Vasco da Gama was a South African

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 the Parow suburb of the city of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

that played in the

National First Division The National First Division (NFD), officially known as the Motsepe Foundation Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest league of South African club association football, football after the South African Premier Division. Both t ...

. Coming from the lower ranks, the club had its roots entrenched in the local

Portuguese South African Portuguese South Africans ( pt, luso-sul-africanos) are South Africans of Portuguese people, Portuguese ancestry. The exact figure of how many people in South Africa are Portuguese or of Portuguese descent are not accurately known as many people wh ...

community, and adopted its name, crest and team colours from the Brazilian club

Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (), commonly referred as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a professional sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally a rowing club, Vasco is mostly known for its football team, who it currently compet ...

. In 2016, the club was ended when the franchise was relocated to Stellenbosch as Stellenbosch F.C.

History

Vasco da Gama was established in 1980, carrying the name of famed Portuguese explorer

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...

. Being mainly a lower league club, Vasco won promotion to the

in 2003, after being crowned champions of the Vodacom Second Division. In their first season of first division football they finished 5th, giving themselves the opportunity to build on their previous league performances. After a successful 2005/2006 season, Vasco featured in the promotional playoffs, beating

Bush Bucks Bush Bucks is a South African association football club. The club was founded in 1957 and originally based in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. In 2001, the team moved to East London, Eastern Cape, East London. It was nicknamed ''Imbabala (The Bucks)' ...

in the semi-final. They lost 1–0 in the playoff finals to a

Benoni Premier United Thanda Royal Zulu was a South African football club based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. History The club started after a Swedish consortium that included Sven-Goran Eriksson bought the franchise from Benoni Premier United at the end of the 20 ...

team, which included Bafana Bafana players

Bernard Parker Bernard Parker (born 16 March 1986) is a South African professional association footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Premier Soccer League club TS Galaxy. Between 2007 and 2015 he made 73 appearances for the South Africa n ...

and Tsepo Masilela. In 2008 they won the Vodacom League and regained promotion into the National First Division once again. Vasco secured promotion to the PSL when they beat

Black Leopards Black Leopards FC is a South African football club based in Thohoyandou, Vhembe Region, Limpopo that plays in the National First Division. History The club was founded in 1983 by business people in the Vhembe Region. In 1998 the club was tak ...

2–1 (aggregate score 3–2) in a promotional play-off at

Parow Park Parow Park is a sports venue in Cape Town, South Africa. The venue has hosted football matches for several teams Premier Soccer League and National First Division teams, including Cape Town All Stars, Santos F.C. (South Africa), Santos F.C., Ste ...

on March 7, 2010. After only one season in the PSL Vasco was relegated finishing 15th on the log and losing the promotion/relegation playoffs. On 9 January 2014, Vasco da Gama played a friendly match against German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...

at Coetzenberg Stadium in

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

and lost 5–0 after a brace from

Mohammed Abdellaoue Mohammed "Moa" Abdellaoue ( ar, محمد عبد اللاوي; born 23 October 1985) is a retired Norwegian footballer who played as a forward. He started his career with Skeid and Vålerenga before moving to Germany where he played for Hannover ...

, plus goals from

Cacau Claudemir Jerônimo Barreto (born 27 March 1981), known as Cacau (, ), is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Born in Brazil, he represented Germany at international level. Cacau received German citizenship in February 20 ...

Martin Harnik Martin Harnik (born 10 June 1987) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays for German fifth-tier club TuS Dassendorf. He has represented the Austria national football team. He plays as a forward or as a right winger. Family Harnik was ...

and

Vedad Ibišević Vedad Ibišević (; born 6 August 1984) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently assistant head coach of Hertha BSC. Ibišević started his professional career at Paris Saint-Germain. He had a two-yea ...

. In August 2016, owner Mario Ferreira used the license of Vasco da Gama to create a new club in Stellenbosch, known as Stellenbosch F.C.

Honours

;National First Division * First Division Coastal Stream champions: 2009–10 ;SAFA Second Division * National Play-off winners: 2002–03, 2007–08 * Western Cape Stream champions: 2000–01, 2002–03, 2007–08 ;Amateur Club Championship *SA Amateur Club Championship winners: 1988, 1990

Managers

* Carlos das Neves (2008–2011) * Tony De Nobrega (June 14, 2011 – June 5, 2013) * Keenin Lesch (Jul 1, 2013–2016) *

Sammy Troughton Samuel Edward Troughton (born 27 March 1964 in Lisburn, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish former footballer who played as a forward and now a coach. Playing career Club Troughton played for Glentoran and Wolverhampton Wanderers before co ...

(2016)

Club records

Premier Soccer League record

* 2010–11 – 15th (relegated)

References

External links

*
Premier Soccer LeagueNFD Club Info
{{Premier Soccer League Defunct soccer clubs in South Africa Association football clubs established in 1980 Association football clubs disestablished in 2016 Premier Soccer League clubs Soccer clubs in Cape Town National First Division clubs SAFA Second Division clubs 1980 establishments in South Africa 2016 disestablishments in South Africa