East Coast Bays AFC

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East Coast Bays A.F.C.
Full nameEast Coast Bays Association Football Club
Nickname(s)The Mighty Bays
Founded1959
GroundBay City Park
Capacity4,000
ChairmanRoger Bridge[1]
Head coachJoseph Hall
LeagueNorthern League
2023NRFL Championship, 2nd of 12 (promoted)
WebsiteClub website

East Coast Bays is a football club located on Auckland's North Shore. The club competes in the Northern League, the second tier of New Zealand football. The club has won the Chatham Cup[2][3] and the NRFL Premier Division three times.[4]

History[edit]

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.[5]

East Coast Bays picked The Maxwell Farm as its ground with the pitch running north to south. The old Progress Hall on the site was adapted to serve as clubrooms.[6]

A senior side was entered the next season and with the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, the area boomed and the club grew in size to more than 1000 juniors in the late seventies and early eighties.[7] Senior sides also grew in numbers and the first team slowly made its way through the leagues, and in 1965 when the Northern League was formed they were invited to compete in the first division.[8][9]

Under coach Alan Yates, the club won promotion to the National League in 1981 but was relegated the following year.[5]

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.[8]

Since then clubroom facilities have been developed, further grounds have been obtained at Ashley Reserve.[10]

Sponsorship[edit]

East Coast Bays announced Team Mitchell and Harcourts Cooper & Co as their main kit sponsor for the 2024 season.[11]

Players[edit]

First-team squad[edit]

As of 22 March 2024[12][13][14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Louie Caunter (captain)
2 DF New Zealand NZL Nathan Maisey
3 DF New Zealand NZL James Edgeler
4 MF New Zealand NZL Ryusei Ishibashi
5 FW New Zealand NZL Bailey Stevenson
6 MF New Zealand NZL Callum Simmonds
7 MF Japan JPN Hayat Ali Tobita
8 MF England ENG Declan Sweeney
9 DF Burundi BDI Moses Akimana
10 FW New Zealand NZL Nicolai Berry
11 MF New Zealand NZL Orlando Thorpe
12 DF South Korea KOR Kim Tae-ho
13 MF New Zealand NZL Nick Gaze
14 DF New Zealand NZL Michael Kolston
15 FW New Zealand NZL Thomson Nkoy
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF South Korea KOR Hwi Seong Chang
17 MF New Zealand NZL Sam Wilson
18 FW New Zealand NZL Dylan Stansfield
19 FW New Zealand NZL Liam Andersen
20 DF New Zealand NZL Sam Coyle
21 DF New Zealand NZL Malcolm Young
22 DF England ENG Jack Caunter
23 DF New Zealand NZL Logan Archer
24 DF New Zealand NZL Billy Jones
25 GK New Zealand NZL Michael Williams
26 DF New Zealand NZL Oscar Garcia
27 DF New Zealand NZL Jack Young
28 DF New Zealand NZL Nathan Pepper
29 DF New Zealand NZL Niko Elie
30 DF South Korea KOR Yun Sung Chang

Management[edit]

Coaching staff[edit]

Position Staff
Head coach New Zealand Joe Hall
Assistant coach New Zealand Mingi So
South Korea Kim Dae-wook
Manager New Zealand Niall Thompson
New Zealand Alan Gisby

Season to season[edit]

Source:[15]

  1. ^ Season was voided due to COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand

Honours[edit]

League

Cup

Youth

  • U17 National Tournament (1): 2023[16]

Notable players[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "About Us". East Coast Bays AFC. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  2. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Chatham Cup winners, 1923–2021". teara.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Bays nab the Chatham Cup". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Welcome to East Coast Bays AFC". East Coast Bays AFC. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b "East Coast Bays Football". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ "Bay pioneers honoured". Stuff. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  7. ^ "East Coast Bays Football". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Champion football club celebrates 50 years". Stuff. 3 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  9. ^ "1965 Northern League". ultimatenzsoccer.com. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Club Venues". East Coast Bays AFC. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  11. ^ "Club Announcement: New Men's First Team Partnership". East Coast Bays AFC. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  12. ^ "2024//01 - The Blue Wave". Canva. East Coast Bays. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Matchday Programme: Round 01 vs Manurewa AFC". East Coast Bays. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  14. ^ "EAST COAST BAYS AFC". int.soccerway.com. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  15. ^ "East Coast Bays". ultimatenzsoccer.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  16. ^ "RESULTS: East Coast Bays claim national U-17 men's title after tense final". friendsoffootballnz.com. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Teenager Tyler Bindon lands deal with English League One club Reading!". friendsoffootballnz.com. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Tyler Bindon signs with English League 1 club Reading FC". East Coast Bays AFC. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  19. ^ "'Not quite what I expected' — Leat's modesty after spectacular debut for Aston Villa". friendsoffootballnz.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Soccer: Nine All Whites included in 'A' team". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Football: Phoenix pair to miss All Whites tour". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.

External links[edit]

Preceded by Chatham Cup Winner
2008 		Succeeded by
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