Irvine Academicals F.C. was 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 from the town of

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland.

History

The club was formed in late 1902 to provide a pure amateur side in the town, and had no exclusive link with the Irvine Academy; the club secretary, MacLachlan, had been involved with Glasgow University F.C., and it also had interest from Moffat and Fletcher from Queen's Park. The club had a bright start, beating the

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

amateur side Ayr Parkhouse 2–1 in its first match, and proved a popular attraction in the town, a good crowd defying the rain to support the side against a Scottish Amateur XI in February 1903. The club duly joined the

Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...

in August 1903 and entered the

Scottish Qualifying Cup The Scottish Qualifying Cup was a football competition played in Scotland between 1895 and 2007. During that time, apart from a brief spell in the 1950s, it was the only way for non-league teams to qualify for the Scottish Cup. The Qualifying Cup w ...

competition. The club however lost 6–0 at Kilwinning Eglinton in the first round, a result which "was in no way surprising". Undaunted, the club also entered the

Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Football League The Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Football League was a short-lived competitive football league in the period from 1903 to 1905. For membership, it drew upon Junior football teams based in the south-western Scottish counties of Ayrshire and Renfrew ...

, which was undertaking its first season in 1903–04, with six entrants. The Acas drew 2–2 with Paisley Academical in a "pleasant" first match, but lost the other 4 matches it played before withdrawing from the competition. The Acas therefore found succour in the

Scottish Amateur Football League The Scottish Amateur Football League (SAFL) is Scotland's oldest football league competition for amateur teams in Scotland. Although the League officially records itself as having been founded in 1909, when Scottish Football League club Queen's ...

, but withdrew after losing its first two matches. Despite this first season of almost total blanks, it entered the Qualifying Cup again for 1904–05, but scratched when drawn to visit

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

. Indeed, the club does not seem to have played at all in the season and it was struck from the Scottish FA roll in August 1905.

Colours

The club played in blue and white.

Ground

The club's ground was at Kersland Field.

References

{{Defunct Scottish football clubs, state=collapsed Defunct football clubs in Scotland Association football clubs established in 1902 Association football clubs disestablished in 1905 1902 establishments in Scotland 1905 disestablishments in Scotland Sport in Ayrshire