Ballymena United
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| Full name | Ballymena United Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sky Blues |
| Founded | 1934 |
| Ground | Ballymena Showgrounds |
| Capacity | 4,390 |
| Chairman | John Taggart |
| Manager | David Jeffrey |
| League | NIFL Premiership |
| 2015–16 | NIFL Premiership, 8th |
Ballymena United Football Club is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the NIFL Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds.The club is managed by Linfield legend David Jeffrey.
Ballymena United was formed in 1934 as a replacement for the earlier Ballymena that had folded following a dispute regarding the illegal payment of amateur players.
Nicknamed the 'Braidmen' or 'Sky Blues', latterly because of the colour of the home shirts, Ballymena have a rich history in Irish Cup, having won the competition six times – the most for a provincial club outside of Belfast. The club has never won the league title in its history, but has finished runners-up on two occasions. The club has also won the County Antrim Shield on five occasions.
The main club rivals of Ballymena United would be local club Coleraine. The traditional Boxing Day fixture between the two teams attracts large crowds and is one of the most high-profile fixtures in the Northern Irish football calendar.
Ballymena Football Club was formed on 7 April 1928, when four local businessmen and football enthusiasts decided that the town of Ballymena needed a senior football team in the Irish League.
Four men – Albert McClelland, DB Elliott, John Gordon and James McIlhagga – tapped into the popular mood of the period that the time had arrived for Ballymena to be represented in senior circles. The newly formed club took the place of Barn United in the Irish League for the 1928–29 season. The new club gathered together a number of players from the area and further afield and played their first competitive game on 20 August 1928 in front of a packed Ballymena Showgrounds, against reigning Irish League champions Belfast Celtic; the 'Light Blues' lost the game 3–0.
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