Sunshine Coast FC

History

Sunshine Coast FC were founded in 2007 by Noel Woodall in order to participate in the inaugural season of the Queensland State League, a competition designed to bridge the gap between the A-League and the various regional and city-based leagues across Queensland.

Sunshine Coast found instant success in the new competition as the club managed to win the inaugural Queensland State League Grand Final by defeating the Brisbane Strikers 1–0 through a goal from Bryan Gilfillan. However, after a run of injuries and difficulty in getting permits for foreign players, the Fire had a less successful season in 2009, finishing 3rd out of 11 teams after 20 games, ending on 41 points.

In 2010 the club again captured the Premiership and Championship. Former head coach Richard Hudson led the Fire to the 2012 QSL Grand Final where they would capture the final Championship before the new National Premier League. Kevin Aherne-Evans took over from Richard Hudson as head coach for the 2013 and 2014 NPL Queensland seasons, before being replaced in 2015 by Paul Arnison.

In 2016 the club's form began to drop with an 11th-place finish followed by last place finishes in 2017 & 2018. Midway through the 2018 season the club replaced former head coach Ali Demircam with QSL winner Richard Hudson who returned to the club after a 6-year hiatus.

Richard resigned due to personal injury at the beginning of the 2019 season. Former Caulfield City player Mitch Cattermole and Gary Newcome were installed as coaches for the season.

The club were relegated at the end of the 2019 NPL season to the FQPL (Football Queensland Premier League). In September 2019, the club appointed Scottish-born Gareth Thomson as head coach.

Following the 2023 season, the club were expelled by Football Queensland.

Home ground

Prior to their expulsion, Sunshine Coast's playing ground was the Kawana Western Fields. The club shared their ground with local league side Kawana Football Club.

Current squad

2020 FQPL squad as of March 2020.

Coaching staff

Senior staff at the club for the 2020 season:

Honours

• Queensland State League
  • Premiership (3): 2008, 2010, 2011
  • Championship (4): 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012

References

References

1. "Sunshine Coast FC". Sunshine Coast FC.
2. (2015-11-03). "FourFourTwo". Au.fourfourtwo.com.
3. [http://www.qldsl.com.au/fixtures.php] {{webarchive. link. (April 28, 2009)
4. Mark Bode. (2013-01-06). "Fired up to dominate". Sunshine Coast Daily.
5. (18 April 2018). "Fire Sign Richard Hudson as Senior Mens Coach".
6. (31 July 2000). "1994 Victorian State League Division One Results".
7. "Sunshine Coast Fire FC issued ‘possible elimination’ letter from Football Queensland". Code Sports.
8. "NPL Selected Teams – FOX SPORTS PULSE". Sportingpulse.com.
9. "Technical Staff".