Durban City was a South African

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in the city of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. Formed in 1959 by Norman Elliott, the club was dissolved in 1988.

History

Durban City FC played in the newly formed

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

only

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

from 1959 to 1977, the team then moved over to the

Federation Professional League The Federation Professional League (FPL) was a South African football (soccer) league founded in 1969. It was established to allow coloureds and Indian South Africans to participate in a competitive league. It was established in the wake of the ...

for the 1978 season. The team moved again to the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

, which later changed its name to the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

from 1979 to 1988. The club was sold on 27 July 1988 midway through the season to a group of local businessmen from the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

area. The new owners kept the famous blue and white hoops but immediately changed the name to Natal United. The team got relegated at the end of that season and disbanded. In the 1986–1987 season the club courted controversy by becoming the first South African football club to have a mascot. 'Barry' was a

kudu The kudus are two species of antelope of the genus '' Tragelaphus'': * Lesser kudu, ''Tragelaphus imberbis'', of eastern Africa * Greater kudu, ''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'', of eastern and southern Africa The two species look similar, th ...

with enlarged eyes and glasses and was sponsored by a local opticians.

Notable coaches

Colin Addison Colin Addison (born 18 May 1940) is an English former professional footballer and manager. Born in Taunton, Somerset, Addison started his playing career with York City before moving to Nottingham Forest, Arsenal and Sheffield United. His man ...

Clive Barker Clive Barker (born 5 October 1952) is an English novelist, playwright, author, film director, and visual artist who came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories, the ''Books of Blood'', which established him as a leading h ...

* Alf Boyd * Budgie Byrne *

Joe Kirkup Joseph Robert Kirkup (born 17 December 1939) is an English former professional footballer who played as a full-back in the Football League for West Ham United, Chelsea and Southampton. Playing career Kirkup played junior football with West Ha ...

Dave Sexton David James Sexton (6 April 1930 – 25 November 2012) was an English football manager and player. He was notable for managing Chelsea to their first ever major European trophy. Playing career Son of former professional boxer Archie Sex ...

(guest) * Bill Williams * Butch Webster * Willie Lewis{{citation needed, date=April 2018

External links

Durban City Football Club Official Website
Defunct soccer clubs in South Africa Association football clubs established in 1959 Association football clubs disestablished in 1988 Soccer clubs in Durban National Football League (South Africa) clubs 1959 establishments in South Africa 1988 disestablishments in South Africa Soccer and apartheid