Adelaide Raiders
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| Full name | Adelaide Croatia Raiders Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Raiders |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Ground | Croatian Sports Centre, Adelaide |
| Manager | Robert Matosevic |
| League | National Premier Leagues State League 1 |
| 2016 | FFSA NPL, 12th (relegated) |
Adelaide Croatia Raiders is a soccer club in Adelaide, South Australia, that plays in the National Premier Leagues South Australia. Its home ground is the Croatian Sports Centre in Gepps Cross, a northern suburb of Adelaide. It is a Croatian Australian-backed club and is also known by the name "Adelaide Croatia".
The Adelaide Croatia Soccer Club was founded in 1952 by a group of Croatian migrants who named the club after their homeland. The group included Fahrudin Cerić, the then President, Cvjetko Milanović and Drago Pišpek.
The club affiliated with the SASFA and played in the metropolitan division for five years. Its first game was against a team from the (now closed) Philips factory at Hendon. Its first home ground was in the South Parklands on Greenhill Rd.
In 1954 Branko Filipi, a significant leader in the club's early history, became the club president and remained so for the next 14 years. Along with his enthusiastic committee, Filipi began securing the services of a number of promising recruits. In 1958 Adelaide Croatia entered into the fourth division and narrowly missed being promoted into the third division. That same year, the late Charles Perkins, more famous as an Aboriginal activist, joined the team. Perkins played as a captain/coach for two seasons. In his autobiography he reflected with fondness on his friendships with Adelaide Croats and other immigrants he met through the club.
In 1959 the club convincingly won the second division championship and secured a place in the first division for the first time. Once in the first division, Adelaide Croatia's fixtures and results were listed in the international football pools.
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