Club Overview
FC Bulleen Lions (FCBL) is a well-established football club incorporated under and based at the Veneto Club. FCBL has been in existence for almost 50 and in that time has fostered the careers of many successful players including Socceroos players Mark Bresciano & Matthew Leckie. More importantly, the Club has been providing an environment where children and their families can spend time engaging in a healthy, fun activity building a strong local community.
At the Veneto Club we have two FIFA accredited synthetic pitches, and our main pitch includes the David Barro Stadium.
If you want to find out more about player opportunities, programs or special events please contact us via email fcbl@venetoclub.com
History
The Veneto Club has been the “spiritual” home of Bulleen since the mid 1970’s when the first Bulleen squad was assembled wearing the famous colours of maroon and gold. The club was first registered in 1974 with the Victorian Soccer Federation (VSF) under the name Bulleen Veneto Soccer Club and played in the District League North Division. The first game was played against away to Galveston, with the score being 1-5 in favour of Bulleen. Over the next few years, junior teams were introduced to and this grew to 5 teams within the first 5 years.
The 1980’s were when football at the Veneto Club transformed. Off the field, dedicated football change rooms and a kiosk were built, a ladies Football sub-committee was also created to support the main committee and the generous partnerships with major sponsors, Grollo Group and the Barro Group helped the club succeed. On the field, the club won its first trophy, the Consolation Italian Cup, which was part of the prestigious Coppa Italia tournament. In 1982 the Veneto Club hosted the popular Coppa Italia tournament. The 1982 tournament was one of the most successful Coppa Italia tournaments ever staged with approximately 30,000 people coming to the Veneto Club for the six-week tournament. Bulleen were runners-up in the tournament, losing to Fawkner in the final. Bulleen won their first Coppa Italia tournament in 1985, defeating Nunawading 5-0 in the final. The club experienced championship wins in the senior men and reserve teams, promotions through the Provisional, Metropolitan and State leagues and finally reaching the top tier of Victorian Football, playing in the Victorian State League, now known as NPL Victoria, in 1988.
Bulleen Lions were a main stay in the Victorian Premier League in the 1990’s. In 1991, Bulleen Lions finished equal first and scored 54 goals, the highest tally of all clubs, however due to goal difference ended up being second on the ladder. While the team did not win any titles, Fabio Incantalupo won the VSF Gold Medal for Best Player in the Premier League and the Bill Fleming Media Award. In 1993 FC Bulleen Lions achieved the ultimate glory by finishing first on the ladder and winning the Victorian Premier Grand Final, defeating Fawkner 2-0 with goals from Scott Patterson and Frank Valentic. The first Women’s Football team played competitively in 1995. Unfortunately, due to low numbers, the club was only able to field a team for a couple of seasons. In 1996 a formal application was made to join the old National Soccer League of Australia for the start of the 1996/97 season. The application had a number of supporters backing the bid, including Grollo Group, Barro Group and the Veneto Club. Unfortunately, the application was unsuccessful but highly commended by Soccer Australia. In 1997 there was a merger between Bulleen, Box Hill Inter and Brunswick Juventus to establish Bulleen Inter Kings with the club making the Grand Final in its first season, however losing on the day to Altona Magic. The following year in 1998 the club returned to Victorian Premier League Grand Final and were crowned Champions by defeating St Albans 3 – 2 with goals from Eric Hollingsworth and Danny Gnjidic. During this time, a number of players for Bulleen would go on the represent the Socceroos, with Danny Tiatto and Mark Bresciano being two of the most high-profile players. Throughout this period, there were over 200 juniors playing for Bulleen with 3 teams playing in the then known Super League and along with another in the National Youth League – Southern Division.
Throughout the 2000’s, junior football at Bulleen would grow substantially with over 500 juniors playing for Bulleen each season. A number of these junior players would represent FC Bulleen Lions by playing overseas in a number of junior tournaments in Italy, Germany and England. In 2004, women’s football returned to FC Bulleen Lions with a girls’ team formed in the Under 18 junior division. Over the next few years, the club was able to establish more girls’ teams due to the demand and a senior women’s team returned. The women’s program was improving year upon year and a a number of championships were won. In 2004, the Senior Men’s team were once again crowned Champions of the Victorian Premier League. Following a nil-all draw in the Grand Final against Altona Magic, the match headed to a penalty shoot-out. Thanks to the heroic efforts of goalkeeper Michael Theo, Bulleen was able to prevail 3-2. At the conclusion of the 2006 season, the amalgamation of Bulleen, Box Hill Inter and Brunswick Juventus dissolved and Bulleen was left with no senior team for the 2007 season. In 2008, senior men’s football returned to Bulleen with Essendon Royals and FC Bulleen Lions forming Bulleen Royals. This name was for one season, with all teams from 2009 playing as FC Bulleen Lions. The senior men’s team narrowly missed out on promotion in these seasons, however a future Socceroo in Mathew Leckie was discovered.
Our Senior Women continued to win their respective league and gained promotion to Victorian Premier League in 2013. In 2014, they won their first top flight trophy, winning the Knockout Cup 2-0 against South Melbourne with goals to Tessa Sernio and Em Coppock. In 2018 the NPL Women won the Grand Final in their first attempt. With goals to Caitlin Friend, Amy Jackson and Daniela Gudelj, they defeated South Melbourne 3-1. To compliment the success of 2018 season, Kayla Morrison was awarded the NPLW Media Player of the Year. A number of women’s players have represented FC Bulleen Lions and go on to play in the A-League Womens each season. The senior men gained promotion to NPL Victoria after winning the NPL 2 West title in 2015. Captain Matteo Ballan won the NPL2 Player of the Year award in 2015 as well. Bulleen’s flight in the top tier was short-lived and after a few seasons were relegated back to NPL 2, now known as Victorian Premier League 1, the league in which they currently participate in. The FC Bulleen Lions junior program has been strengthened over the last few seasons, with a number of players rewarded for their development by joining A-League academy sides after honing their skills at the Veneto Club.