Christchurch United
Christchurch United is an amateur association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in various Mainland Football competitions at Junior and Senior level.
 | |||
| Full name | Christchurch United Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | United, Christchurch United | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Ground | Christchurch Football Centre, Christchurch | ||
| Chairman |  | ||
| Manager | Danny Halligan | ||
| League | Mainland Premier League | ||
|
| |||
Club history
Christchurch United is one of New Zealand's most decorated domestic football clubs, winning the country's national league title and Chatham Cup six times each. The club enjoyed a golden run which began in the 1972 Chatham Cup final against Mount Wellington, still considered the most dramatic final in the long illustrious history of the knockout tournament. The final took three matches and 330 minutes of football to decide in which United took the victory, going on to win four Chatham Cups in the next five years.
United's first national league title in 1973 was followed up by a Chatham Cup victory in '74, followed by a historical 1975 season. That season, Christchurch United became the first New Zealand club to win the national league and Chatham Cup final in the same year. The side, coached by Terry Conley, featured a number of well-renowned players including Ian Park, Roy Drinkwater, Bill Amey and Ken France. United was one of New Zealand's top clubs in the 1970s and 1980s, and was national league champion on six occasions between 1973 and 1991.
In 1991, the new generation of Christchurch United players finally managed to emulate the great feat of the legendary 1975 side by winning both the Chatham Cup and the national league title. The 1991 team was coached by Martin Stewart, who took over from Ian Marshall in the late 1980s after he received an All Whites coaching role. The side featured household New Zealand footballing names including Alan Carville, Keith Braithwaite, Danny Halligan, Mike McGarry and Johan Verweij.
Some of the most notable players to ever don a Christchurch United jersey include former All Whites and Blackburn Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen, the late Steve Sumner, Ben Sigmund, Bobby Almond, Mike McGarry and Ceri Evans.
After a long rebuild phase following United's last premier league title in 1998, the club was promoted back into the Mainland premier league, Canterbury's top division in September 2008. Following relegation the next season, the club was in limbo for several years, resurfacing into the premier league again in 2014, only to be relegated again the following year.
In 2016, the Christchurch United board started merger discussions with the Christchurch Football Academy, which opened in 2014 and created a stunning football facility along Yaldhurst Road, the Christchurch Football Centre. The Christchurch Football Academy (CFA) was the brainchild of Russian businessman Slava Meyn, who settled in Christchurch in 2009.
United would regain promotion to the Mainland Premier League in 2019, winning 12 games on the trot with 57 goals and five against. The team also completed its best Chatham Cup runs in decades, reaching the quarter-finals after beating Mainland Premier League clubs Western, Selwyn United, Nelson Suburbs and eliminating champions Cashmere Technical after an enthralling penalty shoot-out. Winning the MacFarlane Cup for the most successful Canterbury team in the Chatham Cup was the first silverware for the club since 1998. United currently sits in 6th about halfway through the 2020 Mainland Premier League season.
The club was formed via the merger and support of several Christchurch clubs in the early 1970s, ostensibly to provide a strong Christchurch team for participation in the New Zealand National Soccer League. The teams involved were Christchurch City AFC, Western AFC, Shamrock, and Christchurch Technical, though some of these sides continued to play on as separate sides after the formation of United. As a result of a sponsorship deal it was known as Trans Tours United from 1976 to 1978.
The club has a long-standing affiliation with Welsh club side Rhyl F.C..
Trophies
National League titles: 1973, 1975, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1991.
Chatham Cup winners: 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1989, 1991.
Canterbury League Champions: 1998
Canterbury Division 1: 2008, 2014
Canterbury Championship League: 2019
Notable players
The following former players have all represented New Zealand
External links
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 July 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
