Katikati footy club turns 50
Celebration kicks off with events for the community to mark milestone
Katikati Football Club turns 50 this year. A “celebration of community” kicks off next weekend with two events — one for kids and families, one for adults — to celebrate a half-century since their establishment in 1973.
A free family fun day will be held in the afternoon and will feature inflatable-based games activities for kids up to 16 years old (with some games for parents too).
There will be a lolly scramble and barbecue (bring water, sunscreen and boots).
In the evening, all past, present and future members are invited to come to the club to share platters and stories, honour life members and enjoy live music.
A special logo has been designed by John Sutherland to mark the occasion.
Katikati Football Club history Back then it was called “soccer”, but in 1973, football players in Katikati got together to form what is now
Katikati Football Club (KKFC).
From modest beginnings, with a few junior teams and eventually a senior men’s team in the local Saturday league, the club has grown this beautiful game into one of Katikati’s most popular sports.
The sport of football in general got a boost after New Zealand’s successful participation in the 1982 Fifa World Cup in Spain, meaning local clubs like KKFC were naturally boosted as well.
Junior numbers started to grow as boys and girls from local primary schools and Katikati College joined the club.
The men’s team, however, suffered from the “kiwifruit curse”, with players often being unavailable during picking season.
By the late 1980s the Saturday team no longer seemed viable, but KKFC launched a Sunday men’s social league in the early 1990s — a competition still going strong to this day.
Early in the new millennium, a
Saturday men’s team again entered the local competition and the Sunday team was joined by a social women’s team and a second men’s team.
Summer football for a time was attracting about 300 participants on Wednesday evenings in Term 4, and football became part of Katikati Community Centre’s school holiday programme.
Despite setbacks during the Covid19 pandemic, the Katikati club’s playing numbers are now as strong as ever.