Stirling Macedonia FC

Stirling Macedonia has evolved with the history of the Macedonian Australian community of Western Australia. The club has been through a number of name changes and directions in its history.[1] Initially formed as East Perth Macedonia in 1958, the club dissolved in 1967, but in 1969 the Macedonian community put together the necessary funds to revive the club. In 1970, the club was revived as West Perth Macedonia. The club endured highs and lows in the 1970s and early 1980s, with its biggest success coming when they won the League Title in its third year of being in the State League.

In 1986, the club changed its name to Stirling Macedonia with a move to Macedonia Park. That year, the Club represented the Soccer Federation of Western Australia against Adelaide City in the NANDA Cup in front of a crowd of approximately 5,000 people. During the 1980s and 1990s, Stirling became one of the most powerful clubs in Western Australia, winning six league premierships. Stirling completed a three-peat from 1983-1985, and also captured the league title in 1987, 1994 and 1995. Further successes in a variety of other competitions meant that the club completed three doubles and three trebles, including an unprecedented run of three trebles in a row from 1994-1996, capturing a treble of the league, Top 4 Cup and Night Series in 1994 and 1995 and completing a treble of the Top 4 Cup, the Night Series and the State Cup in 1996.

In 1999, the club changed their name to the Stirling Lions Soccer Club as a result of the National Club Identity Policy, which forced references to ethnicities to be removed from club names.

After the prolonged success of Stirling throughout the 80's and 90's, their fortunes took a turn for the worse during the 2000's. Despite not finising in the relgation spots, the Lions were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 20 years at the conclusion of the 1999 season due to off-field disputes, and remained there until winning promotion back in the 2002 season. The main bright spot of the 2000's was the 2006 season, where Stirling won the State Cup and finished as runners-up in the league. Overall the 2000's would only see two State Cups, coming in 2006 and 2007, a meager trophy haul compared to the massive ones of the 80's and 90's, and of course the unfortunate years away from the top flight that the club had grown accustomed to.

However, the beginning of the 2010's saw the fortunes of the club begin to turn. 2010 saw the club capture the State Cup and finish as runners ups in the league. In 2013, Stirling finally returned to the top of Western Australian football as they won their first league title since 1995, and finished as runners up in the Top 5 Cup. In October 2014, Cane Spaseski was appointed as club president, and with Cane at the helm, the club quickly grew to become a club of choice. Under the tutelage of Technical Director Richard Changadzo with an elite group of coaching staff, in 2016 the club's junior NPL teams flourished and finished top 5 overall in 2016/17. Richard departed from the club after 2018, and Cane also stepped down.

Stirling were relegated in the 2019 season, and their bid for immediate promotion in the 2020 season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw relegation and promotion suspended.

In 2019, the National Club Identity Policy that had forced the club to change its name to Stirling Lions was revoked, and the club announced a return to the original name of Stirling Macedonia for the 2021 season.

Stirling would charge to promotion in 2021, dominating the State League 1 and returning to the top flight. In their first season back in the top flight, Stirling challenged for the league title up until the last day of the season, but were defeated by Sorrento FC on the final matchday of the season, allowing Floreat Athena to win the league and Perth RedStar to finish as runners-up. Stirling would exit the Top 4 Cup in the first week, but the signs were there- they were ready to make an impact next season.

Stirling would then go on to compound their strong 2022 league performance in the 2023 season, finishing as runners-up in the league to Perth RedStar and moving on to the Top 4 Cup with a double chance as a result of their Top 2 finish.

After losing 1-0 to RedStar in the first week of finals, Stirling’s Top 2 finish gave them a second chance against Perth SC in the second week of finals. After a 0-0 finish, Stirling defeated Perth 4-3 on penalties, and moved onto the Grand Final to take on RedStar once more.

The Grand Final loomed large for the Macies- they hadn’t made it to the last game of the season since 1996, when they last captured the title almost 30 years ago. However, Stirling would prevail, gaining their revenge on RedStar and winning 2-0 to finally return to the top of Perth football for the first time since 1996, with Alexander Tanevski and Calvin Whitney writing themselves into the Stirling history books with their goals.

Olympic Kingsway SC are one of Stirling's biggest rivals. Like Stirling, Kingsway was founded as a football club for Macedonian immigrants in Perth, but they broke with the Macedonian community in an official capacity to establish a wider supporter base, although their supporter base remains largely Macedonian. The official split left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Macedonians living in Perth, especially those who supported Stirling, and has led to one of WA's most intense rivalries between the two clubs that still lasts to this day.

Kingsway were relegated from the top flight in 1999 and did not obtain promotion back up until 2022. Their long period of time away from the top flight had allowed the rivalry to simmer down, with occasional clashes only occurring in cup competitions and during Stirling's brief period in the WA State League in 2002, 2020 and 2021. However, Kingsway finally won promotion back to the NPL for the 2023 season, meaning the two rivals will finally meet again in the top flight for the first time in 24 years, reinvigorating the rivalry.

Stirling also have an intense rivalry with Greek club Floreat Athena FC. The rivalry stems from the Macedonia naming dispute, but also from the fact that the two clubs are some of Perth's largest and most successful and have often contested each other for silverware. In 2015, the Stirling captain at the time, Miki Vujacic, described the rivalry in depth:

It's the most important game of the year, every year, for the supporters and everyone involved in both clubs. League positions mean nothing. Having played for both clubs, the message before each Stirling versus Floreat game was always that it's a 'must win', almost as if every other game was a 'warm-up' to the derby. Winning against your old rivals is something special, supporters you didn't know existed come out of the woodwork and buy you a beer after the game, and I swear it tastes so much better after beating them.

In the same interview, Floreat's skipper at the time, Ludovic Boi, also commented on the rivalry, saying that:

Whether playing for Stirling or Floreat, this game will be tough no matter which side you are on. The history goes way back before I even started playing and you can see what it means when winning these games to the fans and the players.

Stirling Macedonia contest the City of Stirling Derby with Italian-rooted club Balcatta Etna FC. Balcatta's home ground, Grindleford Reserve, is located in very close proximity to Macedonia Park, being less than a kilometre away and even being visible in parts from Macedonia Park. However, unlike the rivalries with Olympic Kingsway and Floreat Athena, the City of Stirling Derby is far less intense and is a result of geographical proximity rather than historical rivalry and tensions.