The unique soccer club that may not survive public housing tower knockdowns

Nestled between two high-rise towers at the Richmond public housing estate is a futsal pitch where a group of young girls in fluorescent soccer boots have gathered to warm up for practice.

They are all members of the Fitzroy Lions, a registered soccer club that allows nearly 300 kids – the majority living in the nearby estates – to play soccer for free.

Fitzroy Lions Soccer Club founder and president Abdulmalik Abdurahman at George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill.Credit: Chris Hopkins

Club founder and president Abdulmalik Abdurahman said the Fitzroy Lions were the only registered soccer club in Australia that provided free uniforms, transport and registration to participants who otherwise could not afford to play.

But as the Victorian government pushes on with plans to demolish and rebuild the state’s public high-rise housing estates, the club may not be able to survive.

There are 44 towers across the city set to be redeveloped over the next 30 years, with residents already being moved out of three towers in Flemington and North Melbourne despite a looming class-action trial by some tenants.

The Allan government has now revealed the estate in Highett Street, Richmond, is next in line for redevelopment – three streets from the FLSC training pitch on Elizabeth Street, Richmond.

“This is what the club is about. Really, it’s like losing your identity.”

Club founder Abdulmalik Abdurahman

Abdurahman said many members of the FLSC would be impacted by the “out of the blue” announcement.

“It’s a 22-storey building, there are a lot of people who live there. Some of the volunteers and coaches walk kids to that building at night after training,” he said.

“There will be members that won’t be at the club next year.”

Abdurahman believes estate residents have been left out of the conversation on their future, accusing the government of putting “profit before people”.

“We are obviously planning ahead. We’re not just thinking about this year or next season, we’re thinking about when all of these buildings are going to be knocked down,” he said.

“We thought about relocating, but this place holds a lot of memories, and this is what the club is about. Really, it’s like losing your identity.”

Abdurahman grew up in the estate on Wellington Street, Collingwood. He said he established the club in 2013, when he was a year 9 student, as a way to participate in sport because his family couldn’t afford the registration fees at his local club.

Back then, it was simply a chance for him to play football with his friends “under the flats”. He would often play until midnight, after working a shift at the McDonald’s on nearby Smith Street.

More than a decade later, the club is at capacity, fielding 16 teams and with about 80 kids waiting for a spot to open up. The girls train twice a week on the Elizabeth Street pitch, while the boys meet at George Knott Reserve in Clifton Hill.

“It’s just about caring for people, and particularly people who live in the flats,” Abdurahman said.

Fitzroy Lions Soccer Club players warm up before their Sunday morning game.Credit: Chris Hopkins

“They face a lot of challenges in life, and what I observed over the years is that kids are not getting opportunities to play football. They don’t play football at all because of the cost.”

Abdurahman said when demolitions began and residents were displaced, there were no promises that existing communities would be relocated together. For the club, this will make it more difficult meeting for training and game day, and limit the ability of volunteers to transport kids to games.

He said many residents living in the estates were sceptical of the Victorian government’s plans, believing it was a “masterplan” to push them into outer suburbs.

“It’s good that these families are getting more modern houses, but at the same time, we do feel like it’s just a masterplan to move these people out of the suburb – we pretty much live in the city,” he said.

“If this thing goes ahead and these people move out of here to the outer suburbs, it’s going to be a different world for them. It’s going to be just another feeling of landing in another country, like the way they did when they landed here in Australia.”

Housing Minister Harriet Shing has acknowledged the “emotional and significant” connection communities have to the towers and said those vacating Highett Street would have the opportunity to move into a separate housing site on Elizabeth Street due to be completed by mid-2025.

Abdurahman said residents living in the towers needed a guarantee that they would be brought back to live at the same sites.

Fitzroy Lions Soccer Club players Nawal, 8, Hamza, 7 and Adam, 13.Credit: Chris Hopkins

“What we are advocating for is to knock it down, rebuild it, but then bring people back,” he said.

“There’s a lot of people who have lived in these flats for decades. It holds a lot of memories, they’ve got to be brought back.”

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