In Memory of Savvas Kourea

So after the 1988 AGM the Bentleigh Greens were very fortunate to gain a president with great integrity and strength of character. In Savva we had a kind and generous man, who also applied tireless leadership to the task of growing a young club from 1989 onwards.

Initially it was a good friend of Savva, Costa Solomou, who suggested that he might like to join the Bentleigh Greens committee.

Savva poured his heart into the task of making sure that the club achieved a reputation for good coaching and strong teams. He was passionate about ensuring that the club had its finances in good order and a reputation for treating players with respect. In those early years the club was sharing an open ground with cricket at Victory Park. So from relative unknowns in Division 4 Savva took his beloved club to promotion winning years in 1989, 1990, 1993 and 1995. So the 1995 promotion brought the club to the Premier League in 1996 where all our adversaries had a history decades longer than the Bentleigh Greens.

This we can attribute to Savva Kourea more than anyone else. In all the years I worked with him he never asked for anything for himself. He was all about giving to his club and his community. In those early years the club was very much a haven for those who had lost their homes and their townships in the invasion of Cyprus.

Savva  always wanted to see young players do well and succeed at senior level football and not drop out after their junior years. This was important to Savva.

The presidency of Savva continued through all of 1997 and in him we had a truly good person who was the epitome of selflessness. Under Savva’s leadership the club home game attendances were impressive and higher than most of our rivals

From 1998 to the present day Sava supported the club fund raising. He took on the responsibility of running a number of special raffles for equipment and furnishings for the Pavilion at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex. From that era to the current year 2023, Savva never missed a shirt night fund raiser. He rarely missed any matches either at home or away.

In 1992 a presentation was made to the then City of Moorabbin to establish an all year round soccer complex. This was successful because it led to the establishment of the magnificent  facility at Kingston Heath Soccer Complex which we now enjoy. Savva Kourea was part of the team that took this visionary step.

Those of us that made that presentation were privileged to be able to stand on the shoulders of giants like Savva Kourea. So in 1995 Kingston Heath Soccer Complex became our permanent home.

All of us that served the Greens with Savva were privileged, above all else, to have him as a friend. We all miss you deeply Savva.

Ray Georgiou – Chairman BGSC