Western (soccer)
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| Full name | Western Association Football Club |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1913 |
| Ground | Westminster Park, Christchurch |
| Coach |
 Julian Morris |
| League | Robbie's Premier Football League |
| 2011 | Robbie's Premier Football League, 5th |
Western A.F.C. is a semi-professional association football club in Christchurch, New Zealand. They compete in the Robbie's Premier Football League.
Western A.F.C kicked off in 1913 when a small group of keen soccer players at West Christchurch District High School decided to start a team.
The few boys who had played soccer at primary school trained the rest of the team, many of whom had never even seen soccer played before. They challenged St. Bedes for their first game, and in so doing, defied and angered the headmaster, who threatened to expel one of their organisers, Jim Barr. That first team included George Lockwood, Jim Barr, Jack Wilkinson, Eric Nicols, Eric Johnson, Jeff McCree, Jim Smith, and Bob Burgess.
The first year they played as West Christchurch District High against a few other schools, but as the headmaster refused to allow the team to use the school’s name for Association games on Saturdays, they used the name ‘Swifts’ from 1914. Although receiving no assistance from the school, the team was helped by the Canterbury Football Association, and went on to win the Schools’ Saturday Competition in 1914. The victory helped to change the headmaster’s mind about the team to the extent that he allowed the school’s name to be engraved on the trophy.
In 1915 the team changed its name from Swifts to Western A.F.C., and in doing so, changed the team strip from black jersey with a red sash, to a black jersey with the school monogram.
Western first tasted success by winning the Hurley Shield in both 1918 and 1919 (at that time presented to the Junior competition winners), and were duly promoted to the Senior Competition in 1920.
As many of the players had by now left West Christchurch District High, it was decided to open team membership to players from outside the school to keep the team going.
Some of the players who continued their involvement with the club in these early years were J. Smith, A. Andrews, C.J. Hoy and W. Whittington. The club’s patron was F.D. Waller, who donated the Waller Medal, presented to the most helpful junior player each year.
One of the club’s strongest supporters at this time was George Smith, father of the Smith boys, who feature prominently in the club’s history. The first President of the club was E.H. Andrews, who later became Mayor of Christchurch.
By 1920, in just a few years existence, Western was well established as a top senior club in Christchurch, with a well assured future.
Their first taste of cup final play arrived in 1923, when they reached the English Cup knock-out final against the very experienced Rangers team. After ninety minutes of very exciting football, the score was 1-1, so a replay was set. The replay was won by Rangers,1-0.
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