The Bendigo Amateur Soccer League announced on Wednesday that Bendigo's latest elite sporting club would be known as FC Bendigo.

The club will compete in the new National Premier Leagues Victoria competition, with its opening match to be against Avondale Heights in Melbourne on March 15.

The first home game will be on April 5 against Moreland.

 “By including FC in front  of the location, we are differentiating ourselves from the Bendigo Gold Football Club, whilst incorporating a strong football (soccer) tradition,” BASL operations manager Brock Rogers said.   

 “And like all strong and traditional club names in Europe, the location is the heart of the club and its name.

"We ran the name past our working groups and the feedback has been really positive."

FC Bendigo's name follows in the footsteps of European powers FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich.

The club logo features Bendigo's traditional royal blue and gold colours and includes a Chinese dragon wrapped around a soccer ball.

Even though FC Bendigo has the Chinese dragon in its logo, the club's nickname won't be the Dragons.

"As these clubs develop over time, nicknames will develop,'' Rogers said.

"For now we won't be known as the Dragons. We'll just be FC Bendigo and maybe in the off-season next year we might look at implementing a nickname."

The inclusion of the dragon on the logo shows Bendigo's strong Chinese history and links FC Bendigo with the BASL.

The BASL also has a Chinese dragon on its logo.

"The Chinese dragon symbolises a number of core values of the club, but it is also a symbol of power, strength and good luck within Chinese culture,'' SASI Marketing's John Noulton said.

FC Bendigo's playing strip will be released next week. The club will field teams in all age groups from under-12 to open men.