Ferrymead Bays is a semi-professional association football club based in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in the Mainland Premier League and they have won the league title on five occasions. Ferrymead Bays FC play their home games at Ferrymead Park in Ferrymead and Barnett Park in Redcliffs, Christchurch.
The club colours are navy blue and white. Their club crest takes elements of the local suburbs and bays, featuring a football on waves. The club’s main rival is Cashmere Technical due to the club's close proximity and other recent rivals include Coastal Spirit.
The club nickname is "The Bays", a reference to the club's several bays and coastal landmarks around that part of the city the club is located. The club crest first featured "Ferrymead Bays Soccer" around the ball and changed to "Ferrymead Bays Football" due to the modern reference to game's name.
The Club was formed in 1972 by a group of six enthusiasts. By 1986 the Club typically entered 8 to 10 teams in the Canterbury Junior Football Assn Competitions, compared to the 42 teams we[editorializing] now have plus about 100 children in the beginners group.
Prior to 1997, the "A" teams in each grade normally played in Section 2 and often would win that section. However, it was rare for the "A" teams to stay in Section 1. This has changed after 1997 and a number of "A" teams have played in Section 1 for extended periods.
The increase in playing numbers and competitiveness has been due mostly to the continued housing development in the area and the introduction of the beginners group in 1990. Developing the football skills at an early age appears to have had flow-on benefits both in terms of playing numbers and competitiveness.
The Club has had the use of one senior pitch at Barnett Park from the outset. The junior pitches at Redcliffs Park and McCormacks Bay ten years ago left a lot to be desired – they were uneven with ponds! The City Council has made dramatic improvements to McCormacks Bay Park over recent years and we[editorializing] are grateful for this work.
Hockey used to have two pitches at Barnett Park but these were used less as more hockey games were played on artificial surfaces at Porritt Park. With the expansion in soccer teams, there was a need for more home grounds and the CCC agreed we could have full use of Barnett Park which now has two senior, two junior and one intermediate pitches. The consolidation at Barnett Park was helped by installing the practice lights in 1996 which have been a great asset.
The Club started out as Bays United AFC but the name was expanded to include Ferrymead to identify with the rapid expanding commercial area and its sponsorship opportunities plus to give a geographical location and avoid the confusion where some thought Bays meant Banks Peninsula Bays and included Akaroa! Bays reached the top in 2002 with the First Team winning the Mainland Premier League having won promotion from division 1 the year before.
Bays 1sts also won the Mainland Premier League for a second time when they were victorious in 2006. During the 2011 and 2012 season campaigns Ferrymead Bays won the league title on both occasions and again in 2017.
2012 season
During the 2012 season, under the guidance of our most successful coach, Mick Braithwaite, the club won four pieces of silverware including the [[Mainland Premier League] for the second straight season plus the English Cup, South Island Football Championship and the Hurley Shield making the club the most successful in Christchurch in terms of Mainland Premier League titles.
2013 season
The 2013 season saw Ferrymead Bays looking for a hat-trick of Mainland Premier League titles. The season finished with Ferrymead Bays coming in 3rd place as local rivals Cashmere Technical won the title with a total of 49 points and Nelson Suburbs finishing second with 41 points. Ferrymead Bays did however manage to retain the English Cup title beating rivals Coastal Spirit 2-1 in the final at ASB Park. Goals came from golden boot Russell Kamo and James O'Sullivan with goalkeeper Adam Highfield being awarded Man of the Match in the final. 2013 would also mark the end of coach Mick Braithwaite's successful tenure at the club. He had made the suggestion of going into retirement in the later half of the season to a number of individuals at the club.
2014 season
Prior to the 2014 Mainland Premier League Season, Ferrymead Bays were pleased[editorializing] to announce that Danny Halligan would be the new manager at the club as of the 2014 season. Danny Halligan represented New Zealand at international level and he ended his international playing career with 36 international caps and five goals to his credit. Ferrymead finished the 2014 season as they did in 2013 finishing in 3rd place with 34 points with rivals Cashmere Technical winning their second consecutive Premier League title levelling Ferrymead's number of titles with four.
Notable former players
Greg Draper - The New Saints and New Zealand All Whites
Adam Highfield is a New Zealand football goalkeeper who currently plays for Coastal Spirit in the Southern League. He has previously played for Canterbury United and Otago United in the New Zealand Football Championship, Ferrymead Bays in the Mainland Premier League, Christchurch United and Nelson Suburbs in the Southern League, FC Jokerit and Atlantis FC in Finland.
Christchurch United Football Club is an association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in various Mainland Football competitions at Junior and Senior level. The club has won six National League titles and seven Chatham Cup trophies. Christchurch United are the current Southern League champions, Chatham Cup champions and English Cup champions.
Uni-Mount Bohemian Association Football Club is an association football club in Auckland, New Zealand. It was formed from the amalgamation of University AFC and Mount Wellington AFC. The team play at Bill McKinlay Park, Panmure, Auckland.
Nelson Suburbs FC is a football club in Nelson, New Zealand. They compete in the Mainland Premier League.
The Canterbury Premiership League, formally Mainland Premier League and also known as New World Canterbury Premiership League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition run by Mainland Football for association football clubs located in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is at the third tier of New Zealand Football, below the Southern Leagues and above the Canterbury Championship League.
Coastal Spirit FC is an association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand and are a part of Mainland Football's federation. Their Premier Men's team currently competes in the Southern League. Their Premier Women's team competes in the Women's South Island League and were the 2013 National Knockout Cup winners.
Cashmere Technical is an association football club based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was formed in early 2012 from the merger of two of the city's premier teams, Cashmere Wanderers and Woolston Technical. The two clubs had agreed to work together in early 2011, and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake which devastated their home city and resulted in the loss of many playing facilities hastened their merger into a combined side.
The 2018 Chatham Cup is New Zealand's 91st annual knockout football competition.
The 2019 Chatham Cup is New Zealand's 92nd annual knockout football competition.
The New Zealand Men's National League is a men's football league at the top of the New Zealand football league system. Founded in 2021, the New Zealand National League is the successor to the New Zealand Football Championship. The league is contested by ten teams, with teams qualifying from their regional leagues. Four teams qualify from the Northern League, three qualify from the Central League, two qualify from the newly formed Southern League and the Wellington Phoenix Reserves are automatically given a spot each year.
The 2021 Chatham Cup is New Zealand's 93rd annual knockout football competition. It had a preliminary round and four rounds proper before quarter-finals, semi-finals, and a final.
The Southern League is an amateur status league competition run by Southern Football and Mainland Football for Association football clubs located in the South Island of New Zealand. It is at the second level of New Zealand Football behind the national association based New Zealand National League, and the highest level of club based football available to teams within the region.
The 2014 Chatham Cup was New Zealand's 87th annual knockout football competition.
The 2022 New Zealand Men's National League is the second scheduled season of the National League since its restructuring in 2021; the 2021 National League was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in northern regions. 32 clubs compete in the competition, with four qualifying from the Northern League, three qualifying from the Central League and two qualifying from the Southern League for the National Championship phase. Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. Each team must also have at least two players aged 20 or under in the starting eleven.
The 2022 Chatham Cup is New Zealand's 94th annual knockout football competition.
The 2023 New Zealand Men's National League was the third season of the National League since its restructuring in 2021. 32 clubs compete in the competition, with four qualifying from the Northern League, three qualifying from the Central League and two qualifying from the Southern League for the National Championship phase. Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. Over the course of the season, each team must also ensure players aged 20 or under account for 10% of available playing minutes.
The 2024 New Zealand Men's National League is the fourth season of the National League since its restructuring in 2021. 32 clubs compete in the competition, with four qualifying from the Northern League, three qualifying from the Central League and two qualifying from the Southern League for the National Championship phase. Each team can field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. Over the course of the season, each team must also ensure players aged 20 or under account for 10% of available playing minutes.
The 2024 Mainland Football Leagues is the 25th season of football in the Mainland Football federation. There are four main men's leagues and four main women's leagues. The main men's leagues are Southern League, Canterbury Premiership League, Nelson Bays Premiership League, and Canterbury Championship League, respectively tier 2, 3, 3 and 4 among New Zealand men's league system. The main women's leagues are South Island League, Canterbury Women's Premiership League, Nelson Bays Women's Premiership League, and Canterbury Women's Championship League, respectively tier 2, 3, 3 and 4 among New Zealand women's league system.
The Canterbury Championship League, also known as New World Canterbury Championship League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition run by Mainland Football for association football clubs located in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is at the fourth tier of New Zealand Football, below the Canterbury Premiership League and above the Canterbury Senior Men's Division 1.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
