Cowes Sports F.C.

Cowes Sports Football Club is a football club based in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England. They play in the Wessex League Premier Division. The club is affiliated to the Isle of Wight Football Association, which is a division of the Hampshire Football Association.[1]

Full nameCowes Sports Football Club
Nickname(s)The Yachtsmen
Founded1881
GroundWestwood Park, Cowes
Capacity2,000 (500 seated)
ChairmanIan Lee
ManagerMax Draper
LeagueWessex League Premier Division
2022–23Wessex League Premier Division, 16th of 20

History

Cowes Football Club was formed in 1881 and played in friendlies until 1886, when they entered the Hants and Dorset Junior Cup.[2] In 1896 they became founder members of the Hampshire League becoming its first ever champions and completing the double by winning the Hampshire Senior Cup.[2] The club joined the Southern Football League Division Two (South West Section) in 1898, winning that division at their first attempt. They finished as runners-up in the overall Division two play-off to Thames Ironworks.[3] They were promoted to Division One after a test match against Royal Artillery Portsmouth, but folded the following season due to financial problems and resigned from the Southern League on 18 December 1899.[3][4]

The club was reformed in 1903, and joined the Hampshire League Division One.[2] The club entered the FA Cup many times during its time in the Hampshire League, reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round in 1957–58 and 1963–64.[3] Cowes were relegated to Division Two in 1967, and won the league in 1975.[2][3] The club was still a Division Two side by the 1980s when the club merged with Whites Sports to form Cowes Sports.[5]

The club was promoted to Division One in 1988–89 after finishing third, and after winning Division One in 1993–94, Cowes Sports were promoted to the Wessex League.[5] The club reached the Fifth Round of the FA Vase in 1999–2000.[5] They were placed in the Wessex League Division One upon reorganisation in 2005, and the league was renamed the Premier Division the following season. Cowes Sports were relegated to Division One in 2010.[6] In the 2014–15 season Cowes Sports gained promotion back to the Premier Division by finishing in second place behind winners Team Solent.

Westwood park, home of Cowes Sports

Ground

Cowes Sports play their games at Westwood Park in Cowes.

The club moved to the ground in September 1912 after their old Brooklyn ground was sold for housing.[7] The club purchased the ground in 1945 for a total amount of £665.[7]

Honours

League honours

Cup honours
  • Hampshire Senior Cup:[8]
    • Winners (9): 1896–97, 1905–06, 1911–12, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1933–34, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1966–67
  • Wessex Football League:[8]
    • Winners (1): 1998–99
  • Hampshire League Cup:[8]
    • Winners (1): 1992–93
  • Isle of Wight Senior Cup:[8]
    • Winners (21): 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1964–65, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2017-18, 2022-23

Records
  • Highest League Position:[3] 1st in Southern Football League Division Two South West Section 1898-99
  • FA Cup best performance:[3] Fourth Qualifying Round 1957–58, 1963–64
  • FA Trophy best performance:[3] Second Qualifying Round 1970–71
  • FA Vase best performance:[5] Fifth Round 1999–2000

Former players

Former player Marc Burrows scored the sport's fastest ever goal whilst at the club, In a record time of 2.5 seconds, beating the previous record set by Ricardo Oliveira, in a reserve team match against Eastleigh in 2004.[9]

A list of other former Players who meet the following criteria

  1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Players with full international caps.

Former coaches
  1. Managers/Coaches that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
  2. Managers/Coaches with full international caps.

References
  1. "Isle of Wight FA Clubs". Iowdfa.org.uk. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  2. "History – Cowes Sports FC". Cowessportsfc.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2012.
  3. Cowes at the Football Club History Database
  4. Soar, Phil (1995). Tottenham Hotspur The Official Illustrated History 1882–1995. Hamlyn. p. 234. ISBN 0-600-58706-1.
  5. Cowes Sports at the Football Club History Database
  6. "Winchcombe leaves Westwood Park". Iwcp.co.uk. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  7. "One hundred years of agony and ecstacy". Iwcp.co.uk. 20 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  8. "Club Honours – Cowes Sports FC". Cowessportsfc.com. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  9. "UK | England | Fastest football goal scorer dies". BBC News. 14 February 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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