Armagh City F.C.
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| Full name | Armagh City Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Eagles |
| Founded | 1964 (as Milford Everton) |
| Ground |
Holm Park, Armagh County Armagh |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Chairman | Philip Johnston |
| Manager | Marty Rice |
| League | NIFL Championship |
| 2015–16 | NIFL Championship 1, 3rd |
Armagh City Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship.
The club was founded in 1964 as Milford Everton, and originally hailed from the village of Milford, just outside Armagh city, but changed their name in 1988 on relocation to Armagh. The club played at the Mill Field, Armagh from 1988 to 1993, when it moved to its current home, Holm Park. The club's colours are azure and black stripes. Former player Marty Rice was named first team manager on 10 July 2010, having been assistant to Ivor McGucken at the start of the 2009–10 season.
The club achieved senior status in 1999, but reverted to intermediate status in 2003 when the Irish Premier League was established and the number of senior clubs was reduced from 20 to 16. In 2005, however, City gained promotion to the Premier League, but after three more seasons at senior level, the club failed to gain a place in the 12-club IFA Premiership and reverted once more to intermediate status as a member of the IFA Championship.
The original name of Milford Everton was in honour of the founders' favourite English team Everton. Milford was the village were the penalty kick was first introduced in 1890 when local goalkeeper William McCrum suggested a way to combat illegal challenges near to goal. Milford Everton eventually bought and refurbished the McCrum Institute in the early 1980s as they strove to improve facilities for the 'B' Division.
During the 2011–12 season Armagh City entered into negotiations with various bodies including the IFA, Armagh City and District Council and SportNI to secure funding to replace their grass pitch with the latest, FIFA approved, 3rd generation pitch. The pitch was laid in summer 2013 and opened in September 2013. The first game for the first team was on 14 September 2013 - a 5–1 win against Lurgan Celtic in the Bob Radcliffe Cup.
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