Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club is a semi-professional
soccer club based in
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Surfers Paradise is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Surfers Paradise had a population of 23,689 people.
Colloquially known as "Surfers", the suburb has many high-rise apartment buildings and a wide surf b ...
,
Australia. The club currently plays in the
Football Queensland Premier League
The Football Queensland Premier League (known by its abbreviation FQPL) is a men's football competition contested by clubs in Queensland, Australia. It is administered by Football Queensland and is the second tier of football in Queensland, op ...
, the second flight of men's
soccer in Queensland
Soccer was first played in Queensland on a regular basis in Brisbane, in 1884. The game in Queensland is administered by the peak body, Football Queensland, together with several subordinate zone councils, each representing regions of Queensland ...
and the third flight of
Australian soccer
Soccer, also known as football, is the most played outdoor club sport in Australia, and ranked in the top ten for television audience as of 2015. The national governing body of the sport is Football Australia (FA), which until 2019, organised ...
. Since the club was formed in 1978, Surfers Paradise Apollo have won 3 premierships, 3 championships and one president's cup within the top-flight
Gold Coast regional competition, as well as a variety of second tier honours.
History
Greek-Australian
Greek Australians ( el, Ελληνοαυστραλοί, ) are Australians of Greek ancestry. Greek Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Greek diaspora. As per the 2021 census, 424,750 people stated that they had Greek ...
Bert Voutos founded the Apollo Soccer Club in 1978 after failed attempts to convince the Gold Coast Greek Committee to buy/lease grounds and form a soccer club. The team was initially based at
Sir Bruce Small Park
Sir Bruce Small Park is a sporting facility located in Benowa, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland in Australia. Its baseball facilities are home to the Surfers Paradise Baseball Club, current premiers of the Greater Brisbane League. It has ...
in
Benowa
Benowa is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Benowa had a population of 8,741 people.
Geography
Benowa is located west of Surfers Paradise.
There are 3 distinct areas to Benowa. Established Benowa located on ...
and shared tenancy with the
Surfers Paradise Demons Australian rules football club. The Apollo club relocated to the
TAFE Ashmore campus before eventually settling on the
Isle of Capri and established facilities at Lex Bell Oval. The club was then renamed the Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club as their new facilities were based in the suburb of
Surfers Paradise
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
.
The club won their first honours after winning the
Gold Coast Premier League president's cup in 2000. This title was then followed up with a premiership and championship in 2002.
In
2016, Surfers Paradise Apollo qualified the
FFA Cup
The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Austr ...
for the first time. They defeated
Gold Coast Knights,
Magic United,
Gold Coast City,
South West Queensland Thunder and
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to:
* Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
**Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region
**Sunshine Coast Stadium
* Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...
to reach the round of 32, where they were defeated by
Canberra Olympic
Canberra Olympic FC is an Australian semi-professional Association football club based in the suburb of O'Connor in the north of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The club was founded in 1956, and currently competes in the National Prem ...
1−0 away at the
Deakin Stadium
Deakin Stadium is an association football ground located in the south-central Canberra suburb of Deakin, ACT. It is the home ground of Canberra Croatia FC in the NPL ACT.
Primary Use
Canberra FC are the primary tenants of Deakin Stadium. Canb ...
in
Canberra.
Following restructuring within
Football Queensland
Football Queensland is recognised by both the State and Federal Governments and Football Australia as the governing body for association football and futsal in Queensland, Australia.
Tracing its history back to the establishment of the Angl ...
competitions, the regional pyramids would be connected directly together to form a variety of streamline state conferences beginning in the 2022 season. As the 2021 Gold Coast Premier League premiers, the club defeated
Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to:
* Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
**Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region
**Sunshine Coast Stadium
* Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...
premiers
Nambour Yandina United 4−1 and
Brisbane Premier League
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
premiers
Bayside United 8−2 in the
Football Queensland Premier League 2 play-offs to earn promotion into the competition.
List of seasons
''The tiers in the above table is the level according to the Football Queensland South Coast zone system, Sources:''
Honours
Football Queensland
*
Football Queensland Premier League
The Football Queensland Premier League (known by its abbreviation FQPL) is a men's football competition contested by clubs in Queensland, Australia. It is administered by Football Queensland and is the second tier of football in Queensland, op ...
(second tier)
** Premiership
*** Winners (1) : 2023
*
Football Queensland Premier League 2 (third tier)
** Premiership
*** Winners (1) (joint-record): 2022
Football Queensland South Coast
*
FQPL 3 − South Coast / Gold Coast Premier League (first tier)
** Premiership
*** Winners (3): 2002, 2020, 2021
** Championship
*** Winners (3): 2002, 2016, 2020
**President's Cup
***Winners (1): 2000
*
FQPL 4 − South Coast / Men's Coast League 1 / Division 1 (second tier)
** Premiership
*** Winners (1): 2013
**Championship
***Winners (1): 2013
Notes
References
External links
*
Official Surfers Paradise Apollo Facebook Page
{{Navboxes, list1={{Football South Coast{{men's soccer in Queensland{{Gold Coast Sports Teams
Association football clubs established in 1978
1978 establishments in Australia
Surfers Paradise, Queensland
Greek-Australian culture
Diaspora sports clubs in Australia
Soccer teams on the Gold Coast, Queensland