East Cowes Victoria Athletic A.F.C.
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| Full name |
East Cowes Victoria Athletic Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Vic's | ||
| Founded | 1885 | ||
| Ground |
Beatrice Avenue, East Cowes | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Chairman | Paul Phelps | ||
| Manager | Luke Kerr | ||
| League | Wessex League Division One | ||
| 2015–16 | Wessex League Division One, 18th | ||
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East Cowes Victoria Athletic AFC are a football club based in East Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. They joined the Wessex League in 1987 and have reached the 2nd round of the FA Vase twice in their history. They are currently members of the Wessex League Division One.
History
East Cowes Victoria Athletic Football Club (The Vic’s) were formed in 1885. The name incidentally is the longest registered with the English F.A. The Victoria part derives from the fact that the ground in “Beatrice Avenue” is part of the crown estate and in the area owned by Osborne House, the home of Queen Victoria.
The Vics’s were founder members of the Isle of Wight F.A, and played only in the Island leagues for the first 30 years. In 1889 the Isle of Wight F.A introduced cup competitions including the Isle of Wight Senior Gold Cup, this trophy is reported to be the most valuable football trophy in the world being made of solid gold. The only drawback is that if you win the Gold Cup you can’t keep it! Most clubs insure it for the annual presentation night and return it to the bank. In 1947 Vic’s joined Division 3 of the Hampshire League and spent 9 seasons in Division 3, 18 in Division 2, 12 in Division 1,
One of the most important years in the Vics long history was 1968 when the club amalgamated with an East Cowes Junior side East Cowes Athletic thus becoming the East Cowes Victoria Athletic.
Without doubt the Vics most successful period was under the guidance of Graham Daish who built a squad of all Island players good enough to win the Hampshire League Division One Championship twice, the first time remaining unbeaten all season. They also won the Isle of Wight Gold Cup seven times during this time. The hard work of the committee enabled the club to progress into the Wessex League for the start of the 1987/88. Although the club lost key players before the start of the season they still managed to finish in 8th place and win the Wessex League Cup beating Romsey Town 2-0.
Following relegation the club formed a new Committee and finished 4th in the Hampshire Premier Division. In 2001/2002 the Vic’s had their best season in recent years, when they narrowly missed out on promotion to the Wessex League, finishing runners-up to Alton Town. But they did win the Hampshire Trophy-man Cup Final beating Liss Athletic 1-0. In Season 2003/2004 Vic’s returned to the Wessex League after the Football Associations restructuring of the leagues.
Ground
East Cowes Victoria Athletic play their home games at Beatrice Avenue, Whippingham, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, PO32 6PA.
Honours
- Wessex League Cup 1988
- Hampshire League Division One 1986, 1987
- Hampshire League Division Two 1948, 1964, 1972
- Hampshire Cup 1893, 2002
- Isle of Wight Senior Gold Cup 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989
- Isle of Wight Division One 1899, 1900, 1931, 1935, 1936, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1995
- Isle of Wight Division Two 1899, 1905, 1907
- Isle of Wight Division Three 1929, 1933
- Isle of Wight Combination Two 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2010
- Isle of Wight Challenge Cup 1900, 1901, 1902, 1920, 1948, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1981, 1985, 1988,1991, 1992, 2012
- Isle of Wight Memorial Cup 1920, 1933, 1983, 1988, 1991, 2010
- Isle of Wight Charity Cup 1924, 1926
- Isle of Wight Centenary Cup 1990, 1992
- Brooklyn Cup 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992
Records
- Best league performance: 4th in Wessex League, 2011–12
- Best FA Cup performance: Second Qualifying round, 1945 & 1948
- Best FA Vase performance: Second Round, 1975–76 & 1988–89
Former players
- Players that have played/managed in the football league
- Paul Woolford
- Players with full international caps.
References
- East Cowes Victoria Athletic at the Football Club History Database