Our history

The APIA story

APIA Leichhardt was started in 1954 by the Italian community of Sydney’s inner west, with help from English and Scottish migrants. The club began in the local Canterbury District competition, and in 1957 it stepped up to the First Division of the new NSW Federation of Soccer Clubs. Its home has long been Lambert Park on Marion Street, Leichhardt.

From those local beginnings, APIA went on to play in the National Soccer League, and in 1987 it became national champions under coach Rale Rasic. The club won the NSL Cup the following year. More recently, in 2018, APIA beat A-League champions Melbourne Victory in the FFA Cup, one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history.

Today the club fields men’s and women’s teams in the top NSW leagues, with a pathway that starts with Mini Tigers from U4 and runs all the way to first grade. In the club’s own words: “Above everything else, we love football. We strive to make a community around the game that we all love.”

The junior club

In 1993, APIA Leichhardt Tigers Junior Football Club was formally created as its own club. The rules required senior clubs in the national and state leagues to run their district junior teams as a separate organisation.

Today the juniors offer a pathway from Mini Tigers and Mini Tigresses through to development programs, district competition and the NPL.

Honour roll

Our best performances over the years.

From the archives