Sholing F.C.
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| Full name | Sholing Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Boatmen |
| Founded | 1960 (as Vosper Thornycroft) |
| Ground | Universal Stadium Portsmouth Road Sholing |
| Capacity | 1,000 |
| Chairman | Gerry Roberts |
| Manager | Dave Diaper |
| League | Wessex League Premier Division |
| 2015–16 | Wessex League Premier Division, 2nd |
Sholing Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Sholing, Southampton, Hampshire. Formerly known as Vosper Thorneycroft FC and later VTFC the club changed its name in 2010 to Sholing FC. In 2013–14 they won both the FA Vase and the Wessex League Premier Division having twice been runners up, in 2007 and 2009. They are currently members of the Wessex League Premier Division. The club has twice won the Hampshire League, in 2001 and 2004. Sholing are also 7 times Southampton Senior Cup Winners.
Vosper Thorneycroft were formed in 1960 as a successor to Thornycroft's (Woolston F.C.), which had folded eight years earlier, although teams from the Woolston Works had competed as early as 1878 under various names. During one remarkable season in 1920, they held Burnley to a 0–0 draw in the FA Cup, losing the replay 5–0.
In its post 1960 incarnation they initially played in the Southampton Junior League. After a number of successful years, they were promoted to the Hampshire League Third Division in 1991, rising to the Second Division the following season, followed by the First Division in 1998. A year later they were relegated when the league was re-organised, but at their first attempt they won promotion to the new Premier Division.
In 2003 Vospers were renamed as VT FC, after their parent company, and in their first season under their new name they were Hampshire League champions and won promotion to the Wessex League. After winning the Wessex League Cup in 2005, VTFC were league runners-up in 2008 and 2009. VTFC arrived in the Southern League Division One South and West for the 2009–10 season when they finished 4th. They lost in the subsequent play-offs to Bridgwater Town and were also runners-up in the Southern League Cup, losing on penalties to Cambridge City.
In June 2010 the club changed its name to Sholing F.C. as the parent company VT Group no longer existed. The change also reflected the district in which the club is based.
After four years in the Southern League Division One South and West, where they finished runners-up in 2011 and reached the play-offs in all four of those campaigns, the club resigned from the Southern League in 2013 for financial reasons and stepped back into the Wessex League Premier Division.
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