Traralgon Olympians SC
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| Full name | Traralgon Olympians Soccer Club | ||
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| Nickname | Olympians | ||
| Founded | 1980 | ||
| Ground | Harold Preston Reserve | ||
| Capacity | 500 | ||
| Chairman | Spiro Marcou | ||
| Manager | Anton Sbaglia | ||
| League | Latrobe Valley Soccer League | ||
| 2025 | LVSL, 2nd of 9 | ||
| Website | traralgonolympians | ||
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| Active departments of Traralgon Olympians | ||||||
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Traralgon Olympians SC is a soccer club based in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia. The club was founded in 1980 and currently competes in the Latrobe Valley Soccer League (LVSL); it is regularly referred to as the Olympians.
They are among the most successful clubs in the history of the Latrobe Valley Soccer League, winning eight men's league championships and eight Battle of Britain Cup titles.[1]
The club regularly competes in the Hellenic Cup, a competition for Australian soccer clubs backed by the Greek community.[2]
Foundation
The club was founded following a proposal by Jim Fkiaras, who in 1979 approached a group of friends about forming a soccer club. A meeting of interested people was held at the Greek Orthodox Church in Morwell, which resulted in the formal creation of the Traralgon Olympians Soccer Club in 1980.[3] The committee moved quickly to establish permanent premises: in 1981, Traralgon City Council granted the club a parcel of land, and by 1982 – after significant labour by committee members and supporters – a clubhouse had been erected.[3]
Early success (1981–1986)
The club was almost immediately successful, winning the LVSL in their first and second seasons of competition and signalling the arrival of a new force in football in the Latrobe Valley.[1] They won the title again in 1984, and also in 1986, accumulating four league championships in their first six seasons. They were the only club to win three championships in their first four seasons until Fortuna '60 repeated the feat in the 2000s.[1]
Dominant era (1991–1994)
The club surged again in the early 1990s, winning the LVSL championship in 1991, 1993 and 1994, marking themselves as the dominant force in the local competition during that period.[1]
Title drought and resurgence (1995–2019)
The rise of Warragul United, Fortuna '60 and Churchill United over the subsequent two decades halted the Olympians' dominance. The club won just one further league title – in 2002 – after their 1994 triumph.[1]
In 2017, Olympians clinched their first premiership in fifteen years, defeating Falcons 2000 in the grand final, 2–0. Henri Scott opened the scoring on eleven minutes, and the result was sealed late to give Olympians a clean sheet.[4] Olympians won the LVSL again in 2019,[1] described by the Latrobe Valley Express as the club's "last flag" before a difficult subsequent period.[5]
Rebuild and return to the top (2020–2025)
The years following the 2019 championship were turbulent, with the club not even fielding a senior team in 2022.[6] In 2023, the club finished third-bottom on the LVSL ladder, winning only four matches from eighteen.[5]
Nathan Martin was appointed senior coach for the 2024 season, bringing with him a history at the club stretching back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. He identified cultural change as a priority, noting that the club had historically been susceptible to losing players to rivals.[5] Under Martin, Olympians produced an impressive start to the 2024 season, and at the halfway mark, the club sat level on 13 points with Fortuna, Moe and Falcons – a situation the Latrobe Valley Express described as "unprecedented".[5] The club ultimately finished fourth at season's end with a 10-win, 5-loss, 3-draw record.[7]
In 2025, described by the Latrobe Valley Express as a "fairy tale" season,[6] Olympians were tipped to challenge for the title from the outset, with "a sweep of new players reinvigorating the squad."[8] By Round 10, a 4–1 victory over Moe United – with striker Alradi Ali netting a hat-trick – consolidated their position at the top of the table, with the newspaper noting Olympians were "in prime position to take out the LVSL championship for the first time in more than 20 years,"[6] with coach Anton Sbaglia praising Ali as "one of the greatest strikers the league has ever seen."[6] The club went on to win the 2025 Battle of Britain Cup but fell short in the league as Moe United raced away to claim the championship.[1][9]
Battle of Britain Cup
The club has won the Battle of Britain Cup eight times.[9]
Youth development
The club co-hosted a Football Victoria Boys & Girls FC junior tournament at Harold Preston Reserve in November 2023, alongside Traralgon City SC. The two-day event drew 33 teams and more than 300 players from across Victoria.[10]
Notable former players
The most prominent graduate of the Olympians' junior program was defender Garry Upton, who went on to join the Morwell Falcons in 1990. Upton spent five seasons with the Falcons, playing 43 National Soccer League games and 27 Victorian Premier League games,[11]
Club colors and badge
The club plays in blue jerseys inspired by the Greek national team and has a wreath on its crest and a Meander border, both symbols of the Greek community which formed the team in 1980.
Stadium
The club plays its home matches at Harold Preston Reserve, which has a capacity of 500 (with a seating capacity of 100).[12] Crosstown rivals Traralgon City SC are also based at the reserve.
