Brisbane Strikers F.C.
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| Full name | Brisbane Strikers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Strikers |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Ground | Perry Park |
| Capacity | 5,000 |
| Chairman | Bruce Atterton-Evans |
| Secretary | Ray Evans |
| Coach | Sean Lane |
| League | NPL Queensland |
| 2016 | NPL Queensland, 1st |
| Website | Club home page |
Brisbane Strikers Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1994, the club competed in the National Soccer League until the 2003–04 season and was one of two clubs contending for an A-League licence during the establishment of the league in 2004. Brisbane Strikers currently competes in the National Premier League Queensland, with home matches played from Perry Park.
Brisbane's first representation in the National Soccer League (NSL) – (then known as the Philips Soccer League (PSL)) came from Brisbane City, who still play in the Brisbane competition, and Brisbane Lions. Brisbane City won the first two national knockout competitions, by defeating Marconi in 1977 and West Adelaide in 1978. Brisbane Lions won the knockout competition in 1981, also defeating West Adelaide. Brisbane City left the NSL in after the 1986 season and Brisbane Lions after the 1988 season.
The next Brisbane team in the NSL was Brisbane United, who played from 1991 to 1993. From their demise came the Brisbane Strikers in the 1994 season.
Initially the Brisbane Strikers were owned by the Queensland Soccer Federation, which handed the running of the club to a Trust Management Group composed of Ian Brusasco ( a former President of the Queensland Soccer Federation and the Australian Soccer Federation), Dr Clem Jones (former Lord Mayor of Brisbane) and leading football official Frank Speare.
Coached by Bruce Stowell for three seasons, the Strikers steadily improved their position in the NSL pecking order, finishing fourth in 1995/96 to qualify for their first NSL finals appearance in which they lost a semi-final playoff over two legs to Sydney United.
But revenge was just around the corner in the most extraordinary of circumstances. In the 1996/97 season the Strikers were led by player-coach Frank Farina and finished second on the NSL ladder to Sydney United before going on to beat United in their semi-final to set up a home grand final – against the same team.
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