Background

Formed 1958

Sydney Olympic was founded in 1958 by Greek immigrants, under the name Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club . The original strip as worn by the club consisted of blue and white vertical stripes. The club quickly became competitive in the New South Wales 1st Division, and also attracted good crowds. The highlight of the pre-National Soccer League era came ten years after the team's founding, when in 1968 they reached the New South Wales First Division Grand Final, eventually going down 4-2 to Hakoah.

In 1977 the club became a founding member of the National Soccer League, and also changed its name to Sydney Olympic. Just two years after the commencement of the NSL, Sydney Olympic was relegated back to the New South Wales First Division after finishing second last in 1979. The relegation was caused in a bid by the league to cut back on teams from NSW, and as Sydney Olympic were the bottom placed NSW team for the 1979 season, were the chosen candidate for relegation. South Melbourne had actually finished at the bottom of the league ladder.

The spell back in State League competition did not last long with Sydney Olympic defeating the Parramatta Eagles 4-0 in the 1980 Grand Final of the New South Wales First Division. That victory secured Sydney Olympic a return to top flight Australian football in 1981 where they remained until the NSL's demise in 2004.

From 1982 to 1992, Olympic finished in the top half on the league ladder for every season. This ten year period included winning two NSL Cups, in 1983 over Heildelberg and in 1985 over Preston, and runner up in two NSL Cups when losing to Adelaide City in 1989 and South Melbourne in 1989/90. This period also saw three Grand Final losses in 1984 to South Melbourne, 1986 to Adelaide City and 1989 to Marconi.

The season following on from Olympic's Grand Final loss to Marconi saw the two teams meet again in the Championship decider. This time, Sydney Olympic had its moment of glory. On May 20, 1990, the Blues defeated Marconi 2-0 before a crowd of 26,353 which was a record to that time in Australian soccer.

For season 1995/96, Sydney Olympic formed a prosperous partnership with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and became known as UTS Sydney Olympic. During that time, the Club's home ground was Leichhardt Oval.

A change of home ground awaited the Blues going into season 1996/97. Belmore Sports Ground, in the more traditional heartland of Olympic, became the Club's new stable.

In April 1997, Sydney Olympic enjoyed a record home attendance at Belmore of 13,724 against the Marconi Stallions.The Club's worst defeat came in January 1998 when the Canberra Cosmos inflicted an 8-1 loss on Sydney Olympic down in the nation's capital.

Sydney Olympic's biggest win was a remarkable 6-0 defeat of South Melbourne in January 2000 at Belmore Sports Ground.

During season 1998/99 Sydney Olympic was involved in a match which attracted the largest crowd for any regular National Soccer League season match excluding finals. That game was against the Northern Spirit at North Sydney Oval in what was the Spirit's debut match in the National Soccer League. That evening, 18,985 turned out to watch Sydney Olympic defeat new boys Northern Spirit by two goals to nil.

Season 2000/01 saw Sydney Olympic finish fourth on the competition ladder. During the play-offs, Olympic made it through to just one game away from a Grand Final appearance, losing by two goals to nil against Minor Premiers South Melbourne in the Preliminary Final in Melbourne in May 2001.

Season 2001/02 saw the club move base once again, this time to the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south, an area with no NSL representation. Olympic played out of Toyota Park. The move had also involved a change of name from Sydney Olympic to Olympic Sharks with the traditional blue and white colours of the club still in place. This season also saw Olympic capture their second NSL title by defeating Perth Glory at Subiaco Oval in front of 42,000 fans. The following season saw the Olympic Sharks win its first ever minor premiership by finishing on top of the NSL ladder, which eventually lead to Olympics second consecutive appearance in a Grand Final. This time however, it would be Perth who would take out the title, winning 2-0.

Despite the on field successes, the move to the Sutherland Shire was short lived. Poor attendances took their toll on the venture and for season 2003/2004 the club chose to revert to the widely preferred name of Sydney Olympic and moving to OKI Jubilee Stadium at Kogarah. Following the demise of the NSL in 2004, Sydney Olympic participated in the NSW Premier League and just missed out on the end-of-season final series. In 2006 Sydney Olympic returned to Belmore Sports Ground and also forged a relationship with the Eastern Suburbs Soccer Football Association.

That platform reaped instant rewards when Sydney Olympic captured the 2008 pre-season Johnny Warren Cup. Sydney Olympic celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2007, with the club's jersey reverting to the original blue and white vertical striped design.