Australian National University FC

History

Australian National University Football Club is based at the Australian National University. The club was formed in 1962 as ANU Men's Soccer Club and officially changed its name to ANU FC at the 2002 Annual General Meeting to reflect a rebranding of the sport nationally.

The main objective of the club is to provide a footballing opportunity to ANU staff, students and graduates at all levels in the ACT region, although membership is not restricted to those groups. Not only is the ANU FC one of the most successful in Canberra, the club also has the biggest membership in Canberra with over 200 members participating in Capital Football leagues across all standard of men's senior competitions during winter (April to September). Pre-season training traditionally starts each February, with the influx of student players arriving in March at the start of the university's academic semester. The club prides itself on offering an atmosphere of football that is friendly, competitive, fair and fun.

The club is a cornerstone of football in the ACT region and continues to go from strength to strength attracting more players and entering more teams into local competitions with each new season. The club also runs a popular 6-a-side social competition during evenings in summer (October to January).

The ANU FC celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012.

Colours and motto

The club’s colours are royal blue and white, with vertical stripes featuring prominently in the shirt's design. The blue comes from the ANU's coat of arms; white is a neutral colour. The club's official third colour worn when shirts clash is orange. Shorts and socks are royal blue.

The emblem is a crest with royal blue and white vertical stripes and the motto vilis est sermo (Latin for talk is cheap). The crest features a traditional association football positioned above an open book representing the club's academic roots and affiliation with the ANU.

Home ground

The main home ground is ANU Willows Oval at the corner of Barry Drive and North Road in the suburb of Acton. Willows Oval was named after the long line of willow trees that run alongside the eastern side of the oval towards Sullivans Creek and Toad Hall (ANU). Willows is centrally located, adjacent to Civic in the heart of Canberra.

Willows Oval, which was once a single patchy grass football field, was replaced in 2010 with two new state-of-the-art synthetic sports grounds that are environmentally friendly and have been awarded a FIFA RECOMMENDED 2 Star certificate. These two pitches are Desso Ambition artificial grass, a surface composed of monofilament fibres that does not require watering, saving 15 megalitres of water per year. Moreover, Willows Oval now incorporates a 500 kilolitre underground water storage system (Stormtech) that harvests rainwater from the two playing fields for re-use in the surrounding landscape. The resurfacing of Willows Oval was made possible by a $1 million grant from the Commonwealth Government and is in step with the ANU's environmental management plan.

The club's other home ground on the ANU campus is South Oval (natural grass surface). South Oval is located at the corner of Ward and Garran Roads next to the ANU College of Law and also features two full-sized football fields and dressing rooms.

Honours

Notable former players

Notable recent former players include Luke Pilkington who captained the 2009 ANU FC side in the ACT Premier League competition. Luke was given a contract to play with Melbourne Victory in the A-League and made his debut with the first team against North Queensland Fury in March 2010. Tom Rogić was another ANU FC player who in 2011 secured a contract with the Nike Football Academy in the UK. In 2012, Tom returned to Australia and signed a contract with Central Coast Mariners FC. Rogic has since signed with Celtic.