Club History

Prague Juniors who came to life in 1957 after the senior team ‘Prague’ were accept

ed into the NSW State league competitions and as part of that acceptance the implementation to have Juniors’ teams also.

Prague Juniors played in the local South Eastern competitions based from a then Sydney Athletic Field (now ES Marks) and the establishing President of Prague Juniors, Ernie Small, presided over the club for many of the initial years, including the use of Jellicoe Park from 1967.

After many successful years in the early stages, at both junior and seniors, in 1973 after a few poor seasons and some financial constraints the senior’s team of Prague were bound for relegation. This did not sit well with the board at the time and to enable them to continue and play in Division 1, Prague decided to amalgamate with ‘Yugal’ to remain in the top division and thus the club became ‘Yugal Prague”.

In 1976 a small team of the committee led by Pat Williams, George Vasin & Paul Taliana decided to make application on their own to Soccer NSW to enter their own senior teams into State league under the name on ‘Pagewood Botany Soccer Club” and upon acceptance from Soccer NSW, Pagewood Botany SC was established at Jellicoe Park with all the juniors team continuing to play within Southern Eastern Association and the Seniors in Inter Urban State league.

During this time, the club’s Men’s 1st grade was led by life member, the late George Lundy as our Captain.

At the time of the club being established as PBSC the set up to be homed at Jellicoe Park for a long-term future was in no uncertain terms the hard work and effort of Pat Williams, George Vasin and their negotiations and standing with City of Botany Bay Council at the time. 

In 1977, the following year before the start of competitions, Pagewood Botany Soccer Club undertook to break the Guinness Book of records for the longest continuous game and was successful in this attempt and to this day is often referred to by those with club over long tenure.

The following year, in 1978 the women’s teams were established to play in State competitions and were led by Fred Taliana who started and coached the women’s teams for many of its early years. Our life member, Veronica Walters was the women’s 1st grade captain and continued to lead the way in women’s football for many years to come.

The senior teams of PBSC continued to play in the Soccer NSW interdivision / state league grades until 1994 when the senior teams ceased playing in the Football NSW leagues and transferred to the Eastern Suburbs FA local competitions to join the junior teams who were well established in this league.

Over its early years in the ESFA competitions the seniors enjoyed great success and the junior teams, although small in teams, were competitive but in need of rebuilding with only 100 junior players at the time.

Over those proceeding years from 1994 the club continued to expand, building a reputation for having outstanding local juniors, success at both senior men and women’s, and some of the country’s top coaches to assist with development. 

In 2004 the club supported the introduction of junior girls’ teams into the Eastern Suburbs local competitions and did so with two (2) teams. Over the ensuing years that grew to 12 teams across multiple age groups and continues to be an area of growth in our club including small sided games.

By 2012 with the introduction of small sided games, Pagewood Botany FC had grown to some 2000+ players and was one of the largest single football clubs in NSW.

We would like to mention and congratulate our 2 longest serving Presidents, Sean Fenton and the late George Lundy, both whom shaped the club to be what it is today. They served 13 years and 14 years as presidents respectfully.

In 2021, Jellicoe Park and its facilities we renamed by Bayside Council to be the “George Lundy Sporting Fields” at Jellicoe Park in honour of the late George Lundy and his contribution to the community and football in general.

Today, Pagewood Botany Football Club is a not-for-profit, community based football organisation providing opportunities for boys & girls in the Eastern Suburbs and its surrounding areas to develop football skills, learn teamwork and fair play, and gain a love of sports and physical activity.

Our focus is skill development, sportsmanship and teamwork as well as enjoyment in a safe environment. We consider ourselves as part of the community and endeavour to support community activities working alongside council representatives, our local, state and federal members who have also supported us over the many years.

We hope you too will enjoy being a part of this wonderful club and understanding some of its important history and those who help create it (see Life Members below) along with our new members who will continue to create more history in years to come.

Our newest addition to the Life Members list, Julia Chernoukha.