Sydney United 58

Following the demise of the NSL, Sydney United returned to the NSW NPL in 2005, and whilst our national status may have diminished, our standard for football hasn’t. During this period, our club has been NPL Champions twice (2013, 2016), NSW NPL Champions twice (2006, 2020), NSW NPL Premiers three times (2009, 2013, 2016) and Waratah Cup Winners three (2005, 2015, 2016).

This is only a handful of our accolades during this period, but we feel our crowning achievement, and statement of our clubs ethos came in 2022.

In 2022, Sydney United became the first NPL club to qualify for the Australia Cup final. Our road to the final included beating the 2021–22 A-League Men champions Western United on penalties in the round of 16 and three-time A-League champions Brisbane Roar in the semi-final 3–2 after extra time. Our club may have lost to Macarthur FC in the final, but the journey there more than certainly has inspired all other clubs outside the A-League to go above and succeed for their own communities!

Many of the pioneers of the club are still with us, but several have passed away. All should be rightly proud of their achievements. For the club’s founders, Sydney United 58 FC was created not just for football, but also for the community which nurtured it. Sixty Five years on, the club’s contribution to Australian football has been enormous. While there is great pride in the club’s Croatian heritage, there is equal pride in what the club has done for Australian football and the broader Australian community, of which it is a part. Building on the foundations of this proud football and community heritage is the way forward. The second, third and fourth generations of supporters must now bear the responsibility to carry the club into the future.

From its origins until today, Sydney United has always been about more than just the game.