Acacia Ridge FC is an Australian football (soccer) club from Acacia Ridge, a suburb of Brisbane. The club was formed in 1963, and has won promotion in three successive seasons to currently compete in Capital League 1.
History
Acacia Ridge FC was founded by Charlie Sorrell in 1963, commencing its first season with two junior teams participating in the Brisbane Junior Soccer Association, and soon after, the club adopted royal blue and white as its playing colours.[1] The club joined the senior ranks in 1968, entering a team in Division Six,[2] then progressively moved up the divisions over the next decade.
Acacia Ridge FC won Division Three in 1976 and was promoted to Division Two, then were further promoted to Division One in 1979 due to a reorganisation necessitated by the formation of the Queensland State League. In 1980 the club won the Division One premiership, the club's highest honour to date. The club finished runners-up in 1981, then 14th in 1982, but were still successful in being admitted to the initial season of the Brisbane Premier League in 1983.[3] The club remained in the top tier of the Brisbane football competition for three seasons before being relegated. After this the club was promoted a further two times and played four further season (1990-1991 and 1993-1994) in the Brisbane Premier League.[4]
Demographic changes in Acacia Ridge and surrounding suburbs contributed to a dropping off in the club’s fortunes from 2001[5] during which the club was relegated four times in eight seasons and fell to the lower divisions of the Metro League.[4]
A low point was reached in 2013 when Acacia Ridge FC failed to complete its Capital League 3 fixtures, had its results annulled, and was relegated to Capital League 4.[6]
Since 2014, Acacia Ridge FC has been coached by Zoran Simunovic who has led a revival in the club’s fortunes. Starting from the bottom of the Brisbane football pyramid, the club has achieved three successive promotions, finishing premiers of Capital League 4 in 2014, Capital League 3 in 2015, then winning the second promotion spot in Capital League 2 in 2016.[7]
