Concord Junior Soccer Club
Established – 1958
Home grounds – Edwards Park
Current members – 987
Previous name - Concord Soccer Football Club, Concord & District Football Club, Concord Scottish Club
Notable members – Synonymous with the formation of original club in 1924: Edwards, Knight, Brown, Macracken, Farrell and King; Synonymous with reformation of Concord Soccer Football Club after WW2: John Morton (first president post-WW2), Herbert Gilmour, George Liddell, Keith Gilmour, James Brown , Ken Knowlson, Danny Abercrombie, Terry Wakeham, William Johnston; Long-serving past presidents: Lerryn Mutton, George Liddell, Laurie Palmer, Ron Rocky Massaria, Cyril Rose Tonkin and Terry Jones.
The present-day Concord Junior Soccer Club can proudly trace its roots back to 1924 with the formation of the Concord Soccer Football Club.
The focus of this early club was to have its senior team play at the highest level of football available.
The club played at Central Park, Wellbank Street, Concord and took part in the Ryde & District Soccer Football Association competitions in 1924-25 and under the name North Strathfield Soccer Football Club.
In 1929 the club joined in the Granville Association’s competition, winning the Cotham Cup and in 1930 reverted to Concord Soccer Football Club, winning the Metropolitan Premiership.
In 1933 that Edwards Park was constructed for the purpose of soccer and the club’s first grade team played in the State League Competition at that ground. The park was named after Alderman J Edwards who had helped form the original club in 1924.
The club morphed into the Concord Scottish Club in 1935 and competed in the Sydney & District Competition through to 1937.
The nucleus of players from the previous Concord Soccer Football Club, who were playing for other clubs, came together in 1945 to form the Concord & District Soccer Football Club.
In 1958, a group of interested parents and local football enthusiasts met to form the Concord Junior Soccer Club.
Many of those who became involved in the newly formed Concord Junior Soccer Club had previous playing and administrative experience with the Concord & District Soccer Football Club.
The formation of the Western Suburbs District Soccer Football Association by such clubs as Concord JSC, Abbotsford SC and Five Dock SC enabled teams to play locally and lay a solid foundation for the establishment of a licensed club at Five Dock and for the formation of a senior semi-professional team competing at the highest level.
The emblem of the Club was now the handshake across the soccer ball. This was designed to establish a symbolic link between the Concord Municipal Council - whose emblem was the handshake - and the sport of soccer.
By 1965, the Club fielded 17 teams and by 1969 this number had grown to 25, ensuring the Club was well and truly established. An amenities block was built on Edwards Park to accommodate what was now one of the largest sporting bodies in the municipality.
During the 70s, the number of teams being formed each year among clubs affiliated with the Western Suburbs District Soccer Football Association was not enough to provide for a meaningful competition.
The Club joined forces with various other associations to ensure a depth of competition and had teams playing in combined competitions with Northern Suburbs Association, Gladesville-Hornsby Association, Bankstown Association, Canterbury Association, Lakemba Mini-Association and the Sydney Amateur League.
The 90s saw a period of growth of the Club to around 40 teams. In accordance with the newly-introduced state legislation of the time, Concord Junior Soccer Club became incorporated in 1992.
The growth of the Club continued unabated and by 2007, the club fielded more than 60 teams in various competitions from under-6 through to over-35 with a growing contingent of girls/ladies teams.
Today, the club regularly fields 55 – 65 teams each season with more than 1,000 registered players from under-5 through to over-45 in 2021.
Due to the hard work of Committee members and the support from City of Canada Bay Council, CDSFA and government funding, the club upgrading its amenities at Edwards Park with a fully-functional clubhouse containing multiple change rooms, storage for playing equipment as well as coaching equipment and an in-house canteen.
