OUR HISTORY.
In the early 1980s, Joaquim Ribeiro began organizing small lunches and dinners with a few friends who were passionate FC Porto supporters, to celebrate the club’s successes at the end of each season. What started as a small group gathering slowly grew year after year.
In 1996, I, Antonio Cerqueira, met Joaquim Ribeiro at my friend’s daughter’s wedding. During that event, Joaquim invited me to join the group, which at the time included Joaquim Ribeiro, José Oliveira, Álvaro Ferreira, Dinos Barros, Luís Drummond, João Santiago, Manuel Moreira, José Luís Costa, and António Resende.
From that moment on, the group became known as Os Portistas de Sydney.
By 2003, the group had grown significantly, and a formal committee was elected, with me, Antonio Cerqueira, as President, to help organize activities and events. Around this time, discussions began about officially becoming a filial of FC Porto in Portugal. Everyone agreed, and we started communication between Sydney and Porto to make it happen.
After finalizing the agreement, the group officially adopted the name Casa dos Dragões de Sydney, and on August 8, 2004, we celebrated the official inauguration. The ceremony was attended by FC Porto representatives, including Júlio Marques, President of FC Porto Houses, and former FC Porto player Paulinho Santos.
Over time, our name was simplified to Dragões de Sydney. At the time of inauguration, there were 17 official founding members:
- Joaquim Ribeiro
- Antonio Cerqueira
- José Oliveira
- Carlos Fernandes
- Carlos Silva
- Manuel Moreira
- Alberto Serra
- Álvaro Ferreira
- Dinos Barros
- José Luís da Costa
- João Santiago
- José Luís Costa
- António Resende
- Manuel Coelho
- Fernando Pontes
- Luís Drummond
- José Luís Nunes
Among them, Joaquim Ribeiro remains recognised as our number one founder.
Today, we are proud to announce that the name has officially changed to:
Casa FC Porto Sydney