Manning Rangers F.C.
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| Full name | Manning Rangers Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Mighty Maulers |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Ground | Chatsworth Stadium (The Den), Durban |
| Capacity | 35,000 |
Manning Rangers is a defunct South African football club formerly based in Durban. The side is best remembered as the champions of the inaugural season of South Africa's Premier Soccer League.
The club was founded in 1928 by GR Naidoo who, as well as administering the club, played as its goalkeeper and later served as a referee. In the mid-1960s the club entered the professional ranks under the auspices of the South African Soccer League. In 1985 the club moved its base from Curries Fountain to Chatsworth. The club entered the 1st Division of the NSL (National Soccer League) in 1991.
In 2006, the club declared bankruptcy. The Fidentia Group purchased the club in 2007 and renamed it the Fidentia Rangers. The new owners relocated the club from Durban to Cape Town.
In 1996/97 the inaugural season of the Premier Soccer League, the unfancied Maulers stunned everybody with a fairy tale season and managed an impressive 23–5–6 record finishing top of the table with 74 points and becoming champions ahead bigger clubs such as the Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates.
The club was unable to repeat this success however, but remained in the Premier Soccer League for several seasons. In 1998/99 the team represented South Africa in the African Champions Cup losing out to eventual winners ASEC Abidjan of Cote d'Ivoire.
The club has since resurfaced in Chatsworth under the name Rangers FC on a semi-professional basis. The team is currently one league below the National 1st Division.
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