Dee Why FC ready to celebrate 70 years

When Dee Why Football club started planning for it’s 70th birthday this year little did organisers know it would soon become a 90th anniversary party.

However that is exactly what happened after Dee Why FC member Nathan Radford hit the books to research the history of the club.

While the Manly Warringah Football Association club is currently recorded as forming in 1946, Radford has discovered proof the team first came together 20 years before that in 1926.

“I wanted to find out more about the early days of Dee Why FC for the club’s 70th anniversary function and the more I researched the more I found news articles and other documents which reference the club as forming in 1926,” he said.

“I have called around the country looking for old members to further prove the age and history of our club. In the process I have heard some incredible stories and learnt why DYFC holds such an important place in football on the Northern Beaches.”

Radford’s discovery has inspired him to write a book about the club which he hopes to have finished by June for the Club’s birthday event at Dee Why RSL.

“There was always an understanding the club could be older than we thought,” Radford said.

“Around the club house there are a few trophies and other artefacts which are dated to 1926 but we never really had any context as to what the trophies represented.

“I have loved being able to dive into all the old articles and stories on the club. It has been like finding new pieces to the puzzle we never knew existed.”

Dee Why FC has approached the Manly Warringah Football Association and Football NSW to officially recognise the club being formed in 1926.

Radford said while it could be a while until the club’s new history is recognised they are still looking forward to celebrating a birthday whether it is 70 years or 90.

“There is so much history at our club including George Best’s one game appearance in 1983 and former member Brian Emery who was involved in organising world cups for FIFA.,” he said.

“The team is back in the Manly Warringah Football Association Premier League this season and has donned our traditional blue and yellow vertical stripes for the first time in years”

To celebrate the anniversary, Dee Why will be calling on some big names from its past, with former Central Coast Mariners coach Phil Moss who coached the club to its last premiership in 1996, former National Soccer League player Steve Hickman who coached the club in the mid-2000s  as well as Sydney FC W-League star and Matilda Teresa Polias to make an appearance.

Tickets for the June 4 event are on sale now and can be purchased online at try booking.com/184229