SAWTELL FC HISTORY
In 1968 Alex Jeff, Ron Bentley, and Gary Moy started up a soccer club in their local area. At the time there were two teams. One Under 10s and one Under 12s.
In 1974 the first women's team was formed and in 1976 the Senior club was started. In 1996 both the junior and senior clubs came together to create one club.
Sawtell FC has grown from strength to strength and in 2018, our 50th year, the club was one of the largest on the north coast with over 500 registered players.
Come and join Sawtell FC and become part of history!
Our first women’s team was established in 1974 by an eager group of teenagers. They attended a meeting- back when they were held at Elizabeth Street Sawtell, to ask for jerseys. The men were surprised that a bunch of 15 year old girls wanted to play football. They managed to get a couple of old ones (that didn’t really fit- but they made do) where they then began playing teams like Grafton, Bellingen, Woologoolga and North Beach, coached by Paul Moffat- one of the girls Dads, and training at what is now known as Sawtell Commons (the grassed are opposite Sawtell Primary School). It was hard going as women soccer wasn’t widely supported back then, the original team fizzled out- but new players took up the torch in later years.
We’re thankful for these women that pioneered females in football. In a time where it was a male dominated sport- its encouraging to see how far we’ve come in supporting all our players.
Some members from the original team were Kerrie Porter (Snell), Kerri Klaus, Christine Capararo (Moffat), Narelle Flemming, Lyn Drummond (Bale), Glenda Ward, Ann Witherdin, Sonia Rayner, Karen Kennedy, Kerrie Mayled (Watt), Joy Saggus and Debbie O’Brien were some of the original members. Thankyou ladies for your story and your history in our club- showing just what women can do when we work together!!
The story of our first Women's team
SAWTELL FC'S FIRST JUNIOR TEAMS 1968
