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| Full name | Waterford Athletic Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Ground | National Soccer Centre, Crawshire, Newsome Heights |
| Capacity | 23,504 |
| Owner | Adam Chappell |
| Chairman | Adam Chappell |
| Manager | David Giffard |
| League | Waterford Premier League |
| 2015–16 | 1st |
Waterford Athletic Football Club is an Waterfordian association football club based in Crawshire, Newsome Heights. Founded in 2006, they play in the Waterford Premier League and have spent their entire history in the top tier of Waterfordian association football. Their home is the 23,504-seat National Soccer Centre stadium, where they have played since their establishment.
Since the club's foundation, they have established themselves as one of the premier clubs in all of Waterford, accumulated nearly half of total league and cup titles. Waterford Athletic holds the honor for most league and cup titles each, winning 17 and 14 league and cup titles, respectively. One of the club's most successful periods of history came during the late 2000s through the mid 2010s, when they achieved a perfect season, going 31–7–0 in the in 2012–13, acheving 100 points. To date, it has been the only season where a Waterfordian club has ever reached triple-digit points during a league season. That same season, Waterford Athletic defeated their rivals, Pacifica Beach, 3–2 in extra time in the 2013 WFA Cup Final. On the international stage, Waterford Athletic is the only Waterfordian club to reach the knockout round of the CONCACAF Champions League. Despite being based in Newsome Heights, Athletic has lacked a true inter-city rival, mainly due to the lack of success of several other capital city clubs, though some fans cite a minor rivalry with Newsome City, in which they coin it the Newsome Heights derby, though the term can be loosley applied to any inter-city derby match. Today, most fans and pundits claim Pacifica Beach to be the club's largest rival, mainly because of the success of Pacifica Beach relative to Athletic's own success. It is widely considered the most intense, vehement rivalry in Waterford.
Waterford Athletic's regular kit colours are black, with normal blue and white trim. The club is currently owned by urban planning, and civil enginnering magnet, Adam Chappell, who was the founder of the Waterford nation and resort system. The wealth of Chappell and the lucrative investment he has put in the club has often been the reason for the club's success, as Waterford Athletic, as well as his American football outfit, the Waterford Avengers are the only sporting teams Chappell has invested in. Unlike most owners, who mostly fund the club out of interest and the sport and sheer hobby, Waterford Athletic is one of only four WPL clubs to record a profit, the others being Pacifica Beach, Chaston City, and North Point. Since 2012, Athletic has secured a six-figure kit sponsorship with German company, Beck's Brewery. The club's value has been ranged around $75 million, making it, by far, the most valuable club in all of Waterford and the most expensive clubs in North America outside of Major League Soccer and Liga MX.
Roster
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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