Club History

FC Birrarung was founded in 2008 in the guise of a Futsal team led by fanatical FC Barcelona fans. It wasn’t long before the FCB vision expanded to the outdoor game at Princes Park, encouraging inner-city kids from all backgrounds to play the beautiful game and also embrace the Catalan giants’ philosophy of being ‘More than a club’. 

At the time, Birrarung Marr was being established on the banks of the Yarra River near Melbourne’s sporting precinct, and Birrarung seemed like the perfect name for the fledgling club.

A single U9 FCB team played its first season in 2009. At the end of 2010, Matt Hughes, Tony Lucas, Abdullah Calisir and Ross McGravie met to discuss a merger of FC Birrarung and Fitzroy-based Melbourne Athletic. A stronger, bolder FCB began with 51 players in 2011. Throughout the decade the club grew to nearly 300 boys and girls across age groups U7 – U20.

In 2018, 16-year-old Wurundjeri artist Ky-ya Nicholson Ward was commissioned to design a new playing strip depicting stories of the waterways of Melbourne after which Birrarung (The River of Mists) is named.

We have expanded from a junior's focused club and now have senior men & women teams. in 2025 we have approximately 550 players across 43 teams.

FA Club Changer Sticker RGB 2 StarFC Birrarung was awarded the Club Changer 2-star rating in 2024 by Football Australia in recognition of our club’s commitment to safeguarding in the football community, inclusive and welcoming environment. This takes considerable effort by our Committee and members and we are very proud of this achievement. Read more about Football Victoria Clubs achieving 2 star ratinghere.


Today, the FC Birrarung ethos is alive and well, reflected in the FCB playing style, the strong commitment to player and coach development, and embodied in the values of our club - Community, Inclusion, Education, Respect, and Enjoyment.

Below, photos from season 2023 and our U12s Wallabies North Premier winners and the U20A Metro Premiers and Champions.

U20A 2023

U20

U12 2023

Official partners of FC Birrarung

FC Birrarung acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we operate, the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay respect to their Elders past and present.