The Stadium of Brisbane Football Club
Brisbane‘s forward line poses all kinds of problems to opposing defenders, whether tall or small; fleet of foot or slow; in the air or on the ground – they have you in their sights in whatever manner they please.
However, it has been through hard work from an amazing group of individuals that this club has made its mark – with much still left to achieve!
Table of Contents
Origins
Queensland Roar competes in Australia’s premier soccer competition, the A-League. Led by Ross Aloisi as its manager, they were founded as Hollandia-Inala by Dutch immigrants in 1957 before changing to Brisbane Lions before finally entering A-League competition as Queensland Roar in 2010.
Brisbane City FC’s home stadium, Suncorp Stadium, seats 52,500. Furthermore, they field youth and women’s teams that compete in both National Youth League and W-League tournaments.
Roar Corps, inspired by supporter groups in the American National Women’s Soccer League. Based at Bay 332 of Suncorp Stadium’s Northern stand and with headquarters located there. Additionally, there is also The Den, another supporters organisation of Brisbane FC which also boasts large and dedicated following. Organised football was already being played here by mid-1800s according to newspaper reports: two teams selected and five goals were scored during an active contest played out between them on Saturday afternoon (presumably Australian rules version).
History
The 1918 season saw the introduction of goal nets into Brisbane football for the first time ever, and was also when association football first came to be known as soccer (an Oxford University term dating back as far as 1890s).
After World War II, an influx of European migrants saw the formation of ethnic-based clubs which dominated local competitions, such as Azzurri (Italian; now Brisbane City at Newmarket), Budapest-Grovely (Hungarian; now Westside Eagles at Grovely), Dnipro (Ukrainian; now Polonia), Germania (German; later St George Souths), Hellenic (Greek; later Hollandia merged with Olympic), Latrobe (now Bardon Latrobe at Bardon).
In 2008, all local soccer bodies in Brisbane (Brisbane Men’s Football, Brisbane Women’s Soccer, North & Districts Junior Soccer Association and Brisbane Southern Districts Junior Soccer Association) amalgamated to form Football Brisbane. Under its auspices was established the Queensland State League – a second tier league beneath A-League that included Redlands Devils and Olympic FC in its inaugural season.
Stadiums
At the edge of Brisbane’s central business district, this stadium serves as home for Queensland State of Origin rugby league team and Brisbane Broncos. Formerly known as Lang Park cemetery site, its use as sports venue started being converted in 1914.
It has since become one of Australia’s premier football venues and hosts concerts by iconic artists like Guns N’ Roses and Ed Sheeran.
Youth and women’s teams compete in the A-League Youth competition while an active supporters group known as The Den is located in Bay 332 of Suncorp Stadium’s Northern Stand. Suncorp Stadium maintains its commitment to its community by developing and managing programs to attract top talent to work there while cultivating positive images of Suncorp amongst local residents through various Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
Managers
The club provides a dedicated community outreach program and partners with various local organizations, while also hosting grassroots football programs and charity events.
Ante Kovacevic oversees many aspects of The Roar’s business operations as its General Manager. Prior to joining The Roar he held management roles at Western United FC and Adelaide United.
Ben Cahn joined the club as Isuzu UTE A-League men’s head coach in 2024, having amassed experience coaching private academies, state development teams and both NPL Victoria and Queensland senior men sides.
Coaching Melbourne Knights to an NPL Victoria final and Australia Cup semi-final while still only 35, Robbie Fowler was appointed full time and charged with leading them into its inaugural season back in the A-League. Expectations are that his brand of soccer, known as ‘attacking soccer’ will be implemented at Brisbane Roar alongside interim coach Darren Davies and Coaching Director Robbie Fowler.
