Who Are We & Club History

Why you should join us

If you are seeking an alternative and are fed up with clubs that focus purely on developing elite talent and charging exorbitant fees, then look no further.

East Bentleigh is the club for you.

A majority of players just want to play amateur, social, recreational soccer. 
Don’t get us wrong, we take the game seriously and pride ourselves on being competitive.
Our goal is to develop local home-grown talent that will play for the club all the way through from juniors to seniors.

Our player philosophy is simple:

  •     We want our players to play their entire career with EBSC
  •     Our players wear their jersey with pride
  •     Our players look back and reflect on their careers with fond memories
  •     Our players are honoured with Life Membership and Hall of Fame inductions. 
  •     They will be remembered and will always be welcome.
  •     When our players become parents, their children will play for EBSC.
  •     Our players will return as coaches and volunteers when their children play the game.

We are a community soccer club. What does this mean?

  •     EBSC is a 5 Star accredited FFA club
  •     EBSC is a volunteer-based sporting association
  •     We aim to keep fees affordable and maximise community participation
  •     Social, physical and emotional well-being is valued above and beyond achievement
  •     Our fees are inclusive of uniforms and development programs
  •     Our development programs are offered to all our players, not just to elite talent
  •     We don’t pay players
  •     EBSC is a fiscally responsible and well managed organisation
  •     Our coaches are volunteers
  •     We support our local community, businesses and sponsorship partners


History

East Bentleigh Soccer Club (EBSC) was established in 1979 and is a not for profit sporting association. With the support of our members and volunteers our aim is to provide our local community with the opportunity to participate in, learn, play and enjoy soccer.


East Bentleigh Soccer Club is a Football Federation Australia (FFA)/Football Victoria (FV) member community soccer club which competes in a variety of FV metropolitan and other leagues generally in the South East region, mostly against clubs located in the Bayside & Peninsula municipalities. 


One person's love for the game and dedication to training 6 players would lead to the decision to start a club in Bentleigh East, hoping it would get more children involved in the Beautiful Game.

 

In that first year we had only 2 teams and no home ground. In 1985, with about 60 members, we played our very first season at Bailey Reserve.


Today, EBSC is still at Bailey Reserve and our Club is thriving, with over 850 players and 60 plus teams for the 2021 Season.


EBSC- 4 0years-logo

Strategic Focus

Senior Men

Improve competitiveness & reputation   

Develop a pathway to retain our juniors

Achieve State League 3 promotion


Increase Female Participation

Support the female football ‘revolution’

Promote and grow grassroots girls soccer

Develop a competitive Senior women’s team

Implement Soccer Moms Program


Coach & Player Development

Engage professional support/partners to facilitate the development of our junior players and coaches


Improve Facilities & Equipment 

Lobby, engage and collaborate with local and state governments  

Appointment of a dedicated Grants Coordinator


What does EBSC look like in 2025?

Competitive senior men’s team in SL3 compromising of home grown EBSC talent

Competitive senior women’s team compromising of home grown EBSC talent playing in SL3

1000 – 1500 members

80 – 100 teams

40% of players are female

New pavilion with female friendly facilities, sufficient storage capacity and a commercial canteen

Warehouse facility with indoor synthetic soccer pitch

Our Vision

Family orientated community club of choice

Encourage participation in a team orientated sport

Positive experience (fair play and good sportsmanship)

Cater for all levels of skill and ability  

Provide learning and development opportunities for players, coaches and volunteers

Inclusive culture

Create value for our members and sponsors

Keep the game affordable for our community


Implement a sustainable and functional organisational structure

Committee, sub-committee, coaches, team managers, volunteers, and external partners


Develop and implement robust and transparent processes and systems

Trials/grading, team selections, player registrations, FFA & FV compliance, governance, financial

stewardship and risk management

Facilities Development Plan

  1. New facility to include 4-6 female friendly change rooms
  2. Separate toilet facilities for spectators/visitors
  3. Equipment storage facilities
  4. Commercial kitchen/canteen facilities
  5. Function/meeting room facilities
  6. Lighting upgrade to host night games - main pitch (completed)
  7. New light towers - pitch 3 (completed)
  8. Prepare draft design plans (single and two level options) – Work in progress
  9. Obtain estimated costings and provide to Local & State Government to facilitate project funding discussions
  10. Lease warehouse and build indoor synthetic pitch

A-League FIFA FFA Football Victoria W-League