Canberra City FC

Canberra City Football Club, also known for some time as the Canberra Arrows, is a semi-professional soccer club based in Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It currently participates in the Capital Footballs Division One competition and competed in the National Soccer League from 1977 to 1986.

Canberra City FC
Canberra City FC logo
Full nameCanberra City Football Club
Nickname(s)City, Arrows
Founded1977
GroundCanberra Stadium,
Bruce, Canberra, ACT
Capacity25,011
LeagueCapital Football Division 1

National Soccer League

Canberra City entered the new national competition for the inaugural season in 1977 as the only team representing the ACT. [1] In its first season, home games were played at Manuka Oval which had the honour of hosting the first ever NSL match when City were defeated 3-1 by West Adelaide SC in front of a crowd of 1,550. In 1978 the club moved to the newly constructed Bruce Stadium. Canberra remained competitive throughout its tenure in the league, but had limited success being unable to reach the finals series in any season. The most successful seasons were in 1981 with a fifth-placed finish, and in 1985 finishing sixth in the Northern Conference, missing out on the finals series on goal difference to St George. A restructure of the national league for the 1987 season saw Canberra relegated to the NSW State League.


Statistics by Season [2]

SeasonPldWDLGFGAPtsTable PositionNational League Cup
1977 26571422391713th of 14Quarter final
1978 265101128412013th of 14Semi final
1979 26681225412012th of 14Semi final
1980 26771234332110th of 14Quarter final
1981 30137104132335th of 16First round
1982 307101337542415th of 16Quarter final
1983 301151447533810th of 16Quarter final
1984 28121154739259th of 12 (Nth)Group stage
1985 228683335226th of 12 (Nth)Quarter final
1986 22561121271610th of 12 (Nth)Semi final

(Pld)=Games Played, (W)=Wins, (D)=Draws, (L)=Losses, (GF)=Goals For, (GA)=Goals Against, (Pts)=Points, (Nth)=Northern Conference

Back to the ACT Premier League

Canberra City dropped into the NSW State League Division One for the 1987 season, and finished runners-up to Wollongong Wolves FC, they also then lost the Finals Series 2-1 to the Wolves. The Wolves returned to the NSL, whilst City withdrew to join ACT football.

In the early 1990s Canberra City men achieved considerable Premiership success and more recently won the Federation Cup in 2005 under the coaching guidance of an ex player from the 1980s era, Steve Bryant. Also in 2005, Canberra City Premier League Women won just about everything on offer under the guidance of 2005 Women's Coach of the Year, Pat Mills. Canberra City has close links with one of Canberra's largest junior organisations the Gungahlin United FC.

After relegation from the National Premier Leagues Capital Football in 2014, Canberra City currently find themselves in the Capital Footballs Division One, the third level of football in the ACT.

Notable players
Category:Canberra City FC players

Notable managers

References
  1. "Canberra City: A blueprint for current A-League expansion hopefuls | Joe Gorman". TheGuardian.com. 30 March 2017.
  2. The Australian National Soccer League Archived 2007-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
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