Balmain Soccer Club also known as Balmain SC or Balmain FC is a semi-professional football club, based in the Inner West

Inner West (Sydney)

The Inner West is a general term which is used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the west of the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia...

 suburb of Balmain

Balmain, New South Wales

Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. They played at the historic Birchgrove Oval, just west of Balmain, which is known to some as the home of Rugby League

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

, when the Balmain Tigers

Balmain Tigers

The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...

 Rugby League team had their home ground their at the beginning of the 20th century. They now play their home games at Hensley Athletic Field but train at Birchgrove Oval. After several years of playing in the NSW State League Division Two

NSW State League Division Two

The New South Wales State League Division Two is the fourth-highest level of men's Association football in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body of football in New South Wales....

, they gained promotion at the end of the 2008 season to Division One after a hard fought match against Camden, winning on penalties.

History

In 1987 Roy Lawrence, an English worker living in Sydney, formed a six-a-side football competition, inviting all Englishmen living in Australia to play in the competition. After there was lots of interest, and dozens of players, he formed the Balmain Tigers Soccer Club, and entered it into the Canterbury District Premier League. The first season in the CDSFA was a huge success, finishing runners up and reaching the grand final. This early success led them to being promoted into the NSW Soccer Federation Division Seven in 1989. The next season, their winnings continued and they finished Runners up and grand finalists again in their first season in Div 7. Ultimately they were promoted, and continued to be promoted yearly all the way up into Division 5. In 1991, they moved home grounds, from Birchgrove to Lambert Park Leichhardt

Leichhardt, New South Wales

Leichhardt is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. Leichhardt is located 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt...

, where they won Division Four, winning all but 2 games.

Soon after in 1995 Roy Lawrence retired as coach, manager, secretary, and as a result in 1996 they move back to Birchgrove Oval, and reformed under new coach Bruce Allen.

In 1997 Roy Lawrence came out of retirement to help with the coaching, and took up role of Assistant coach to Bruce Allen. In 1998, on the 10 year Anniversary, 2 brand new coaches were appointed, Tony Dunn from Concord SC, and former Balmain SC player Jimmy Campbell, who takes Balmain into Division 3, after winning the 1998 Grand final.

The 2000 season saw Balmain reach the Grand final yet again, and move up into Division two, showing what a remarkable history Balmain has had, going from the lowest division to division two, inside of a decade.

In 2002 the club faced financial difficulties, saw their name changed to Birchgrove United, and slipped from 2nd Division to 4th Division. However in 2003 Division 4 dissolved, and they reunited in Division 3, once again as Balmain SC.

A Year later, Balmain would finish runners up in division 3, seeing the once again gain promotion into Division Two, where they would remain until 2008, where they beat Camden FC on Penalty shootout in the Grand Final, earning them into the First Division for the first time.

Club Colours

Balmain sporting teams traditionally take the colours of Orange and black, from the nickname the Tigers. Almost every sporting team that represents Balmain is called the Tigers, and hence their colours being Orange and Black. Most Balmain Junior Football Club teams are Orange and black, however in 2005, Balmain SC changed the Orange to gold, but are still nicknamed the Tigers.

Stadium

Balmain SC plays their home games at Hensley Athletic Field, they moved from Birchgrove Oval. The record crowd for a game at Birchgrove was a rugby League game, where 25,000 packed into the oval to watch Balmain Tigers play South Sydney in 1905. From 2011 the Tigers will play all of its State League Division home games at the redeveloped Hensley Athletic Field located in Eastgardens. With the aid of Government grants and significant funding from Botany Council, Hensley Athletic Field has been laid with synthetic turf.