East Coast Bays AFC
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Full name | East Coast Bays Association Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Mighty Bays | ||
Founded | 1959 | ||
Ground | Bay City Park | ||
Capacity | 4,000 | ||
Chairman | Russell Fisher | ||
Head coach | ![]() ![]() | ||
League | NRFL Division 1 | ||
2019 | NRFL Premier, 12th (relegated) | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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East Coast Bays is a Football Club located on Auckland's North Shore. The Club won the Chatham Cup and the NRFL Premier Division three times.
History[]
East Coast Bays were founded following a public meeting held at the Progressive Hall (since demolished and replaced by the Bays Club) in October 1958. The committee formed from this meeting entered four junior teams for the start of the 1959 season. As some of the committee members were supporters of Glasgow Rangers, the colours of Royal Blue shirts, white shorts, and royal Blue sox were adopted.[citation needed]
East Coast Bays picked The Maxwell Farm as it's ground with the pitch running north to south. The old Progress Hall on the site was adapted to serve as clubrooms.[citation needed]
A senior side was entered the next season and with the opening of the harbour bridge, the area boomed and the club grew in size to more than 1000 juniors in the late seventies and early eighties. Senior sides also grew in numbers and the first team slowly made its way through the leagues, and in 1975 when the Northern League was formed they were invited to compete in the first division.[citation needed]
Under coach Alan Yates, the club won promotion to the National League in 1981 but was relegated the following year.[citation needed]
Player numbers continued to grow and Mairangi Bay simply couldn't cope with the numbers even with an additional ground at Windsor Park. This cause a breakaway of a faction of club members to form the Rangitoto club which also saw a decline in the number of junior teams.[citation needed]
Successive administrations lobbied the East Coast Bays Council for more grounds and at the same time new ground criteria for clubs playing in the Northern League Premier Division meant Mairangi Park was no longer suitable for playing top football. This meant that the club spent a couple of seasons using the new ground that was developed behind Rangitoto College.
Land off Anderson's Road originally designated but no longer required for a school was acquired by the Council and it was agreed that the club would move there once facilities were built and grounds developed. In 1991 the club moved to its new headquarters at the newly named Bays City Park.[citation needed]
Since then clubroom facilities have been developed, further grounds have been obtained at Ashley Reserve. Under the direction of Willy Gerdsen, coaching pathways have been developed.[citation needed]
Honours[]
League
- Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Premier (3): 1981, 2010, 2013
- US1 Premiership (1): 2009
- NRFL Division 1 (3): 1978, 1989, 2003
Cup
- Chatham Cup (1) 2008
External links[]
- Official website
- East Coast Bays A.F.C. on NFF website
- Association football clubs in Auckland
- 1959 establishments in New Zealand