One of the most esteemed clubs in Canberra’s footballing scene, Belconnen United return once again to the Kanga Cup stage, hoping to test their teams against new opposition, as sides from across the nation descend upon their local grounds.
Based out of McKellar, the suburb where A-League Women’s side Canberra United play their home matches, the Blue Devils as they’re known, are regulars at the tournament, and have sent out seven different sides to compete in the 2025 edition.
Richard Pietrukowski, son of the club’s founder, is involved in the coaching of the Under-14 Female Plate side specifically and has witnessed Belconnen’s progression over the last two decades.
“I’ve been with the club since when we first came from England, so I’ve been here for 20 years,” Pietrukowski said. “He did start it, he was there as [the] president, and yeah ran the club, it was very successful back in the day there so now we’re trying to get that back, which they’re doing.”
The club itself is a staple of the Canberra football community, and while on its own it remains one of the most notable in the region, its affiliations with community clubs such as Belsouth, Belnorth and Belwest Football Clubs, reflect a much more significant organisation.
“Belconnen’s a pretty big club and they’ve got a lot of talented players, but there’s all those feeder clubs as well which they all come into, which is good,” Pietrukowski said.
In terms of what it prides itself on, Pietrukowski says the Blue Devils are all about producing a good club culture that facilitates a clear pathway to first grade football, something they have done to great success in recent years, with the National Premier League Women’s side currently undefeated at the top of their table.
“It’s all about fun, but progress in the players, we don’t want to hold them back, we always want to progress them forward where we can, and it’s really showing especially in the girls’ program at the moment,” he commented. “We’ve had players from juniors go all the way up to first grade so it’s good to see, it just shows you how strong we are.”
Entrance into the Kanga Cup offers such opportunities of progress for young players, with the club focused on exposing players to the best sides across the nation, through their participation in the tournament.
“It’s good for the girls because we only play in Canberra, so it’s good to have [new] opposition, the quality we’re playing against is very good for us to see where we’re standing,” Pietrukowski said. “They love it, every year they’re excited about it, so we’re excited to come back every year, and they look forward to me shouting McDonalds at the end of it.”
It’s a group taking on this challenge that Pietrukowski says is a pleasure to oversee, and one that is performing well in such a challenging environment.
“They’re awesome, at the moment we’re really going well in our club games so to come up against New South Wales teams really shows us where we’re at, and we’re almost matching them so it’s really good.”
Words: Sam Watson
