Sholing FC

Sholing FC are based just outside of Southampton City Centre. A short trip over the Itchen Bridge will take you to the Universal Stadium, which has the capacity for 1,000 spectators.

 

Formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft FC, the club has been known as Sholing FC since 2010, and their nickname is The Boatmen.

 

Their recent history has seen huge success. Perhaps Sholing’s most prestigious accomplishment was when they won the FA Vase in 2014, lifting the trophy at Wembley.

 

That same season, they finished as champions of the Wessex League Premier Division, and earned promotion to the Southern League.

 

Unfortunately though, the club’s ground didn’t fulfil the FA’s grading criteria for that level, meaning their promotion was effectively cancelled.

 

The team lifted two trophies in the space of three days at the end of the 2016/17 season, the Wessex League Cup and the Southampton Senior Cup.

 

At the end of the same season, the club received a £100,000 donation from Budweiser, who went on the hunt for a non-league club deserving of a cash injection. Sholing’s philosophy of giving youth a chance is believed to have helped their case. They run over 20 youth teams, an astonishing amount for a club at their level.

 

They are now building another push up the table and with the extra funds it is hoped that the next promotion will be a permanent one.