'Some two thousand people' watch a charity match on Monday, 26 April 1920. It was played at Geelong Oval between a team from the crew from warship HMAS Platypus and the Victorian Amateur British Football Association team Windsor. The game is kicked off by Commander Edward Boyle VC.[9][10]
Geelong United Soccer Club is formed at a meeting of 28 men at Belmont common. Elected were Mr Arthur.D.Ive (president), Donaldson (vice-president), Drinnan (treasurer) and C. Ensby (secretary) to lead a team of mostly Scots and Englishmen.[9][13][14]
1924
Geelong United plays its first league match against Melbourne Welsh at the Hope Street ground in Geelong West and participates in the Dockerty Cup but is eliminated in the first round.[15][16][17]
1926
The Geelong and District Soccer League is formed. There are seven teams: Geelong City, Ford Recreation Club, Valley Worsted Mills, Overseas Club, Queenscliff Garrison, HMAS Brisbane and North Geelong. Geelong United who were playing in the Melbourne competition are disbanded to get the league launched. The arrival of workers for Geelong's new industry increase the need for pitches - a battle that will continue for clubs across the region for the next century.[18][19][20][21][22][23]
The Geelong Soccer League secures the use of the Friendly Societies' reserve (now Howard Glover reserve). It will be a base for Soccer in Geelong for years to come.[24]
The Madden Cup competition is established by William G. Madden (President of the Geelong and the Western District Football Association) who donates the cup trophy. Madden, a former councillor and Mayor of Geelong West Council, passes away in 1928. [25][26][27][28][29][30]
The Caledonian Charity Shield competition is started.[31]
1927
The Geelong Soccer League changes its name to the Geelong and Western District Soccer Association.[32]
New club Caledonians is formed.
Union Jack are formed. Fred West the first president.[33]
Players from various Geelong teams are selected for a Geelong association team to play a match against Preston Soccer Club on Easter Saturday at the Hope street ground in Geelong West.[27][34]
1929
Federal Woollen Mills and Geelong Wanderers enters the league.
1930/31
The 1930 Madden cup is won by Melbourne's Northumberland & Durham United beating Geelong's Valley Mills team. In the mid 1990s the Madden Cup was still in possession of a descendent of Elijah ‘Sandy’ Hammond who captained the side.
Valley Mills beat Colac Thistle 3-1 to win the Caledonian shield.[35]
The Great Depression takes hold across Australia. Only four teams remain in the league in 1930, the league folds in 1931.[36]
1934
Geelong United is revived to play in the Melbourne metropolitan competition.
1949/50
The Geelong league is restarted with Geelong United, Geelong Celtic, International Harvester and Industrial Service Engineers play in the league.[37][38]
The post world war II migrant boom is underway across Australia, large number of European migrants will grow and transform the game in Geelong over the next decade.[37]
Dutch migrant workers form Shell A and Shell B teams during the construction of Shell's Geelong Oil Refinery (1951–54).[39][40]
1952
The Geelong 'International' Soccer club is founded by the Italian community and plays in blue and black vertical stripes. However it is later suspended by the Victorian Soccer Association for crowd trouble.[41] The club was then re-established with Fanny Borsari as president 'the first women to be president of a soccer club in Australia'. Fanny's husband Nino Borsari was president of Brunswick Juventus.[42][43] The club later became known as the IAMA club (Italian Australian Migrants Association) in 1954/1955.[44]
1955
The Geelong Scottish soccer club is formed by Bill Dorris (senior), John Barr and Bob Barclay at a meeting at the North Geelong Fire Station - Geelong Scottish would later to become Geelong Rangers.[45]
The local Dutch newspaper De Nieuwe Wereld (The New World) sponsors a post-season lightning premiership competition named the 'New World Cup' open to Ballarat, Melbourne and Geelong teams that runs until 1960. From this event the German team would become Corio Soccer Club.[46]
Corio Soccer club is formed by Norman Haigh, J. Hancock and Harry Pettig and made up of mostly German migrants from the defunct International Harvester team.[47]
1956
The Dutch influence on local football increases as Dutch teams now make up five of the eight teams in the Geelong competition.[48]
1957
Footscray's Croatia club was brought to Geelong for a short period by Joe Radojevic when he took over as secretary of Croatia from Tony Durakovic.[37]
1958
There are eight teams in the local Geelong League; British, Corio (German), Olympia 1 and 2 (Dutch), DSG (Dutch Society of Geelong), Ukrania, Scottish and Toldi (Hungarian).
Geelong Macedonia Soccer Club is established, based out of Harold Hurst Reserve in Herne Hill - later known as Geelong SC.
The newly formed Victorian Soccer Federation removed Geelong clubs from its Metropolitan competitions, consigning teams to the Ballarat and Geelong Districts Soccer Association in 1964.[37]
Rangers move from their ground at Calvert Street Hamlyn Park to Myers Reserve.[51]
1977
North Geelong Croatia spend $12,000 to purchase land in Lara to establish a future home ground away from the shared facility of Hume reserve. The first league game at Elcho park comes nine years later in 1986 against Essendon City.[50]
Councillor Gerry Smith presided over the formation of The Association of Geelong Soccer Clubs. Aiming to create a National Soccer League team in Geelong.
The Geelong Advertiser Cup competition is launched by Bill Walsh, Bob Kocsiki, Billy Dorris and Jim Lippelgoes. Bell Park beat Hamlyn Rangers 1–0 to take the silverware in the first year.[53]
1983/1984
Hamlyn Rangers go back to back - winning the Metropolitan League division four and division three the next season.[54][55]
1986
Corio Bay Sports Club (soccer and cricket) is formed.
1987
Corio SC merges with Geelong United.
1989/90/91
North Geelong win Division Two and then Division One of the State League.
1992
North Geelong coached by Branko Culina win the Victorian Premier League in its first year in the top flight of Victoria football.[56]
Pitch four at Hume reserve is converted into a water retention pond at a time when soccer participation for boys and girls surpassed all other sports across Australia.[69][70] Hume reserve was once a facility of six pitches that had been gradually reduced as land had been sold off for industrial development.
2016
Leopold FC is founded by Jared Larkins and Mitchell Vials.The club had over 100 registered players in its first season in 2017.[71]
Geelong Galaxy United FC is formed as a joint venture of Greater Geelong Galaxy Girls and Surfcoast FC and are licensed to play as the only regional team in the new NPLW league from their home ground of Banyul-warri Fields Torquay. Vince Ierardo is head coach in their first season as Galaxy reach the grand final of the WNPL league losing to Calder United.[72][73][74][75][76]
Melbourne Victory beat Atlético Madrid 1 - 0 at Simonds Stadium in Geelong in front of 16,652 fans as part of the Spanish Giant's pre-season tour in Australia.[77][78][79]
2018
The first stage of the Drysdale Sporting Precinct is complete - Drysdale SC move in.[80]
A $2 million FIFA standard synthetic pitch is opened at the Leisuretime Centre in Norlane.[81]
Armstrong Creek United is founded by Michael Parker, Moses Machao and Gavin Walker.[82]
2019
North Geelong Warriors hosted local rivals Geelong SC in the first ever Geelong NPL Derby. The match is witnessed by over 1,500 spectators.[83]
2022
Geelong Council purchase the land and assets of Bell Park Sports Club club for $2.55 million, to ensure the club's survival.[84]
2023
Breakwater Eagles move to the vacated Howard Glover reserve in East Geelong from the privately owned facility at White Eagle House. Breakwater are the second club in two years to extricate itself from a private football facility in favour of a Council owned facility.[85]
2024
Breakwater Eagles change their name to Geelong City Football Club to better reflect their new home ground location. The name was first used 110 years ago by Geelong's first official team.