Preston Lions FC
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| Full name | Preston Lions Football Club |
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| Nickname(s) | Lions, Makedonia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | B. T. Connor Reserve (Capacity 8,000) |
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| Chairman | Miro Josevski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Manager | John Markovski | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Victorian Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VPL 2007 | 1 (Champions) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Preston Lions Football Club (formerly Preston Makedonia Soccer Club) are an Australian football (soccer) club from Preston, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was formed in 1947, and currently play in the Victorian Premier League, of which they are champions of the 2007 season.
Since its foundation in 1947 and affiliation with the Victorian Soccer Federation (now Football Federation Victoria) in 1959, the Preston Lions Football Club has grown to become one of the most recognised and popular sporting clubs in Australia.
Based in the suburb of Preston, Victoria, the Makedonia Soccer Club was originally created as a focal point for the newly immigrated Macedonian community to gather and socialise, and to provide the then Macedonian Australian youth with the opportunity to learn and play this ‘world game’ that was so popular back in their homeland of Macedonia.
A change of name to the Preston Makedonia Soccer Club in 1959 and promotion to the Victorian Division Two (South Competition), the club moved forward in leaps and bounds to become champions of the Victorian Metropolitan League Division One in 1966, and as a result, was promoted to the state’s top competition, the Victorian State League in 1967.
The club first experienced championship success at the state’s top level in 1975 and again in 1980. As Victorian champions, Preston competed in a play-off against other state champions and in 1981 they were promoted to the then National Soccer League (NSL) competition.
During this significant period of growth the need for much larger facilities became apparent and the club consequently moved from its home base of T.A. Cochrane Reserve in Collier Street, Preston, to its current home ground at B. T. Connor Reserve in nearby Reservoir. The Preston Makedonia Social Club was also established around the same time and is located directly opposite the ground.
Preston continued to compete successfully in the NSL for the next 13 years, achieving their best finish in 1987 as runner-up in the Southern Division Championship. In 1992 Preston took out the prestigious Dockerty Cup in a thrilling penalty shootout against arch rivals South Melbourne. However financial difficulties led to poor performances and in 1993 Preston played their last match in the NSL.
Relegated back to the Victorian Premier League, Preston were once again crowned Victorian champions in 1994. Around this time, Soccer Australia forced VPL clubs to abolish any ethnicity associated with their club names and the Preston Makedonia Soccer Club was renamed the Preston Lions Soccer Club, however maintained its heritage. The club has since adopted the title of the Preston Lions Football Club, following the lead set by the sports’ governing body and keeping in line with how the game is known in the UK and countries where people don't speak English – as “football”. Preston would once again become Victorian Premier League champions in both 2002 and 2007, adding to its already impressive collection of titles.
Today the club has over 200 players at both senior and junior level, with a further 50 people involved in coaching, training, volunteering and assisting with the running of various teams. This group is supported by a team of approximately 30 committee members who are responsible for the management and administration of the club at the strategic and operational level.
Over the years, the Preston Lions have produced many champion players who have gone on to represent Australia at youth and senior level such as Warren Spink, Robbie Dunn, Phil Traianedes, Zarko Odzakov, George Jolevski, Andrew Zinni, Oscar Crino, Peter Ollerton, Gary Cole, John Markovski, Kris Trajanovski, Goran Lozanovski, and John Sapazovski who captained the Victorian State Team on their tour to China in 2005.
With more than 5,000 loyal supporters, the Preston Lions Football Club boasts the largest following in the Victorian Premier League competition. In fact, during blockbuster games they can attract crowds in excess of 10,000 which is significant for any state competitive sporting event.
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[edit] Honours
[edit] Club
[edit] National
- 1992 Dockerty Cup Winners
[edit] State
- 2007 Victorian Premier League Champions
- 2007 Victorian Premier League Minor Premiers
- 2003 Victorian Premier League Minor Premiers
- 2002 Victorian Premier League Champions
- 1996 Victorian State League Division One Runners Up
- 1996 State League Cup Winners
- 1994 Victorian Premier League Champions
- 1994 Victorian Premier League Minor Premiers
- 1980 Victorian State League Champions
- 1978 Victorian State League Runners Up
- 1975 Victorian Metropolitan League Division One Champions
- 1975 State League Cup Winners
- 1973 Victorian Metropolitan League Division Two Champions
- 1973 State League Cup Winners
- 1966 Victorian Metropolitan League Division One Champions
- 1963 State League Cup Runners Up
- 1961 Victorian Division Two South Champions
[edit] Individuals
Australian Representatives - Senior Level
- Robbie Dunn
- Warren Spink
- Andrew Zinni
- George Jolevski
- Phil Traianedes
- Oscar Crino
- Peter Ollerton
Australian Representatives - Youth Team
- John Little
- Warren Spink
- John Markovski
- Kris Trajanovski
- Robert Stojcevski
- Goran Lozanovski
- Vasco Trpcevski
- Robert Spasevski
- Daniel Miller
Victorian State Representatives - Senior Level
- John Sapazovski
- Anthony Magnacca
- Pece Siveski
- Serkan Oksuz
- Jonathan Munoz
Gold Medal Winners
- 2005 Anthony Magnacca
- 2003 Chris Emsovski
- 2001 Chris Emsovski
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Squad Changes for 2008 season
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In:
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Out:
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[edit] Notable former players
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See also: List of Preston Lions players
[edit] Records
- Most Games: Chris Emsovski 158, John Sapazovski 123, Sasa Ognenovski 110
- Most Finals Games: Chris Emsovski 8
- Most Career Goals: John Sapazovski 40
- Most Season Goals: Saso Markovski 19 (1998)
Note: These statistics include Victorian Premier League matches and finals played for Preston Lions between 1991 and 2005.
[edit] External links
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Football in Australia by state and territory
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