A club formed out of a humble parish community has its sights set on growing its footballing operation, allowing more people in the region to play football and become a part of its expanding member base.
St Bernadette’s FC, celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, was established by the St Bernadette parish and primary school in 1991. The club has since expanded their reach beyond its parish, welcoming anyone who wants to be a part of something bigger.
“We’ve got members, whether that’s players, coaches, or committee members from diverse backgrounds. They’re not just associated with the school and the church anymore,” St Bernadette’s FC President Sahil D’mello said.
The Club is in a successful period of growth, from expanding its player registrations and fielding teams in older age groups compared to their usual cap of U12’s. The 2025 Violet Nutt Award winners for outstanding contribution or service to female football in the local area are hoping to expand their footballing capacity even greater leading into 2027 with more teams and more inclusiveness across the club.
“Historically, we’ve been a juniors club. We used to have teams that just played up to U12’s, but what we’ve since evolved into is a club that just grows beyond that age group. We’ve got teams in the U13’s, U16’s and the over 35’s as well,” D’mello said.
“What we want to do next year is grow the number of female football teams that we have at the club, and we want to introduce the All-Abilities program at the club next year.
“We also want to bridge the gap, so to speak, which is to increase the number of teams that play from the U13’s to the over 35’s. We want more teams in that middle age bracket,” D’mello said.
St Bernadette’s FC is continuing to strengthen the product it delivers to its players and will have a busy off-season to ensure the standard of football continues to rise at the Castle Hill-based club.
“There’s also a strong focus on the quality of football at the club,” D’mello said.
“We’re developing a philosophy around how we want to play football and then to invest and grow that.
“We are getting a number of our coaches doing their accredited certifications, and we also run in-house school holiday camps, which will improve the quality of football and also help families and kids during the break.”
Despite the growing reach and playing numbers, D’mello always wants the core values and beliefs of the club to remain front and centre of the club’s identity.
“We had a policy in place where if you just behave the right way and people see the way the club is run, the culture at the club, they will come,” D’mello said.
“Players from all over come and play at our fields, and if they like what they see, then they’ll spread the word, and they’ll come and play for us. So we don’t have a competitive method of acquisition. We just have a very organic, behave the right way, and they will come.
“That’s all that matters. What we are.”
