History

The Waratah Football Club was founded in late 1916 by a group of men who just wanted to play football on weekends. They had no idea they were starting something special; a community club that has celebrated nearly 106 years together.

The Waratah Football Club is the only club in the Northern Territory Football League with a continuous century-long history and the only club that has played in every year that the league has run.

The club played their first game at the old Darwin Oval, which is now known as the Esplanade. This match introduced the famous red and white colours that are still worn by all Waratah teams today.

Waratah Football Club have come from humble beginnings with the first clubhouse built at Fannie Bay oval in the 1950s. In 2001, The Waratah Sports Club was opened and a new home for the club was made at the iconic Gardens Oval in the heart of Darwin. These facilities continue to improve with the times, featuring a licensed bar, commercial kitchen and state of the art technology within.

The club has a strong history of success with 15 Men’s Premier League Premierships, 8 Women’s Premier League Premierships and 18 Men’s Division 1 Premierships, just to name a few.

Waratah currently has over 550 players across 16 junior and senior teams, 300 members and countless, passionate supporters.