Invercargill Thistle also known as Thistle FC is an established football club based in the South Island city of

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. The team was founded in 1936 and currently have 13 teams from Men's premier, Women's, and Junior divisions. During the 1960s Thistle was one of the southern South Island's stronger teams, reaching the semi-finals of the

Chatham Cup The Chatham Cup is New Zealand's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's association football. It is held annually, with the final contested in September. The current champions of the Chatham Cup are 2022 winners Auck ...

on two occasions, in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. The team spent one season in the

New Zealand National Soccer League The New Zealand National League is the name given to the current New Zealand top football competition. Originally set up as the New Zealand National Soccer League there has been many versions of the competition as well as many different names. Th ...

in 1982. In the 2018 season the club currently run a team in the Southland premier Donald Gray competition, Division 1, and Division 2. They also have a team in the Sunday women's competition as well as a full complement of Junior teams. Based out of Islington Street Invercargill, Thistle FC is the oldest and most successful club in Southland Football.

References

Ultimatenzsoccer.com Invercargill Thistle page
Defunct association football clubs in New Zealand Association football clubs established in 1936 1936 establishments in New Zealand 1997 disestablishments in New Zealand Association football clubs in Invercargill {{NewZealand-footyclub-stub