Mangere United
Emblem of Mangere United Football Club
|
|
| Full name | Mangere United Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| Ground | Centre Park, Mangere, New Zealand |
| Capacity | 3,000 Stadium & Embankment |
| League | Lotto Sport NRFL Division 1 |
| 2015 | Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1, 6th |
Mangere United is a semi-professional football (soccer) club in Mangere, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a member of No.2 District Federation of NZ Soccer (Soccer2) and plays in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2.
In 2000 it became evident that there was a large Fijian Indian population in Auckland including young men who played or wished to play football with an established club. The founders of the club then saw the need for a football club in Auckland to provide players of Fijian origin and chose Mangere as a suitable location due to the concentration of Fijian Indian's in the area. The founders of the Club are Mr Mohammed Imran (former president), Mr James Kado (former secretary, now Chairman), Mr Patrick Herman (former manager) and Mr Ramu Prasad (former coach).
The founders decided on a black strip because no other club in Auckland seemed to use those colours. Coincidentally, it also includes one colour of the Fijian national football team kit. Black strip is also colours of Fijian giants Ba FC.
The Fijian Indian element can be seen on their emblem with a Fijian whale tooth carving holding a prominent place.
The club has a distinctly Fijian-Indian feel with the majority of players having a Fijian-Indian origin, being either born in Fiji or resided or recently moved to New Zealand. Due to that, the style of play often resembles creative passing, strong running and exciting football to watch.
The only other successful New Zealand football clubs with ethnic origins are Wellington Olympic AFC (Greek), Central United (Croatian) and to some extent Wellington United (Dutch and - historically - Hungarian).
The club's home ground is Centre Park in Mangere. It previously housed a club rooms, which burnt down in 2005. A major renovation of the ground saw a small stadium being built in 2011, along with landscaping of an embankment area for further seating. The ground is home of ethnic and Fijian tournaments in Auckland and junior and women's international games have been held.
...
Wikipedia