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| Full name | Bulls FC Academy | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1952; 74 years ago (1952) | ||
| Ground | Northbridge Oval | ||
| Chairman | Sam Krslovic | ||
| Manager | Nicolai Müller (men's) Marty Garces (women's) | ||
| League | NSW League One (men's) NPL NSW (women's) | ||
| 2025 (men's) 2025 (women's) | 8th of 16 1st of 14 (champions) | ||
| Website | macarthurfc | ||
Bulls FC Academy is an semi-professionalsoccer club based in theSydney suburb ofNorthbridge, New South Wales, Australia.
Founded in 1952 asNorthbridge Football Club, Bulls FC Academy was formed in 2023 following a merger between Northbridge FC andMacarthur FC. The men's team plays in theNSW League One, while the women's team plays in theNPL NSW Women's. They play matches at Northbridge Oval.[1]
Northbridge FC was established in 1952 by local postman Ron Hall who had previously relocated from his work in the coalfields in the Cessnock area of theHunter Valley. The club originally competed in the Northern Suburbs Soccer Association (NSSA). The original playing strip was a red and white shirt, white shorts and red and white hooped socks. In 1973, Northbridge joined the Ku-Ring-Gai and District Soccer Association (now the Northern Suburbs Football Association).[2]
In 2014, Northbridge established an agreement withA-League clubCentral Coast Mariners to form a youth development academy in Sydney's North Shore.[3] As part of the partnership the North Shore Mariners Academy was based at Northbridge FC.[4] The move led to accusations fromSydney FC that the Mariners were encroaching on their territory.[5] On forming the partnership the Mariners stated that they believe Northbridge to be the biggest club (in terms of player numbers) in the Southern Hemisphere.[6]
In 2015, as a result of the Central Coast Mariners affiliation, the club's senior teams changed their name and colours to reflect the Mariners and in doing so, became the North Shore Mariners.[citation needed]
On 27 October 2020 the club announced it was returning to the Northbridge FC name, as the partnership with Central Coast Mariners was being discontinued.[7]
On 21 December 2020 the announced to form a partnership agreement withA-League clubMacarthur FC. The agreement will see all teams play as Northbridge FC Bulls with playing kits incorporating both the Northbridge and Macarthur FC logos respectively.[8]
In 2023, Having operated as a joint venture for the past two National Premier League seasons, Bulls FC Academy will become a single entity from the start of the 2023 season. The Bulls FC Academy will compete in the National Premier Leagues NSW next season following a merger between Northbridge Football Club andMacarthur FC.[9]
The club its home ground at Northbridge Oval. The Oval had a million-dollar upgrade, including resurfacing with synthetic turf and new floodlights in early 2011.[10] However, as the ground did not meet the NPL NSW 1 criteria, the men's team had to move to play their home games at theSydney United Sports Centre for the 2021 season.[11] and for the 2023 season.[12] Previous play out inLambert Park in 2020 season.[13]
In 2011, after spending their entire existence in the local league, Northbridge FC successfully enteredFootball NSW's state league competition, the 3rd tier of NSW football and fourth tier overall.[14] They won theNSW State League Division One Premiership in 2013,[15] but went on to lose the Grand Final toBalmain inextra time.[16]
The 2014 season once again saw Northbridge fall short of the title – losing toHakoah Sydney City East FC 3–2, with Hakoah going on to get promoted to the NSW NPL2.[17]
Throughout 2014 and the years leading up, Northbridge, experienced significant growth, with over 2,300 registered players in early 2014.[14] This made Northbridge the largest club in Australia by participation numbers.[18]
In 2015 Northbridge had a successful season losing only one game late in the season (won 18, drew 3, lost 1) to take out the State League 1 premiership.[19] Northbridge went on to win their first State League 1 grand final in 3 attempts beatingHills Brumbies in a 3–2 win, despite playing the last 15 minutes with 10 men.[20]
The successful 2015 season saw Northbridge promoted to theNational Premier Leagues NSW 2 competition for the first time in their history where they started the 2016 season alongside National Premier League debutantsSydney FC Youth,Western Sydney Wanderers FC Youth &Central Coast Mariners FC NPL.[21]
Despite being competitive for the majority of games, the seniors only managed to win 3 matches. In the last round of the season, North Shore needed all three senior divisions (U18's, U20's and 1st's) to win and had to rely on other results to avoid relegation. All three divisions won and at the end of 2016 had finished 13th out of 14 on the Club Championship, thus avoiding relegation withFraser Park FC dropping to the 3rd tier of NSW football instead.[citation needed]
2017 was a much more successful year for the North Shore outfit, with the Mariners finishing the year in 5th position.[citation needed]
Another year of improvement in the NPL NSW 2 saw the senior team finish 3rd in the2018 season. Though North Shore were eliminated in the first round of the finals, season 2018 was the highest league position finish for the club to date.[citation needed]
In 2019, North Shore experienced their most successful season in history, finishing first in both theNPL NSW 2 and the club championship, which resulted in promotion toNPL NSW 1. The club sealed promotion on the final round of the season.[citation needed]
As a result of winning the 2019 NPL2 Club Championship North Shore have been promoted to NPL1 for the first time in their history and will play their games out of Lambert Park, Leichhardt.[22]
In 2021 season North Shore become Northbridge FC Bulls will play their games in multiple locations. Their head coach is Mile Sterjovski.[23]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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The women's team competes in theNational Premier Leagues NSW Women's.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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