Central Football Club is a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

professional football club, based in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, that plays in the

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

. Founded in 2012, the ''Sharks'' were the 21st team to join the Pro League and plays its home matches in

Ato Boldon Stadium The Ato Boldon Stadium is an athletics and football stadium located in Balmain, Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. It is currently the home ground of Central and Club Sando. History The stadium was constructed for the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship ...

located in nearby

Couva Couva is an urban town (48,858 in 2011 census) in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tab ...

History

Central FC was founded in July 2012, with the ambition to become a high achieving club on the pitch and an active club within its community. In the club's first season, Central completed twelve projects designed to promote football within the local community. Former

international football player

Brent Sancho Brent Sancho CM (born 13 March 1977) is a Trinidadian former professional football player and politician. In February 2015, he became the Minister of Sports for his home country, Trinidad and Tobago. Club career College Born in Port of Spai ...

was the Chief Executive Officer. On 13 August 2012, former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

international

Graham Rix Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. He is the current manager of Fareham Town. He played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Ca ...

was named the club's first manager for their inaugural Pro League season. However, when Rix resigned after only five months and returned to his native

, the club appointed former

San Juan Jabloteh San Juan Jabloteh Football Club is a football club located in San Juan, Trinidad and Tobago that plays in the country's TT Pro League. The team plays its home games in Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo, Trinidad. History The club was founded ...

manager and England international

Terry Fenwick Terence William Fenwick (born 17 November 1959) is an English football manager and former player who played either as a centre-back or a full-back. During his playing career, he made a total of 455 appearances in the Football League for Crys ...

Inaugural season

Central FC began play in the

2012–13 TT Pro League The 2012–13 TT Pro League season (known as the ''Digicel Pro League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the fourteenth season of the TT Pro League, the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment i ...

season with their first match on 19 October 2012, against

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

, which they won 1–0 following a goal from former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Anthony Wolfe Anthony Wolfe CM (born 23 December 1983) is a Trinidadian professional footballer who plays as a forward. He represented the Trinidad and Tobago national team on 35 occasions. As a member of the squad that competed at the 2006 FIFA World Cu ...

. The ''Sharks'' finished in a solid fifth position after their inaugural Pro League season having won eight from their 21 matches. However, the club's most significant accomplishment during their first season came in the

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

after advancing to the final before losing 1–0 to

Caledonia AIA Morvant Caledonia United (formerly known as Caledonia AIA) is a professional football team in Trinidad and Tobago's top-level TT Pro League. It is based in Morvant; its home stadium is Hasely Crawford Stadium. History The Caledonia AIA Footbal ...

. Following the season, Central hosted a pre-season tour of

for

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Lea ...

club,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is t ...

in July 2013. During the

club's visit, Central arranged for the ''Saddlers'' to visit four coaching schools and compete in three exhibition matches. The tour also provided four Central FC players a week trial with Walsall.

Players and staff

Current squad

Managers

(2012) *

(2013–2014) *

Zoran Vranes Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and a little in Slovenia. Notable people with this given na ...

(2014–2015) * Dale Saunders (2016–2017) *

Stern John Stern John, CM (born 30 October 1976) is a Trinidadian football manager and former player who is currently managing Saint Lucia. He managed Anguilla from 2020 to 2022. He previously played for a number of American and English football clubs th ...

(2017–2020)

Honours

National

** Winners (3): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

** Runners-up (2):

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

, 2013–14 *

First Citizens Cup First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...

** Winners (2):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

* Lucozade Sport Goal Shield ** Winners (1):

International

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). T ...

** Winners (2):

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, 2016

References

External links

Profile on Soca Warriors Online
{{CFU Club Championship winners Football clubs in Trinidad and Tobago 2012 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago Association football clubs established in 2012