Few Australian soccer clubs can boast of a home address as alluring as Via Roma, on the Isle of Capri in Surfers Paradise, an address which conjures up images of sun and surf. But now, in addition to its prime location, Surfers Paradise Apollo Soccer Club can also boast of being the first Gold Coast Premier League club to ever qualify for the Round of 32 of the Westfield FFA Cup.
Club president Telly Karadimos says, “It’s a huge effort. No one has done it before from the Gold Coast Premier League. To get to the last 32 is the highest achievement of any local Premier League club. I think we’re one of just two third-tier clubs left in the last 32.”
Gold Coast-based NPL club Palm Beach Sharks, which ended South Melbourne’s FFA Cup run last year, has previously progressed to the Round of 32, but Apollo is the first club from the third tier Gold Coast Premier League competition to progress to the national stage of the FFA Cup.
Few can deny that Apollo has earned its place in the Round of 32, having knocked out three Queensland NPL clubs in successive rounds including Gold Coast City, South West Queensland and Sunshine Coast.
Founded by Greeks, the club has a mixture of players from different ethnic backgrounds including Greeks, Serbians, Croatians, Italians and South Americans as well as others, prompting one member to describe it as being like ” a mini United Nations.”
President Karadimos attributes the successful cup run largely to the strong bond and unity amongst the playing group, and singles out coach David Benigno as the architect of that team spirit. ” The boys are very united. We’ve got a couple of boys who’ve played for NPL club Gold Coast City and they’ve never been involved with a club that’s so tight between each other. They support each other. Our coach David Benigno, it’s only his second year in Premier League. The guy’s done an incredible job with the camaraderie within the team. He’s been fantastic.”
With Greek-owned Brisbane based business The Coffee Club as a major sponsor, the president says “The support we get is phenomenal, especially now where we’ve achieved with how far we’ve gone.”
Melbourne-born Karadimos says he’s hoping to score a home match hosting an A-League opponent in the draw for the upcoming round. “If it’s an A-League team we’re hoping to play at Cbus Stadium in Robina.”
When asked about the club’s ambitions for future development, the President says that for now the club is happy to remain a community-based club. “Look, we’re a community club. We’re all volunteers, we don’t have poker machines. It’s a small little community club. I’m happy where we are. I don’t think we can substantiate going into the NPL. Because the qualifiers, you need to pay a manager, have full facilities for everything. The Gold Coast just doesn’t have that available,” he said.
“At the moment we’re the only Gold Coast Premier League side still in all the three comps. We have a BLK Cup here as well – we’re in the semi-finals in two weeks. We’re in the FFA Cup and the League.”
The draw for the FFA Cup Round of 32 takes place later this month with the 16 matches to be played in late July and early August. You can wager that more than a few clubs from down south would fancy a trip up north to Surfers Paradise for a mid-winter cup tie.