Nuneaton Griff F.C.

Nuneaton Griff

Full name	Nuneaton Griff Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Heartlanders
Founded	1972 (as Nuneaton Amateurs)
Ground	The Pingles Stadium Nuneaton (Capacity: 6000 (450 seated))
Chairman	John Gore
Manager	Ron Bradbury
League	Midland Football Combination Premier Division
2010–11	Midland Football Combination Premier Division, 2nd
Home colours Away colours

Nuneaton Griff F.C. are a football club based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. They joined the Midland Football Combination Premier Division in 1999.

History

The club was originally founded in 1972 as Nuneaton Amateurs when a dispute at the well-known local club Co-op Sports F.C. led to many members moving to the Nuneaton Griff and Coton Miners Welfare Ground. Nine players and officials paid £1 each to start the new club and Colin Wetton became the first manager, with Colin Rathbone as chairman.

The Amateurs initially played in the Coventry and North Warwickshire League, and in their very first season were denied a championship success when their opponents failed to turn up for a late-season rescheduled game and the Coventry and North Warwickshire League decided there was not time to fit in another match.

By the 1990s the club was playing in the Coventry Alliance Football League, where they were dominant for a number of years. In 1998-99 the decision was made to apply for membership of the Midland Football Combination.

The club was controversially placed directly into the Premier Division but the Heartlanders, under manager Mark Green, repaid that faith by winning the championship in their initial season and repeated the feat the following season 2000-01, adding the Endsleigh Challenge Cup for good measure. In the process they made history by winning the Challenge Cup at Villa Park and the following night winning the Coventry Telegraph Cup at Highfield Road, Coventry, to become the only club to play two finals on consecutive days on two different Premiership grounds and win both times.^{[citation needed]}

Club records

• Best league performance: Midland Combination Premier Division champions, 1999-00 and 2000-01
• Best FA Cup performance: Preliminary Round, 2008-09
• Best FA Vase performance: 2nd Round, 2003-04

Sources

• Nuneaton Griff at the Football Club History Database

External links

• Official website

Coordinates: 52°30′56.68″N 1°27′51.43″W / 52.5157444°N 1.4642861°W / 52.5157444; -1.4642861