With the Australian Cup Playoffs set to be hosted in Darwin this year, we look at the long history of the game and the Greek involvement.
Beginning from 1911, the first game in the Northern Territory was recorded. Played at the Sport Ground, HMS Prometheus and Darwin locals came together to play football. At the time there were not enough residents to form a team, so locals and sailors combined to play for the Prometheus team. In the end Prometheus won 2-1.
From 1912-1958, new teams were created with many battling each other to win the cup. According to historians, there were quite a few new players in town who aimed to win the trophy.
After years of different teams playing the game, in 1958 Hellenic was formed which was exclusively a team of immigrants from the island of Kalymnos. This team became very dominant and successful but a breakaway in 1967 saw a rivalry emerge with the new team Olympic.
Following this, the Greek community began to dominate Darwin soccer, with a number of Greeks VS the rest games staged annually and a number of teams producing some of the most prominent Greek players in history.
Source: Australian Cup
