Mooroolbark Soccer Club
| Full name | Mooroolbark Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Barkers |
| Founded | 1962 |
| Ground | Esther Park |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Manager | Andy McCabe |
| League | FFV State League 1 South-East |
| 2015 | 2nd – Promotion to State League 1 |
| Website | Club home page |
Mooroolbark Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club based in Mooroolbark, an outer eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The club currently plays in Victorian State League 1.
Founded by two Dutch men, They formed a Dutch team with the name Mooroolbark United Soccer Club in 1962, Mooroolbark's backing changed to a British influenced club in its formative years. In 1978 the United tagline was dropped from the name.
The club's first full season in the Victorian Metropolitan League 4th Division saw it finish 9th. The following years would see the club improve its season finishes, finishing 7th (1965), 6th (1966), 5th (1967), 3rd (1968), before winning the Victorian Metropolitan League 4th Division title in 1969. This was a great year for the club as it secured both the Seniors and Reserves title and was the beginning of a huge rise up the footballing ranks.
1970 saw the club play in the Victorian Metropolitan League 3rd Division, winning both the Seniors and Reserves titles and securing promotion to the Victorian Metropolitan League 2nd Division at its first attempt. The club finished Runners Up in 1971 to Green Gully Ajax and in 1972 finished 8th in its first season in the Victorian Metropolitan League 1st Division. It only took one more year for the club to win the Victorian Metropolitan League 1st Division title, upon doing so earning promotion to Victoria's highest League at the time – the Victorian State League.
The club's first season at this level was poor, winning 5 and drawing 7 of its 22 matches and finishing 11th however avoiding relegation. 1975 was a better season with the club finishing on the same points as 2nd-placed South Melbourne Hellas. 1976 was also a strong year for the club, again finishing 3rd in the Victorian State League behind South Melbourne (1st) and Footscray JUST (2nd).
The club's claim to fame is as Victoria's (and Australia's) first national sporting club side. Mooroolbark enabled the National Soccer League to proceed, breaking the deadlock which was then in force between the budding National League and clubs from Victoria, whom the Victorian Soccer Federation had forbidden to join the competition. When Mooroolbark joined the NSL, officially as its first entrant, soon three other Victorian clubs, South Melbourne, Heidelberg United and Footscray JUST also joined, enabling the competition to go ahead.
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