Battswood AFC is a South African

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

that as of 2023 plays in the Cape District Football Association Super League.

History

The teachers and students of the Battswood Training College formed the Battswood Football Club in 1929. Initially called the "Battswood Collegians", the club joined the newly established Cape District Football Association as one of its founder member clubs. In 1959, the club gained eleven trophies, and in 1964 the club won the prestigious Maggot Trophy competition, the highest knockout competition in the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. In 1965, the club lost in the self-same competition in the semi-finals, against the eventual winners, after three replays. In 1966 and 1968, the club lost in the final – in each match, the team was beaten by Woodside. Due to political policy, the Cape District Football Union was suspended from the Western Province Football Board from 1978 until 1980.

Professional ranks

In 1989, the club turned professional, joining the South African

Federation Professional League The Federation Professional League (FPL) was a South African soccer league founded in 1969. At the time, under the country's apartheid policies, integrated sport was prohibited, and the National Football League The National Football Lea ...

(FPL). In the first season, the club won the League, Knock-Out Cup (Osman’s Spice Trophy) and the NRB Cup, plus several individual awards. In 1990, the club again won the NRB Cup, and ended up as runners-up in the League, losing in the semi-finals of the Knock-Out Cup to the eventual winners,

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

. In 1991, with huge political changes starting to take place in the country and with sports becoming unified, a major decision by the

meant that Battswood had to compete in the NSL 1st Division (Coastal League). The club just missed promotion, losing out to

Cape Town Spurs A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...

Honours

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

champions * 1989

SASF Cup The SASF Cup was an association football competition that took place in South Africa between 1961 and 1985. The participants were affiliated to the South African Soccer Federation and Federation Professional League The Federation Professio ...

champions

References

External links

Club Website
Association football clubs established in 1929 SAFA Second Division clubs Soccer clubs in Cape Town Soccer clubs in the Western Cape 1929 establishments in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-footyclub-stub