Bulli FC
| Full name | Bulli Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sky Blues |
| Founded | 1901 |
| Ground | Balls Paddock, Woonona |
| Capacity | 500 |
| Chairman | Paul Connery |
| Head Coach | Ray Smith |
| League | Illawarra Premier League |
| 2014 | IPL, 1st |
| Website | Club home page |
Bulli FC, commonly known as Bulli Football Club are a semi-professional association football team based in Bulli, New South Wales. They compete in the Illawarra Premier League, and are considered one of the most successful teams in the competition having finished Premiers 4 times, the most recently in 2014. The team plays out of Balls Paddock, a small ground located at Woonona, just south of the town of Bulli which was opened for Bulli FC in 1988. Bulli FC have had several well known, high-profile players both play, and coach at the club including Socceroos players Adrian Alston, and Dean Heffernan. In addition to their Illawarra Premier League team, Bulli FC also field many junior, and ladies teams in the local club competition in Wollongong.
Bulli football club, was founded at the turn of the 20th century in 1901, however records of some organized football competition go back as far as the mid 1880s. This is believed to be the North Illawarra Rovers who are credited with being the "First club on the NSW South Coast – North Illawarra, with a ground at Bulli, founded in 1888". The foundations of the club were believed to have occurred whilst British traditions of football were still in a development stage.
Historically, Bulli have always played in strips of blue and white. This however changed in the 1950s when following amalgamation with Bulli Surf Life Saving Club (Bulli SLSC) they changed their kits to green and gold. In 1956 Bulli took out their first Premiership of the Illawarra 1st division. The 1960s were seen as the golden generation for the club, with silverware and success being had right throughout the decade. The 1969 team, coached by Ron Mcgarry (Ex Newcastle Unt UK and South coast Unt) won an impressive 5 trophies that year, including the Premiership & Championship for 1969, NSW Amateur Cup, Langridge Shield and the Corrimal Leagues Knock-out. These successes earned the team the title "The invincibles".
Th 1970s saw a return to a blue and white playing strip. However the 70s was not to be a successful decade for the club on the field. However, it was a success for the field of youth which the club brought through their ranks. The club however struggled in the opening years of the IPL.
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