Douglas Royal F.C. are a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club from

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. They compete in the Canada Life Premier League and wear a white and navy kit. They play their home games at the Ballafletcher Sports Fields in Douglas at the site of the new Nobles Hospital.

History

Formed as Pot Black F.C., the original club was formed in 1981 by a group of snooker-playing football enthusiasts, led by Pot Black Snooker Centre proprietor Peter Locke, who used to arrange friendly matches against business teams, such as KPMG and the IOM Police. After a series of friendly matches the players asked Locke to try to gain entry to the Manx FA. The application was placed and was successful. The team, named Pot Black, entered the 2nd division in 1982. When the snooker club was sold, Locke asked the new owners for sponsorship. When none was forthcoming, the club held a meeting in the Theatre Royal Hotel, Wellington Street, Douglas, and voted to change the name of the club to Douglas Royal. In 1986 the club was in some financial difficulties and looked like it may have to fold. A group of like-minded young men were looking for a new club and made the offer to help. Fresh sponsorship was available and the club added the number "87" to its name to celebrate the new start. The original colours were red shirts, with black shorts and socks but the new committee voted to change to the colours worn today. Since those early days, they have won the Hospital Cup once in 2004–05 when they beat

St Georges Saint George was a soldier in the Roman army in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, venerated as a Christian martyr. Saint George or Saint George's may also refer to: People * George of Vienne (died or ), Archbishop of Vienne * George of Choziba (di ...

, 3–2, in the final. Their first season in the First Division was 1989–90 when they finished sixth. They were relegated to Division Two in the 2002–03 season, but were promoted back to the top flight the next season as Division Two champions. They were again relegated in the 2007–08 season and currently play in Division Two They have a reserve team that play in the

Isle of Man Football Combination An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

as well as junior and ladies teams. Their main rivals are considered to be Gymnasium.

Honours

Cup

*Hospital Cup (1): 2004–05

References

External links

Club websiteDouglas Royal Ladies FC website
Football clubs in the Isle of Man 1981 establishments in the Isle of Man Association football clubs established in 1981 {{IsleofMan-footyclub-stub