Cowes Sports Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...

, Isle of Wight, England. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the Isle of Wight Football Association, which is a division of the

Hampshire Football Association The Hampshire Football Association, also known as ''Hampshire FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Hampshire, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its ...

History

Cowes Football Club was formed in 1881 and played in friendlies until 1886, when they entered the Hants and Dorset Junior Cup. In 1896 they became founder members of the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of ...

becoming its first ever champions and completing the double by winning the

Hampshire Senior Cup The Hampshire Senior Cup is a cup competition open to football teams affiliated with the Hampshire Football Association. The competition was founded in 1887 and has been contested every year since, with the exception of 1914 to 1919 when it was p ...

. The club joined the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English fo ...

Division Two (South West Section) in 1898, winning that division at their first attempt. However, they finished as runners-up in the overall Division two play-off to Thames Ironworks. However, they were promoted to Division One after a test match against Royal Artillery Portsmouth F.C., but folded the following season due to financial problems. The club was reformed in 1903, and joined the

Division One. The club entered the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

many times during its time in the Hampshire League, reaching the Fourth Qualifying Round in 1957–58 and 1963–64. Cowes were relegated to Division Two in 1967, and won the league in 1975. The club was still a Division Two side by the 1980s when the club merged with Whites Sports to form Cowes Sports. The club was promoted to Division One in 1988–89 after finishing third, and after winning Division One in 1993–94, Cowes Sports were promoted to the

Wessex League The Wessex Football League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system. The par ...

. The club reached the Fifth Round of the

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

in 1999–2000. They were placed in the Wessex League Division One upon reorganisation in 2005, and the league was renamed the Premier Division the following season. Cowes Sports were relegated to Division One in 2010. In the 2014–15 season Cowes Sports gained promotion back to the Premier Division by finishing in second place behind winners Team Solent.

Ground

Cowes Sports play their games at Westwood Park in Cowes. The club moved to the ground in September 1912 after their old Brooklyn ground was sold for housing. The club purchased the ground in 1945 for a total amount of £665.

Honours

League honours

Division Two South West Section **Champions (1): 1898–99 *

Division One **Champions (7): 1896–97, 1926–27, 1927–28, 1930–31, 1936–37, 1955–56, 1993–94 *

Division Two **Champions (1): 1974–75

Cup honours

: ** Winners (9): 1896–97, 1905–06, 1911–12, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1933–34, 1945–46, 1947–48, 1966–67 *

Wessex Football League The Wessex Football League is an English association football league formed in 1986, with its premier division currently at the fifth step of the National League System, or the ninth tier of the overall English football league system. The par ...

: ** Winners (1): 1998–99 *

Cup: ** Winners (1): 1992–93 * Isle of Wight Senior Cup: ** Winners (20): 1906–07, 1907–08, 1909–10, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1926–27, 1930–31, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1942–43, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1964–65, 1994–95, 2001–02, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12, 2017-18

Records

*Highest League Position: 1st in

Division Two South West Section 1898-99 *

best performance: Fourth Qualifying Round 1957–58, 1963–64 *

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

best performance: Second Qualifying Round 1970–71 *

best performance: Fifth Round 1999–2000

Former players

Former player Marc Burrows scored the sport's fastest ever goal whilst at the club, In a record time of 2.5 seconds, beating the previous record set by

Ricardo Oliveira Ricardo José Dognella Lima de Oliveira (; born 6 May 1980) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Athletic. He represented São Paulo and Santos in two different spells, but also played in Spain, amassing La Liga ...

, in a reserve team match against

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

in 2004. A list of other former Players who meet the following criteria # Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league). # Players with full international caps. * Billy Bevis *

Joe Blake John Joseph Blake (1882 – 23 February 1931) was an English footballer who played as an outside-forward for Southampton in the early part of the twentieth century. Football career Blake was born in Belchamp Walter, near Sudbury and played hi ...

Lee Bradbury Lee Michael Bradbury (born 3 July 1975) is an English football manager and former footballer who is currently manager of National League club Eastleigh. As a player, he was a striker who made more than 500 appearances in the Football League w ...

Arthur Bradford Arthur Houston Bradford (born November 19, 1969) is an American writer and filmmaker. He has published two books of short stories, ''Dogwalker'' (2001) and ''Turtleface and Beyond'' (2015), and a children's book, ''Benny's Brigade'' (2012). He h ...

Arthur Brown Arthur Brown may refer to: Entertainment * Arthur William Brown (1881–1966), Canadian commercial artist * H. Arthur Brown (1906–1992), American orchestral conductor * Arthur Brown (musician) (born 1942), English rock singer * Arthur Brown, ak ...

* Len Butt * Lewis Buxton *

Percy Cherrett Percy Albert Mark Cherrett (12 September 1899 – 1984) was an English footballer who played as a centre forward in the Football League for Portsmouth, Plymouth Argyle, Crystal Palace, Bristol City and Bournemouth & Boscombe. Life and caree ...

* John Flood *

David Hamer David John Hamer (5 September 1923 – 14 January 2002) was an Australian politician and Royal Australian Navy officer. Early life and naval career Born in Melbourne, he was educated at Geelong Grammar School and then the Royal Australian Nav ...

* Danny Hatcher * James Hayter *

Bill Luckett William Luckett (6 September 1903 – 5 July 1985) was an English professional footballer who played for Southampton as a left-half in the 1920s and 1930s, making over 200 appearances. Playing career Early days Luckett was born in St Helens, La ...

* Jamie Lawrence * Charlie Leatherbarrow * Duncan McLean *

Pat Parker Pat Parker (born Patricia Cooks; January 20, 1944June 17, 1989) was an American poet and activist. Both her poetry and her activism drew from her experiences as an African-American lesbian Feminism, feminist.Pat Parker. Contemporary Authors On ...

* Harry Penk *

George Reader George Reader (22 November 1896 – 13 July 1978) was the fourth man to referee a FIFA World Cup Final, the first Englishman (one of only 10 match officials from the United Kingdom) to do so, and the oldest match official at any World Cup in hi ...

* Albie Roles * David Skea *

Lachie Thomson William James Gay "Lachie" Thomson (9 June 1873 – 23 November 1940) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender for Stoke in the Football League before joining Southampton St Mary's for the inaugural Southern League sea ...

Former coaches

# Managers/Coaches that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league). # Managers/Coaches with full international caps. * Jack Gregory * Albie Roles *

Steve Hunt Steven Hunt (born 1958) is an American jazz pianist and composer. He has released two studio albums, recorded extensively, and toured the world. Music career In 1977, Hunt graduated from Brazoswood High School in Clute, Texas. He then atten ...

References

External links

Cowes Sports FC official website
{{Wessex One Wessex Football League Association football clubs established in 1881 Southern Football League clubs Football clubs on the Isle of Wight 1881 establishments in England Football clubs in England Cowes