Darwin Cubs FC explained

Clubname:Darwin Cubs
Fullname:Darwin Cubs Football Club
Nickname:Cubs
Founded:1994
Dissolved:1995
Ground:Marrara Oval
Capacity:14,000
Manager: Malcom Bryant
League:Singapore Premier League
Season:1994
Position:2nd
Owntitle:President
Owner: Nicholas Mitaros

Darwin Cubs was a former football club based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The club took part in the FAS Premier League from 1994 to 1995. It left the league in the second half of the 1995 season due to disagreements with Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

History

The Cubs played as a foreign team in the FAS Premier League in 1994.[1] The club had to pay for all expenses for Singaporean teams who travelled to Darwin for matches and also pay their own expenses for the club to travel to Singapore.[2]

The Cubs' nickname was derived from the club's sponsorship with Carlton & United Breweries, whose mascot at the time was a cub (due to the initials of the brand). When the Darwin side was provided with a number of shirts featuring a cub mascot, the nickname was born and the team decided to keep it.

The Cubs played their first match in the Premier League against Jurong Town Football Club which they won 4–0. They ended the 1994 season as runners-up to another Australian team, Perth Kangaroos IFC. The Cubs lost just three games for the season, two of those to the Kangaroos.[3]

In 1995, the club failed to secure air tickets for Geylang International FC, Tampines Rovers FC and Balestier United.[4] [5] After the third incident, the club was warned by FAS that further incidents would lead to postponed matches to be forfeited to the opponent teams.

The Cubs subsequently withdrew from the league due to concerns over further investments for the club, eligibility of a Cubs player, refusal of FAS to let Cubs' referees to officiate Cubs' matches and excluding the club from discussion over the formation of S.League.

Some of the team's higher-profile players included Luis Rodriguez, Peter Politis, Manuel Lolias, Barbero, Hamilton Thorpe, Jason Petkovic, Cyrille Ndongo-Keller and Carlo Talladira, all of whom moved to or returned to Australian National Soccer League clubs after the demise of the Cubs.

Sponsors

The Cubs had 10 sponsors which the club signed three years contracts with them.

Players

First-team squad

Management and staff

Management

!Position!Name
PresidentNicholas Mitaros[6]

Technical staff

!Position!Name
ManagerMalcom Bryant[7]
CoachFrank Falzon

Notes and References

  1. News: 27 March 1994 . SMASHING PREMIER LEAGUE START FOR AUSTRALIA'S DARWIN CUBS . 3 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.
  2. News: 19 February 1994 . Darwin side raises $1.1m for Premier League . Overseas . 9 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.
  3. News: Untold Stories, Southeast Asian Clubs: Darwin Cubs, Australia . McIntyre . Scott . 20 May 2016 . FourFourTwo Singapore . https://web.archive.org/web/20180629155456/https://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/untold-stories-southeast-asian-clubs-darwin-cubs-australia . 29 June 2018 . 8 May 2018 . en-SG.
  4. News: 13 May 1995 . Darwin-Tampines game postponed . 38 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.
  5. News: 26 August 1995 . Darwin quits Singapore soccer . Overseas . 9 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.
  6. News: 26 March 1994 . Cubs ready to roar in land of Lions . 37 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.
  7. News: 26 March 1994 . the darwin file . 65 . . 28 April 2023 . NewspaperSG.