Full name | Free State Stars Football Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Ea Lla Koto |
Founded | 1977, as Makwane Computer Stars |
Ground | Goble Park, Bethlehem |
Capacity | 20,000 |
Chairman | Mike Mokoena |
Coach | Sammy Troughton |
League | ABSA Premiership |
2014–15 | ABSA Premiership, 9th |
Free State Stars is a South African football club based in Bethlehem, Free State that plays in the Premier Soccer League.
Founded in 1977 in a small village of Makwane in an area then known as QwaQwa, the club gained promotion to the National Premier Soccer League in 1986.
The team won the league cup (then known as The Coca-Cola Cup) in 1994 with Bunene Ngaduane leading the scoring charts.
To avoid fixture congestion the club's franchise was sold to the Premier Soccer League in 2002.
The following year, Mike Mokoena revived the club as he bought and renamed the franchise of National First Division side Maholosiane. FS Stars managed to regain their Premiership status in 2005 after winning the Mvela Golden League.
After a disappointing season in the top-flight, with the first team finishing bottom of the table, the club was relegated. The 2007–08 season however proved to be a huge success with Stars dominating the First Division and securing promotion to the Premier League once again.
They also managed to win the inaugural Baymed Cup in December 2006 beating FC AK in the final.
As of 2 August 2016.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
In the South African PSL, only five non-South African nationals can be registered. Foreign players who have acquired permanent residency can be registered as locals. Namibians born before 1990 can be registered as South Africans.