17	3	2	65	19	37	1st	RU		RU		John Giacometti	22
1968	Div. 1	22	11	4	7	42	25	29	3rd	GS		R16
1969	Div. 1	22	9	8	5	35	26	26	4th	W			3rd^AMP
1970	Div. 1	22	9	1	12	36	35	19	7th	–			W^AMP
1971	Div. 1	22	6	5	11	25	40	17	8th	–			4th^AMP
1972	Div. 1	22	11	8	3	33	18	30	3rd	SF			Unk^AMP
1973	Div. 1	22	10	6	6	38	34	26	5th	–
1974	Div. 1	22	12	4	6	44	25	28	2nd	PF			W^AMP	Paul Ollerton	18
1975	Div. 1	22	13	5	4	39	19	31	1st	RU	W			Paul Ollerton	17
1976	Div. 1	22	15	5	2	49	17	35	2nd	W
1977	Div. 1	22	15	6	1	46	15	36	2nd	PF
1978	Div. 1	26	13	3	10	36	4	29	6th	–		1R
1979	NSL	26	11	3	12	29	37	25	8th	N/A		R16		Ken Reed	7
1980	NSL	26	8	7	11	27	35	23	8th	N/A		R16		Phil O’Connor	10
1981	NSL	30	12	11	7	39	33	35	4th	N/A		QF		Marshall Soper	12
1982	NSL	30	12	7	11	49	54	31	7th	N/A		W		Marshall Soper	14
1983	NSL	30	11	6	13	42	36	39	8th	N/A		R16		John Bradley	12
1984	NSL/NC^[b]	28	12	8	8	43	35	32	4th	PF		SF		Peter Katholos	14
1985	NSL/NC^[b]	22	7	2	13	20	34	16	9th	–		R16		Peter Katholos	14
1986	NSL/NC^[b]	22	9	6	7	25	23	24	7th	–		R32		Terry Butler	4
1987	NSL	24	13	9	2	39	21	35	1st	W		R16		Rod Brown	14
1988	NSL	26	8	7	11	28	35	23	11th	–		W		Hilton Phillips	8
1989	NSL	26	7	9	10	27	35	23	10th	–		SF		Rod Brown	7
1989–90	NSL	26	11	9	6	36	25	31	6th	–		SF		Rod Brown	10
1990–91	NSL	26	7	7	12	27	28	21	11th	–		SF		Alex Bundalo	6
1991–92	NSL	26	7	11	8	26	28	25	8th	–		R16		John Gibson	8
1993	NSWSL^P	26	10	6+2	8	39	23	44	6th	–
1994	NSWSL^P	22	7	3+7	5	20	19	34	8th	–
1995	NSWSL^P	26	10	4+5	7	29	23	43	4th	–
1996	NSWSL^1	13	7	3	3	20	14	24	3rd	–
	NSWSL^2	13	4	5	4	19	22	17	8th
1997	NSWSL	20	12	3	5	27	17	39	2nd	PF				John Buonavoglia	6
1998	NSWSL	21	8	6	7	32	32	30	8th	–				John Buonavoglia	11
1999	NSWSL	22	11	2	9	43	37	35	7th	–				Steve Karavatakis	10
2000	NSWSL	26	14	6	6	53	39	48	3rd	PF				Steve Karavatakis	14
2000–01	NSWPL	18	8	2	8	41	36	26	5th	–				Steve Karavatakis	16
2001–02	NSWPL	22	12	5	5	40	29	41	4th	EF				Steve Karavatakis	12
2002–03	NSWPL	22	11	7	4	44	25	40	2nd	W	Not held			Zlatko Arambasic	17
2003–04	NSWPL	22	7	3	12	24	36	24	9th	–	SF			Norman Tome	6
2004–05	NSWPL	22	9	4	9	25	29	31	6th	–	SF			Norman Tome	4
2006	NSWPL	18	3	4	11	16	38	13	10th	–	RU			Shane McGirr	3
2007	NSWPL	18	8	4	6	26	23	28	5th	–	4R			Robert Younis	9
2008	NSWPL	22	9	7	6	41	35	34	6th	–	QF			Robert Younis	21
2009	NSWPL	22	5	7	10	30	38	22	11th	–	4R			Robert Younis	11
2010	NSWPL	22	13	3	7	39	37	39	3rd	SF	4R			Robert Younis	14
2011	NSWPL	22	6	5	11	24	36	23	10th	—	QF			Robert Younis	5^[17]
2012	NSWPL	22	9	4	9	32	31	31	6th	—	RU			Andrew Bevin	7^[18]
2013	NPL NSW	22	2	8	12	29	48	14	11th	—	W			Nikola Taneski	7
2014	NPL NSW	22	4	8	10	31	51	20	11th	–	4R	DNQ		Blake Powell	9^[19]
2015	NPL NSW	22	13	6	3	56	31	45	2nd	PF	4R	DNQ		Blake Powell	21
2016	NPL NSW	22	7	5	11	39	41	26	8th	–	6R	DNQ		Tasuku Sekiya	11
2017	NPL NSW	22	16	1	5	50	18	49	1st	RU	RU	R16	SF^NPLF	Jordan Murray	12
2018	NPL NSW	22	14	3	5	62	28	45	2nd	RU	W	QF		Jordan Murray	24
2019	NPL NSW	22	12	6	4	42	28	42	2nd	W	6R	DNQ		Chris Payne	22
2020	NPL NSW	11	2	1	8	12	27	7	12th	—	Not held	Not held		Sean Symons	4
2021	NPL NSW	17	6	3	8	20	21	21	season cancelled			QF		Franco Parisi	5
2022	NPL NSW	22	10	5	7	41	33	35	5th	SF	4R	DNQ		Jason Romero	11
2023	NPL NSW	30	20	5	5	64	35	65	1st	Not held	RU	R16		J. Armson - J. Stewart -	14

Correct as of 17th September 2023

Source OzFootball

• APIA Leichhardt FC Women's

Season	League										Sapphire Cup	Top scorer
	Div	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos	Finals		Player(s)	Goals
2023	NPL1 NSW Women	26	19	5	2	64	26	62	1st	Not held	W	Ash Crofts	24
2022	NPL1 NSW Women	22	12	4	6	48	25	40	2nd	-	-
2021	NPL1 NSW Women	12	6	4	2	23	16	22	4th	-	-
2020	NPL1 NSW Women	11	5	2	4	20	17	17	8th	-	-
2019	NPL2 NSW Women	22	17	4	1	105	17	55	1st	-	-
2018	NPL2 NSW Women	22	13	4	5	59	33	43	4th	-	-
2017	NSW State League Women	18	14	3	1	83	14	45	1st	-	-
2016	NSW State League Women	21	14	3	4	56	17	45	1st	-	-
2015	NSW State League Women	21	8	2	11	31	49	26	6th	-	-
2014	NSW State League Women	20	2	0	18	25	92	6	7th	-	-
2013	NSW State League Women	22	3	4	15	21	70	13	11th	-	-
2012	NSW Women’s Super League	18	2	3	13	23	55	9	7th	-	-
2011	NSW Women’s Super League	18	16	0	2	69	14	48	1st	-	-
2010	NSW Women’s Super League	16	8	5	3	39	22	29	4th	-	-

Correct as of 9th October 2023

Honours

Regional

• National Premier Leagues NSW
  • Premiers (6): 1964, 1966, 1967, 1975, 2017, 2023
  • Runners-Up (11): 1959, 1960, 1963, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1997, 2002–03, 2015, 2018, 2019

• National Premier Leagues NSW Grand Finals
  • Championships (6): 1964, 1965, 1969, 1976, 2002–03, 2019
  • Runners-Up (7): 1959, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1975, 2017, 2018,

• Waratah Cup
  • Winners (5): 1962, 1966, 1975, 2013, 2018
  • Runners-Up (4): 2006, 2012, 2017, 2023

• Jonny Warren Cup
  • Winners (1): 2007

• Ampol Cup
  • Winners (3): 1966, 1970, 1974

National

• National Soccer League
  • Champions (1): 1987
  • Premiers (1): 1987 National Soccer League

• Australia Cup
  • Winners (1): 1966
  • Runners-Up (3): 1964, 1965, 1967
• NSL Cup
  • Winners (2): 1982, 1988

Individual Honours

National

• National Soccer League Coach of the Year (1)
  • Rale Rasic - 1987

Regional

• NPL NSW Premier League Player of the year (5)
  • George Blues - 1970
  • Terry Butler - 1978
  • Franco Perisi - 2015
  • Sean Symons - 2017
  • Tasuku Sekiya - 2018

• NPL NSW Premier League Coach of the Year (2)
  • Franco Perisi - 2023
  • Daniel Cummins - 2017

• Robbie Slater Award (1)
  • Sean Symons - 2019

• NPL NSW Premier Leagues Golden Boot (9)
  • Jordan Murray (23) - 2018
  • Blake Powell (21) - 2015
  • Robert Younis (21) - 2008
  • Paul Ollerton (17) - 1975
  • Paul Ollerton (18) - 1974
  • John Giacometti (22) - 1967
  • John Giacometti (20) - 1966
  • John Giacometti (21) - 1965
  • John Watkiss (24) - 1964

• NPL NSW Goalkeeper of the Year (1)
  • Ivan Necevski- 2023

• NPL NSW Goal of the Year (1)
  • Blake Powell - 2015

Notes

1. FFA Cup/Australia Cup (from 2014). Includes Australia Cup (1962–1968) and NSL Cup (1977–1997)
2. During 1984 to 1986, the league was split into two conferences – APIA played in the Northern Conference and the position in the table reflects position in the conference.

References

1. . APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
2. Mossop, Brian (11 March 1974). "Soccer with everything... Apia win 9–1". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2015 – via Google News Archive.
3. Cockerill, Michael (16 April 1992). "Liquidator takes over troubled Apia". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
4. Cockerill, Michael (25 September 1992). "Apia plan legal tilt for NSL re-entry". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
5. Cooke, Graham (18 December 1992). "Soccer World – Coaching clinic a must for youngsters". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 23 February 2015 – via Trove. FORMER NATIONAL League giant Apia Leichhardt will resumeits interrupted career, reincarnated as the Leichhardt Tigers in the NSW Superleague.
6. "APIA clinch Cup crown in NSW ahead of FFA Cup Round of 32". FFA Cup. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
7. "Sekiya stars as APIA Leichhardt stun Victory in FFA Cup | The World Game". The World Game. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
8. "We didn't show up: Victory rue shock FFA Cup exit". NewsComAu. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
9. NSW, Football (31 August 2019). "Championship finally comes home to APIA Leichhardt Tigers". NPL NSW Men's. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
10. Historic NPL club APIA goes back to its roots with major re-brand, SBS, 2019-12-12
11. "Football Australia announces foundation clubs for National Second Tier". Football Australia. 20 November 2023.
12. "Tigers eye historic win". The Village Voice. 29 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
13. "APIA Leichhardt FC v Melbourne Victory - Australia Cup Match Centre". www.australiacup.com.au. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
14. "WATCH: Mariners hit APIA for six to reach Semi Finals | Australia Cup". www.australiacup.com.au. 21 December 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
15. "Men's First Grade". Football NSW. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
16. "Statistics for APIA Leichhardt FC playing in 1st - NPL NSW Men's 2021". mygameday. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
17. "2011 NSWPL goalscorers". SoccerAust. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
18. "2012 NSWPL goalscorers". SoccerAust. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
19. "2014 NSW NPL1 Leading Scorers". SoccerAust. Retrieved 22 October 2018.

External links

• Official website
• Oz Football Profile
• NPL NSW Fixtures & Results

Preceded by Adelaide City

NSL Champions 1987

Succeeded by Marconi Stallions