Their reputation began to rise prompting an invitation to the Nike No Turning Back event.

Bazdaric recalls the nervous weeks leading up to their biggest event.

“I got an email from Nike, they had an event and they wanted us to join," he said. "I was panicking and sent an essay back to him. He didn’t get back to me for days.

“Eventually we got a call from him and said we’re invited to the event in Melbourne and that the Nike Academy, the Futsalroos, A-League All-Stars and D10 would be our opponents. I couldn’t believe it. It was our big break!”

They were the rookies, the underdogs, the smoky group of youngsters who were unpredictable and ready for a fight. Their first match didn’t go to plan and they went down 2-1 to D10.

And things weren’t going to get any easier for the Crew, coming up against the A-League All-Stars which included the likes of Olyroos Panos Armenakas and Daniel De Silva and former Golden Generation Socceroos Brett Emerton and Marco Bresciano.

The Crew triumphed 4-3 and were in the semi-finals.

“Next thing you know the announcer calls up the semi-finalists, 'Nike Academy versus the Sydney Street Crew'," Khodani ​said. 

“The Nike Academy trial thousands of kids a year and we were seriously up against it.”

Against the odds, the Sydney Street Crew put themselves on the map, defeating the Nike Academy 4-1 and advancing to the final where they were humbled 10-0 by the Australian Futsal National Team, the Futsalroos.

“First thing we thought was we couldn’t be disappointed with our effort. We came top four we couldn’t believe it," Bazdaric said. "We felt like the Nike event was what seriously triggered our growth.”

Their reputation as a growing force was recognised in mid-2017 when they went pro, joining the Series Futsal NSW First Division as Camden FC.