Cardiff Civil Service Football Club was an

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club based in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The team joined the Second Division of the

Welsh Football League The Welsh Football League (also known as the Nathaniel Car Sales Welsh Football League for sponsorship reasons) was a club football league in Wales. For its final season in 2019–20 season it operated at levels 3 and 4 of the Welsh football leag ...

in 1990 and won promotion to the First Division in its first campaign. The side remained in the First Division for more than a decade before dropping out of the Welsh Football League. The club played its home matches at the Civil Service Grounds on Sanatorium Road in

Ely, Cardiff Ely ( cy, Trelái ''tref'', town + cy, Afon Elái, River Ely) is a district and community in Cardiff, Wales. It is to the north of Cowbridge Road West. Caerau defines the boundary to the south as does River Ely to the east and in part to the no ...

, Wales.

History

Cardiff Civil Service joined the Second Division of the

for the 1990–91 season. The side finished the campaign as champions of the division, scoring 100 goals in the process and winning promotion to the First Division. The Civil Service initially adapted well to the higher tier, finishing in the top eight in four of its first five seasons in the higher tier. This included a fourth placed finish in the 1995–96 campaign, the club's highest placed finish in the Welsh Football League. However, a gradual decline led the side to finish in the bottom half of the table for the majority of its time in the First Division. The side left the Welsh Football League in 2003. The club's reserve side spent two season in the

South Wales Amateur League The South Wales Amateur League was a former football league in South Wales. The league consisted of two divisions, named Divisions One and Two. Division One was a feeder to the Welsh Football League Division Three, and sat at level 5 of the Welsh ...

. In the 2011–12 season the club reached the third round of the

Welsh Cup The FAW Welsh Cup ( cy, Cwpan Cymdeithas Pêl-droed Cymru), currently known as the JD Welsh Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out football competition contested annually by teams in the Welsh football league system. It is considered the mo ...

. The club gained media attention following the progress of Welsh footballer

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation ...

, who began his career in the club's youth sides. He was subsequently spotted by scouts as an eight-year old playing for the Civil Service's six-a-side team in

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

by scouts from

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

Honours

Welsh Football League Division Two The Welsh Football League Division Two, (last known as the ''Nathanielcars.co.uk Welsh League Division Two'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league and forms the fourth level of the Welsh football league system in South Wales. If ...

(Tier 3 of the

) **Champions (1): 1990–91

References

{{reflist Welsh Football League Welsh Football League clubs Works association football teams in Wales