Southland Athletics
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| Full name | Athletic Club of Southland | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The A's | ||
| Founded | April 4, 1945 | ||
| Stadium | Crawford Road Southland, New Liverpool | ||
| Capacity | 30,430 | ||
| Owner | Johan Al-Kharif | ||
| Manager | Casey Alavez | ||
| Coach | Peter Somboro | ||
| League | SPL, Slokasian First Divison (1993-2001), Slokasian Second Divison (1990-1993) | ||
| 2023-24 | 2nd | ||
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Southland Athletics is a primarily football club based in Southland, New Liverpool that plays in the SPL. Founded in 1945, Southland only rose to professional football during the late 1980s and has since grown to be one of the top clubs in Slokais Islands. Southland is also considered the "third club" of New Liverpool being traditionally overshadowed by Northrock United and New Liverpool FC. The Athletics also are considered to have the best academy in Slokais, with multiple national team players developing in the club and its League 3 affiliate Silverdo Valley FC. Southland holds no league titles although has won two Association Cups in 1997 and 2019.
History[edit | edit source]
Southland Athletic Football Club was founded in 1945 by workers at the Southland Shipping Company to compete in a local league against small teams. The club saw some growth during the 1950s rising from amateur to the National League South, although was not promoted before the league suspension in 1960. Southland saw significant damage during the Great War, leading to massive building boom post-war. In 1975, the club was renamed to Southland Athletics as the organization also began a basketball and baseball team. Drawing on talent from the local community, the Athletics reached League 3 in 1981. In 1984, after winning the League 3 Championship, the club moved into Crawford Road Stadium, a pre-existing venue used for track and field. By 1993, the Athletics had reached League 1, then the highest tier of Slokaisan Football, becoming the third club from New Liverpool in the league at the time. This led to the development of a rivalry with both New Liverpool FC and Northrock, although matchups often favored those clubs. In 1997, a team made of mostly academy players won the Association Cup, defeating Northrock United in the final 3-1.
Colours and Kit[edit | edit source]
The Athletics traditional colors are Green and White, dating back to the Southland Shipping Company's official logo from the 1940s. In recent year's the color Green has come to represent the large Kaijanese and Mallacan community's in Southland with both groups using green as a traditional color. The Athletics were initially sponsored by HAS Cleaning from 1985-1991, using a green a white stripe combination during this period. In 1992, Dynamics Motors sponsored the club, changing the kits to a mostly light green color. Currently, the Athletics have a shirt sponsor of Double Palms Coffee, which is owned by club owner Johan Al-Kharif. The home kit is a green kit with black details on the sleeves, the away kit is green with white accents and the third kit is mostly black with white lettering with the alternative sponsor of the Abdin Family Foundation, with all proceeds going to the charity supporting education in the Mallacan diaspora.