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
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[1][2] and the NRFL Premier Division three times.[3]

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.

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.

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.[4] 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.

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.

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.

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.

Players

First-team squad

As of 16 March 2023[6][7][8][9]

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
2 DF New Zealand NZL Michael Gaze
3 DF New Zealand NZL James Edgeler
6 MF New Zealand NZL Callum Simmonds
7 FW New Zealand NZL Oscar Garcia
8 MF England ENG Declan Sweeney
9 DF New Zealand NZL Moses Akimana
10 FW New Zealand NZL Nicolai Berry
11 MF New Zealand NZL Josh Coe
12 DF South Korea KOR Kim Tae-ho
13 MF New Zealand NZL Nick Gaze
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 DF New Zealand NZL Michael Kolston
15 FW New Zealand NZL Thompson Nkoy
16 DF South Korea KOR Kim Dae-Wook
17 MF New Zealand NZL David Brown
18 FW New Zealand NZL Dylan Stansfield
19 FW New Zealand NZL Liam Andersen
20 DF New Zealand NZL Sam Wilson
22 DF England ENG Jack Caunter
23 DF New Zealand NZL Logan Archer
24 DF New Zealand NZL Todd Gibbs
25 GK New Zealand NZL Michael Williams

Season to season

Source:[10]

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

Honours

League

Cup

Notable players

References

  1. ↑ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Chatham Cup winners, 1923–2021". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  2. ↑ "Bays nab the Chatham Cup". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to East Coast Bays AFC". East Coast Bays AFC. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "East Coast Bays Football". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  5. ↑ "East Coast Bays Football". www.sporty.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ↑ "East Coast Bays AFC is excited to announce the following signings for the 2023 NRFL Season!!!". 22 February 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "East Coast Bays AFC is excited to announce the following signings for the 2023 NRFL Season!!!". 1 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "East Coast Bays AFC is excited to announce more signings for the 2023 NRFL Season!!!". 14 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "East Coast Bays AFC is excited to announce more signings for the 2023 NRFL Season!!!". 16 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "East Coast Bays". ultimatenzsoccer.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "'Not quite what I expected' — Leat's modesty after spectacular debut for Aston Villa". friendsoffootballnz.com. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "Soccer: Nine All Whites included in 'A' team". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  13. ↑ "Football: Phoenix pair to miss All Whites tour". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
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