Our Club History
The Burns Football Club has a wealth of history and is the oldest surviving Football Club in the ACT Canberra Region having been established in 1925.
In 1999 under the Presidency of Ian Crawford we won the ACT State League 1 Grand Final and automatic promotion to the recently formed ACT Premier League.
More recently, in the 2019 season we captured five trophies with just seven teams!
In 2023, our great club took home three Championships and two Premierships across our eight teams!
Premier League 2000...
Under the coaching guidance of Steve Bryant, Peter Thompson and Alan Strachan the Burns entered the Premier League in the year 2000 with high hopes. Agreeing to a new affiliation with the Marist Junior Soccer Club, the club hoped to develop a new crop of young talent to assist with its Premier League aspirations. The club moved its first team home games to the newly opened Vikings Rugby Park in Erindale, whilst the remaining State League and Masters teams continued to play in and around Kambah.
The club soon found itself struggling to meet the demands of ACT Premier League football and after just one season in the top flight, the club opted to drop its efforts back to ACT State League Football.
CLUB HISTORY
The Early Years...
The Burns Football Club has a wealth of history and is the oldest surviving Football Club in the ACT Canberra Region.
First established in 1925... the Scottish-based Burns Club would travel to various country NSW towns and Sydney to play their games.
In 1926, the Federal Capital Territory Soccer Football Association was created and the Burns Club competed with various local teams as the foundations of a first and 'real' local competition emerged.
Over the years there were various re-incarnations of the Burns Football Club, all closely associated with the clubs licensed premises, which were originally based in the suburb of Forrest, ACT up until 1992.
More Recent Times...
Our most recent successes include season 2012 where the Burns F.C. won six Senior trophies with just six teams ...and the 2019 season where we captured five trophies with just seven teams, both remarkable achievements for a club of our size.
From Premier League to Masters, our teams have always played with pride, passion and enthusiasm - and it's these traits that we think make our club so special.
Our teams will be back out on the paddocks in 2021 hoping to add to the clubs silverware cabinet ...but rest assured, wherever you see us ...We'll be dreaming about Football !
The 90's...
The current iteration of the Burns Football Club began back in 1992 when the club re-located its licensed premises from the suburb of Forrest, to the clubs current location in Kett St, Kambah.
This resurgence was once again primarily due to the hard work of a group of local Scots. These initially included Brian Allan (President), Jimmy Carr, Alex Murray, Billy Cameron, Jack (John) Cameron, Jimmy Broadley and a few other well known local Scots.
In its first year back, the club entered one team in the ACT Over 35's competition. This first season saw the Burns dominate the local Men's Masters by winning the League and also establishing a couple of club records which still stand today, including ...a 19-0 team victory ...and a 'Leading Goal Scorer' record by Scottish striker, Steve Burdett who managed 45 goals in that season.
Those early 90's Masters teams also had some very distinguished players in their ranks including, Harry Williams and Brendan Grosse who both represented Australia and played in the former NSL.
Through the 90's the Burns Football Club grew in stature and regularly entered teams in the ACT State League 1 and 2 Men's competitions. At its peak in the late 90's the club was fielding up to 14 different teams across the ACT Men's, Women's and Masters Leagues. Whilst our success was not immediate, in 1999 under the Presidency of Ian Crawford we won the ACT State League 1 Grand Final and automatic promotion to the recently formed ACT Premier League.