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EAST COWES VICS - CLUB HISTORY
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East Cowes Victoria Athletic
Football Club (The Vic’s) were formed in 1885.
The name 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 Osbourne House, the home of Queen Victoria.
The Vics’s were founder members of the Isle of Wight F.A,
and played on the Island 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 the
Vics joined Division 3 of the Hampshire League
and spent 9 seasons in Division 3, 18 in Division 2, 12 in
Division 1, then moved to the Wessex league
before being relegated in the 1999/2000 season and rejoining
the Hampshire League.
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. Since then the
club has been in a rebuilding process and currently has a
crop of young players breaking through into the first team
squad.
During this reconstruction phase of the club they have
played Aldershot in second round of the Hampshire Senior
Cup,reached the semi-final of the Isle of Wight Senior Gold
Cup and are progressing with the rebuilding of the team.
East Cowes Victoria have notably made the signings of top
Isle of Wight players (Kurt Butt, Simon Williams, Stephen
King, Paul O'Connor and many more) as well as competing with
many other Island sides for the top players on the Isle of
Wight for the 2008-09 season, East Cowes Vics look to be
progressing towards future development and achievements just
like the past, with the rebuilding of team and management
developing to the highest standard.
Vic’s Reserves play in the Isle of Wight Division 1, and we
also have a Veterans side playing in the Isle of Wight
Division 2. The club has a youth policy and has associations
with other youth clubs on the Isle of Wight.
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
Isle of Wight Challenge Cup 1900, 1901, 1902, 1920, 1948,
1951, 1952, 1953
Isle of Wight Memorial Cup 1920, 1933, 1983, 1988, 1991
Isle of Wight Charity Cup 1924, 1926
Isle of Wight Centenary Cup 1990, 1992
Brooklyn Cup 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992
Club records
Best league performance: 8th in Wessex League, 1988-89
Best FA Cup performance: 2nd Qualifying round, 1945 & 1948
Best FA Vase performance: 2nd round, 1975-76 & 1988-89
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