St Mirren Football Club is delighted to confirm a new strategic partnership with South Australian National Premier League side Para Hills Knights SC.
The partnership will see the exchange of players & coaches as well as academy tours & tournaments along with other commercial opportunities as we look to build a sustainable, mutually beneficial long-term relationship between both clubs with focus on the development of young footballers and coaches.
St Mirren Chief Executive, Tony Fitzpatrick said: "We are really excited and proud to announce our new partnership with Para Hills Knights SC.
"A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes for a number of months to make this a reality and I have no doubt it will be a positive partnership for both clubs.
"I would like to pay a special thanks to Prince Lamona from Group 154 and Jed McCabe from inspiresport for all of their help in making this happen."
Dale Ramsay, senior co-ordinator at Para Hills Knights SC said: "As a club we are excited about the partnership and look forward to a great future with St Mirren.
"Developing a pathway for growth and resource sharing between our clubs is exciting and we believe it will be hugely beneficial for players, managers and officials to share knowledge and strengthen both clubs.
"The possibilities for players to experience football in different environments can be so positive for their own growth. We look forward to growing a strong relationship through the years."
Steve Butchart, CEO at inspiresport said: "At Inspiresport we are proud of our long-standing relationship with St Mirren and are delighted to be their official travel partners.
"Today’s news is a testament to the club’s ambitions on and off the field. We are ready to work with both St Mirren and Para Hills Knights SC to deliver exceptional football development tours here in Paisley, for teams wishing to follow in the footsteps of their local heroes."
More about Para Hills Knights SC:
The Para Hills Soccer Club was formed at a meeting on the 24th of March 1964 and was originally based on Nelson Road, Para Hills. The club was founded by 2 brothers that had moved to Australia from Enfield, UK. As the brothers were Tottenham Supporters the club colours were predominantly white.
The aim of the club was to foster and promote the game of soccer in the Northern Suburbs. The club set the goal of playing first division soccer within 10 years.
In 1965 the club entered a team in the Sunday Industrial League (now the South Australian Amateur Soccer League). On April 4th 1965 the club played its first competitive senior game losing 3-1 against MTT with Chris Pawley scoring the first goal for the club. A new team was born.
The following year the club entered the South Australian Soccer Federation and once again the open game resulted in a defeat this time against WRE 2-1 with the first goal in the Federation being scored by Dave Barry. In 1967 the club got its first taste of success winning the 3rd Division Championship and the Rowley Cup, the team was coached through part of the season by Cliff Votier and then Alan Swadling who was also the captain.
The following few years saw the club consolidating its position and not really pushing for promotion. This changed in 1975 when the club pushed Croatia to the wire before finishing runners up. In 1976, one year later than the clubs aim, promotion to the first division was achieved. To coincide with this, the Club left its base at Nelson Road to move down the Hills to new facilities at The Paddocks, its current home.
