Western Pride FC
- Leagues Played
- Australia - Queensland - Premier League 106 Australia - NPL Queensland 99 Australia - Amicale 14 Australia - FFA Cup 5 Australia - FFA Cup - Calificari 4 Australia - Queensland - Pro Series 3
- Links
- Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Wikipedia
- Related Teams
- Western Pride FC - Feminin Western Pride FC U20 Western Pride FC U23
Wikipedia - Western Pride FC
Western Pride Football Club was a soccer club based in Ipswich, Queensland. The club is best known for winning the NPL Queensland Grand Final in 2017. Pride's Senior Men currently play in the Football Queensland Premier League, following relegation in 2018, while the juniors and Senior Women teams play in their respective NPL or FQPL Queensland competitions.
The club was founded in 2012 by a new entity called Football Ipswich, set up by local football clubs to represent the Greater Ipswich Region and surrounding Western Corridor.
Pride were inaugural members of the Men and Women's NPL Queensland competitions, the 2nd tier of Australian football.
In 2023 it was announced that Pride and Ipswich City FC would merge ahead of the 2024 season, with the new club being called Ipswich FC.
History
Pride's inaugural men's player/coach was former Socceroo Kasey Wehrman who led the team from 2012 until his resignation in July 2014 to return to Norway.
In October 2014, former A-League player Karl Dodd accepted the position of Head Coach of the Western Pride FC Senior Men's Team in the National Premier League (Qld). Former Matilda Karla Reuter signed on as Assistant Manager of the Men's team.
Dodd led the team to an impressive start to the season, however in June 2015 he was recruited by Brisbane Roar FC to take up a position as the High Performance Manager.
Dodd was replaced by former Whitsunday Miners FC coach Graham Harvey.
Pride Women's team first appeared in the SEQ Premier League, and were coached by Byron Hellmuth. In 2015 Pride gained a licence to the newly formed NPL Queensland Women'scompetition. Byron Hellmuth and New player/coach Lorena Maggio led the team to an 8th-placed finish.
On 18 May 2016 Pride Men played the New Zealand national football team at Briggs Rd Sporting Complex as part of the visitors preparations for the OFC Nations Cup. New Zealand prevailed 2–0 in front of a crowd of 1,200 fans.
Pride Men signed Papua New Guinea international Nigel Dabinyaba late in the season, who became the first current international to play in the NPL Queensland competition.
Two of Pride's 2016 squad were signed by Brisbane Roar's Youth team. Hayden Mchenery signed mid-season after 12 months at Pride where he rebuilt his career after suffering osteitis pubis. Joe Duckworth signed at the end of the season after top scoring for Pride with 11 goals in 21 appearances.
Western Pride FC a câștigat un titlu de campionat în National Premier Leagues Queensland, în sezonul 2018-2019. Clubul a participat de asemenea de mai multe ori la Cupa Federației Australiei, cea mai importantă competiție de fotbal din Australia.
Principalul stadion al clubului este Briggs Road Sporting Complex, cu o capacitate de 5.000 de locuri. Culorile oficiale ale clubului sunt albastru și galben.
Antrenorul principal al clubului este John Kosmina, un fost jucător internațional australian cu 58 de selecții pentru naționala Australiei. Echipa este condusă de căpitanul Danny Kim, un mijlocaș creativ.
Western Pride FC are o bază de fani pasionată, iar meciurile de pe teren propriu sunt adesea sold-out. Clubul este, de asemenea, implicat în comunitatea locală, oferind programe de dezvoltare a tinerilor și evenimente comunitare.