By Liam Twomey
FORTY years ago the Altona Lions Soccer Club was formed predominantly by migrants to Australia who were brought together through their love of the round ball game.
Today the Lions are a small club in numbers but that doesn’t mean small success.
After moving across to the highly regarded Football Federation of Victoria soccer competition Altona quickly showed the bigger the occasion, the better they are as they made it one season, one championship.
“Our success this year in joining a new federation in Football Federation Victoria and winning the title was a fairly big achievement on our part given that we have players who have come from all walks of life, backgrounds and careers,” club president Peter Pilovski said.
It was the club’s first title in a number of years and they enjoyed a big celebration with the team and their loyal fan base. The social side of the game is an important aspect for the Lions.
Under the tutelage of coach Mark Jolakoski, who Pilovski said does an outstanding job with the team, goals are already in place for the new season.
“Our priority is to go back-to-back rather than go up into a new league. Especially if we could see the possibility of having two teams running on the weekend and also having the numbers to support that.”