Dandenong Thunder SC

Dandenong Thunder SC is a soccer club from Dandenong, a suburb in the South-East region of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They are an Albanian Australian-backed club. Thunder compete in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.

In 2012, Dandenong claimed the famous treble of the Victorian Premier League Minor Premiership, the Football Federation Victoria State Knockout Cup and the VPL championship.

History

The club was founded by Albanian migrants in 1970 as South Dandenong, sometimes with the suffix Prishtina (which itself was also commonly used as its English variant Pristina). Club membership is mainly composed of Albanians with origins from Kisava (Albanian: Keshave), a village in south-western North Macedonia. The committee of Dandenong Thunder, an influential organisation among Dandenong Albanians has it stipulated in the club constitution that only individuals with Albanian origins can be on its board. The grounds of Dandenong Thunder are also used by Albanians for community events and other functions, often organised by the local Albanian-Australian Community Association. The club logo is the Albanian double-headed eagle from the Albanian flag. Dandenong Thunder is primarily backed and supported by Albanians and Albanian Australians living in Melbourne.

Early years

South Dandenong started competing in the Victorian District League East Division, which was the 6th tier of football (soccer) in Victorian Football Pyramid. They played in the Provisional leagues until merging with Richmond United, and played under that name for the 1987 season in the 8th tier Provisional League Division 3. The following season, they were renamed back to South Dandenong and started the rise through the divisions. By 1992 they had reached State League Division 3, and from 1994 they continued their rise managing to get promotion to a higher level each year until they reached the Victorian Premier League, the highest level in Victoria, in 1998.