58-636: EFC may refer to: Football clubs [ edit ] Eastleigh F.C. , England Epping Football Club , Australia Essendon Football Club , Australia Esteghlal F.C. , Iran Étoile FC , Singapore Europa F.C. , Gibraltar Everton F.C. , England Other uses [ edit ] Eagle Fighting Championship , a MMA promotion company Economic and Financial Committee (European Union) Edmonton Flying Club , in Canada Education Facilities Clearinghouse ,
116-613: A Canadian church association Evangelical Free Church (disambiguation) Expansionary fiscal contraction Expected Family Contribution , a concept related to college student financial aid in the United States Experience Focused Counselling Extreme Fighting Championship , a South African mixed martial arts promotion Electronic Front Curtain Shutter, or EFCS Equivalent firm capacity ,
174-679: A Hampshire League team. The 1980s saw more demand being placed on facilities rather than playing ability and in an effort to raise standards and keep in line with the FA's national non-league requirements, in 1986 the top clubs broke away to form the Wessex League . Along with their Dorset and Wiltshire counterparts, the Hampshire League (which now consisted of 2 main Divisions and a separate Combination section for Reserve sides) became
232-500: A continued rivalry with A.F.C. Totton , who beat them 2–1 in the Wessex League cup final in the 2002–2003 season. As Eastleigh rose through the leagues their main rivals became Salisbury City whom they enjoyed a 4–0 victory over in the 2003–04 season. They have also had a rivalry with Havant & Waterlooville in recent years, largely sparked by the appointment of Ian Baird as Eastleigh manager in 2007. As Eastleigh joined
290-547: A cover: this was named the Silverlake Stand. In 2006, the roof was widened across the Silverlake Stand to cover the whole width of the pitch. Until 2006, the area opposite the grandstand was just hard standing backing into tall fir trees. During the summer of 2006, a metal back and roof were added, along with an electronic scoreboard on the roof of the Premier Telecom stand. In 2009, 150 seats were added to
348-531: A feeder to the Wessex in the new look pyramid system. With the power of hindsight, it would have been better to keep the old format with the Reserve teams in at their respective levels as in 1991 most would leave en-block to join the Wessex League's newly established version, but by recruiting some new member clubs, the Hampshire League was able to re-introduce Division 3 and also launch its own cup competition. By now
406-481: A new record attendance of 5,025. Ten days later Eastleigh travelled to Bolton and lost 3–2, having led 1–0 through a Joe Partington strike. As Eastleigh exited the FA Cup, league form dipped and they eventually finished seventh, missing out on a play-off place. After just four games of the 2016–17 season, with Eastleigh languishing in 16th place, Chris Todd was relieved of his duties as Eastleigh manager. Ronnie Moore
464-405: A poor start to the season and, on 18 December, Hessenthaler was appointed manager with Hill reverting to director of football. Eastleigh finished the season 14th, missing out on a top half placing for the second year in a row. The summer of 2018 brought change off the field as Chairman Stewart Donald left for League One side Sunderland . His share of Eastleigh F.C. was transferred to Mark Jewell,
522-737: A program of the United States Department of Education Electronic fee collection or electronic fare collection Electronic Frontier Canada , a Canadian civil rights organization Emergency Fleet Corporation , now the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation Encampment for Citizenship , an American youth organization European Fencing Championships European Film College , in Ebeltoft, Danmark Evangelical Fellowship of Canada ,
580-444: A spell from 1947–56 and again from 1968–71 after which there were enough teams to form a Fourth Division respectively before a decline in numbers saw the bottom tier disbanded in 1980. The league also briefly ran a North Hants Division from 1954–56 and for a spell during the mid-1970s also operated a Sunday competition. Although there was no official pyramid in these days, the league champions were eligible to apply for promotion to either
638-470: A term used in the electricity generation. Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title EFC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=EFC&oldid=1160017559 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
SECTION 10
#1732772777295696-464: A top seven finish until the 1995–96 season when a 4th-place finish was achieved, the first of six consecutive top-seven finishes. Paul Doswell joined the club in 2002 as manager and oversaw three successive promotions. In 2002–03 they won the Wessex League and were promoted to Division One East of the Southern League . After finishing fourth in their first season, the club were promoted due to
754-514: Is 5,025 for an FA Cup third round match against Bolton Wanderers on 9 January 2016. In 1976 floodlights were added to Ten Acres. In 2004, following promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division, the old wooden stand was knocked down, and a new 352-seat grandstand was built on the half-way line stretching for just under a third of the pitch. Behind the motorway end hard standing was hard pitchside standing with
812-580: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Eastleigh F.C. Eastleigh Football Club is a professional association football club based in Eastleigh , Hampshire , England. The team competes in the National League , the fifth level of the English football league system . Originally formed as Swaythling Athletic in 1946, they joined
870-624: The Conference Premier for the first time during the 2012–13 season, by making the Conference South play-offs through finishing 4th in the league. After initially losing the first leg of the semi-final against Dover Athletic at home 3–1, Eastleigh overturned this with a 2–0 away win in the second leg, so the match went to penalties, with Eastleigh losing 4–2. Eastleigh won the Conference South in 2013–14, sealing
928-467: The FA Cup 1st round proper , where they reached the second round for the first time, beating Lincoln City in the first round with a last-minute goal. Eastleigh lost 2–1 at Southport in their first ever FA Cup second-round fixture. Eastleigh spent their entire first season in the top half of the league and enjoyed an unbeaten run at home until into the new year. As home form dipped their away form soared,
986-614: The Hampshire League in 1950. In 1977, they changed their name to Swaythling before changing again in 1980 to Eastleigh. They were founder members of the Wessex League ahead of the 1986–87 season. Eastleigh remained at this level until they won the division in 2002–03. They subsequently joined the Southern League Eastern division, Isthmian League and Conference South over the following years. After two unsuccessful play-off attempts, Eastleigh were promoted to
1044-445: The Hampshire League . In keeping with their early progress, the club moved to a new ground at Ten Acres in 1957 – which remains their home to this day. In 1980 the club were renamed Eastleigh . Eastleigh were consistently one of the stronger teams in the top tier of the Hampshire League, Division One, in the early 1980s and they achieved their highest final position of 4th (three times: in 1982, 1984 and 1985.) Their first match in
1102-652: The Hampshire League 2004 (an unofficial continuation) and the Hampshire Premier Football League . The former dissolved in 2013 and was absorbed by the latter, which now operates with two divisions, with the top flight gaining place on the revised FA Pyramid system. It all goes way back to Victorian times; an era that saw football established as a popular recreational activity with a number of clubs (some of which still exist today) being formed. In these days fixture lists consisted of just cup games and friendlies, with frequent gaps in-between and it
1160-552: The Hampshire League 2004 – technically an unofficial continuation of the original competition. As expected, in 2007 the Wessex League axed its third division – but rather than join the existing set-up, those clubs then formed the Hampshire Premier League , which with slightly stricter ground requirements has obtained "Step 7" status on the modern FA pyramid system. The two competitions remained separate until 2013 when finally amalgamated, promotion/relegation between
1218-553: The 1950s whilst Ryde Sports in 1936, Waterlooville in 1968 and Alton Town in 1972 also reached the same stage. Several clubs also enjoyed fine runs in the FA Amateur Cup, most notably in 1910 when RMLI Gosport beat South Bank 2–1 in the Final and also in 1930 when the legendary Bournemouth Gasworks Athletic reached the final – only to lose 1–5 to Ilford in front of over 20,000 at West Ham United's Upton Park ground. This competition
SECTION 20
#17327727772951276-496: The 2022–23 season, Eastleigh finished in 9th place. On 2 May 2023, Stewart Donald and his company SJD Leisure Holdings Limited completed the takeover of Eastleigh F.C. Donald has a controlling stake in the club of 85% becoming chairman once again with Tom Coffey assuming Vice Chairman position. In the 2023–24 FA Cup, Eastleigh lost 3–1 to Newport County in a third round replay. Eastleigh moved to Ten Acres in 1957 from their previous ground, Walnut Avenue. The club's record attendance
1334-480: The COVID-19 pandemic. Only two Eastleigh home games were available for fans to be at the stadium. The Spitfires finished 9th after losing 2–0 to Solihull Moors on the final day, denying them of a play-off place. During the season, Eastleigh modernised their badge. On 26 January 2022, Ben Strevens left Eastleigh by mutual consent before being replaced by Lee Bradbury . Eastleigh finished the season in 19th place. In
1392-644: The Conference it lost any league games to teams within a radius of 40 miles, but regularly contested the Hampshire Derby with Aldershot Town and with Havant & Waterlooville . Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules . Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Eastleigh players who have represented their country. Among
1450-476: The FA Cup under the Eastleigh name was a 2–1 success against Southern League side Poole Town in 1981. They went on to beat Melksham Town in the next round before succumbing 2–4 to another Southern League side, Dorchester Town . In 1986 Eastleigh F.C. were accepted as one of the founding members of the Wessex League and managed an 8th-place finish in their first season in 1986–1987. Eastleigh didn't manage
1508-599: The Hampshire Football Association (founded in 1887), the fledgling competition quickly took off, remaining with just a single division until 1903 when there were sufficient numbers to expand, but with transport limited it was then split into regional sections with an end of season play off to decide the champions, before a main County Division was introduced. Despite the unwelcome interruptions of two horrendous World Wars (1914–19 and 1939–45)
1566-659: The League was being administered by a Committee of volunteers rather than the county FA and in 1997 the Combination section was re-introduced with its own cup competition. The section was expanded to two divisions in 2000. With the Wessex League looking to form a second division, the Committee were anxious to avoid a repeat of 1986, so the top-flight was renamed the Premier Division in 1999 for which only clubs with
1624-669: The Second Round, having beaten Welling in the Fourth Qualifying Round (0-0, 4-2r) and Stourbridge in the First Round (2-2, 3-0r). Eastleigh faced Crewe Alexandra in a televised game at the Silverlake, drawing 1–1 with their League Two opponents thanks to a late equaliser from Southampton loanee Marcus Barnes . The Spitfires lost the replay at Crewe 3–1. The 2020–21 season was behind closed doors due to
1682-524: The Shay having drawn 3–3 at the Silverlake. In the third round Eastleigh travelled to Brentford , followed by a record ever away following of nearly 1,500 fans. Eastleigh were 5–1 down at half-time and lost the game 5–1. Richard Hill was brought in as director of football and in April 2017 was announced as the new Eastleigh manager for the 2017–18 season with Andy Hessenthaler as his assistant. Eastleigh had
1740-503: The Silverlake Stadium and 3–0 at Blundell Park by Grimsby Town to lose 5–1 on aggregate. After a run of just one point from five games, on 23 September 2015, Richard Hill resigned as Eastleigh manager. Chris Todd was quickly appointed caretaker manager, and after three victories from four matches he was confirmed as the new manager on 15 October 2015. Eastleigh had a fine run of form under Todd and rose to third place in
1798-739: The Southern or Western League whilst at the other end the bottom two sides would have to apply for re-election. If another team from the same local association (Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Isle of Wight, North Hants or Aldershot) successfully applied for membership then they would exchange places. During its prime, the Hampshire League had the likes of Andover, Bashley, Basingstoke Town, Blackfield & Langley, Eastleigh (formerly Swaythling Athletic), Fareham Town, Fleet Town, Gosport Borough, Havant Town, Moneyfields, New Milton, Newport, Poole Town, Salisbury, AFC Totton, Winchester City and Waterlooville as long-standing members before all progressed on to
EFC - Misplaced Pages Continue
1856-416: The club had been recommended for acceptance by the current shareholders. Bridle Insurance were then the primary sponsors of Oxford United . Chief executive Stewart Donald and chief operations officer Neil Fox would both come on to the Eastleigh board as directors, with Paul Murray remaining as chairman. The takeover by Bridle Insurance was eventually confirmed when the club announced the company had acquired
1914-439: The club picking up victories at Braintree , Chester and most notably Bristol Rovers , whom they beat 2–1. Eastleigh featured again on television with a convincing 4–0 home win over Macclesfield. Eastleigh eventually secured a 4th-place finish after five consecutive wins culminating in a 2–1 win at home to Kidderminster in front of a record crowd of 4,024. The playoffs proved a bridge too far for Eastleigh, who were beaten 2–1 at
1972-400: The club's shares on 1 February 2012. On 23 March 2012, chairman Paul Murray stood down from his post. Murray had formally stood down as chairman when the club was sold to Bridle Insurance, but had remained at the club in a non-executive chairman role. Mick Geddes was later appointed as his successor. On 16 May 2012, Eastleigh won their first silverware for seven years, beating Totton 2–0 in
2030-482: The competition continued to grow and prosper once peace had been restored, adopting the simple and best known three-tier format in 1929 with straight forward promotion/relegation between the divisions. Large three-figure attendances were common place at top-flight games, even more so at the much-loved grounds of the participating Island clubs where many legendary encounters took place. An increase in numbers saw Division 3 twice split into two regional East/West sections for
2088-802: The final of the Hampshire Senior Cup . On Tuesday 11 September 2012, following three successive league defeats, the last 4–0 away to newly promoted side Billericay Town , the club announced, following a meeting between manager Ian Baird and Stewart Donald, that it had been agreed that Ian Baird would leave the club with immediate effect. Baird's replacement was announced the following day as ex- Stevenage Borough manager Richard Hill . Hill has also had spells assisting John Gregory at both Wycombe Wanderers and QPR , and Brian Little at Aston Villa . He has also been employed as assistant manager at Gillingham , Tranmere Rovers and Northampton Town . Eastleigh came close to achieving promotion to
2146-533: The final. The club also won the Russell Cotes cup, beating Gosport Borough 3–1 in the final. Eastleigh's first game in the Conference South was a 1–0 defeat to Hayes . Eastleigh finished their first season in the Conference South in a creditable eighth place. They narrowly missed out on a play-off place in the 2007–08 season coming sixth after a final day defeat at Thurrock (4–1). In 2008–09 , they finished third, but lost to Hayes & Yeading United in
2204-537: The formation of the Conference North and South taking clubs from the division above, and were transferred into the Premier Division of the Isthmian League . The club finished third in its first season in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Braintree Town 2–0 in the semi-final, they were promoted to the Conference South after a 2–1 victory over Leyton in
2262-571: The league table by Christmas. Meanwhile, the club was gaining national coverage for its FA Cup exploits. Eastleigh travelled to Crewe in the 1st round and achieved their first ever giant killing, courtesy of a 1–0 win with a Ben Strevens penalty. In the second round, Eastleigh won 2–0 at minnows Stourbridge to record their first ever appearance in the Third round. On 9 January, Eastleigh drew 1–1 with Bolton. The game took place after much speculation it would be postponed, and sold out giving Eastleigh
2320-399: The middle of the Silverlake Stand to give Eastleigh the necessary ground grading to compete in the Conference South play-offs. The ground was, again, extensively redeveloped during 2014. New pitch-side fencing was installed following damage to the previous fencing during Eastleigh's championship winning game against Basingstoke. The former East Stand at Sandy Park (home of Exeter Chiefs RFC)
2378-496: The new chairman, and 3 other directors, Kenny Amor, Tom Coffey and Joanne Sprigg. In October 2018, following 4 victories manager Andy Hessenthaler left to join Dover Athletic. Ben Strevens was appointed as the new manager. Some good form in early 2019 contributed to Eastleigh finishing the season 7th and in the play-offs. Eastleigh faced a tie at Wrexham and won 1–0 in extra time through a superb Danny Hollands strike. In
EFC - Misplaced Pages Continue
2436-415: The play-off semi-finals despite holding a 4–0 advantage at one stage during the first leg. In the 2009–10 season, Eastleigh reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time narrowly losing to Barrow (2–1). The ownership of the club changed in late 2011. On 26 November 2011, following a meeting of the board, it was announced that an offer from Bridle Insurance Limited for the majority shareholding of
2494-988: The players who have played for Eastleigh and went on to play in The Football League are: (Up to and including match vs Dagenham and Redbridge on 22 Oct 2024) (Above stats include matches in the League, Play-Offs and all rounds in the FA Cup, FA Trophy, Hampshire Senior Cup and Conference League Cup) Source: : Moved to Isthmian Premier League after Non-League System restructuring PR = Preliminary Round; Q = Qualifying Round; R = Round Proper; P = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points Competitive matches only. After 29 May 2021 match v Solihull Moors League Cup 50°57′08.26″N 1°22′18.37″W / 50.9522944°N 1.3717694°W / 50.9522944; -1.3717694 Hampshire League The Hampshire League
2552-465: The required facilities were allowed entry. Again, with the power of hindsight, it would have been best to simply allow these clubs to leave en masse and continue with a smaller two division competition. Sadly in 2004, after much debate, the inevitable happened when it was controversially agreed to amalgamate with the Wessex set-up and tragically the Hampshire League was consequently wound down and closed, despite it being made clear that clubs unable to obtain
2610-420: The required facilities within 3 years would be ejected. Many agreed that this was a disgraceful and disrespectful way to end a long-running and much-loved competition that had provided so many fine memories for generations. Vosper Thornycroft (now Sholing) were the last league champions. However, some clubs who declined to join the expanded three-tier Wessex set-up or return to local parks football promptly formed
2668-480: The semi-final, Eastleigh travelled to Salford. The game finished 1–1 after 120 minutes. Eastleigh led early in the penalty shoot out but eventually lost 4–3 after Chris Zebroski missed the decisive penalty. The 2019–20 season was shortened by 9 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Eastleigh spent most of the season in the middle of the table, eventually finishing 16th. However, in the FA Cup, Eastleigh again reached
2726-432: The semi-professional Southern League . The Reserve and ‘A’ sides of Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Reading and Aldershot also took part for many years. The league has also been well represented in both national and regional cup competitions. Several clubs enjoyed good runs in the FA Cup; in 1920 Thornycrofts Woolston (latterly Vospers) memorably held Burnley to a draw. Newport reached the 1st Round proper 5 times during
2784-577: The title in front of a crowd of over 1,500 on 18 April 2014 when they beat Basingstoke Town 2–1 and achieved promotion to the Conference Premier for the first time in the club's history for the 2014–15 season. Eastleigh's first game in the Conference Premier was a 3–0 victory at Nuneaton Town . Their second game was their first ever live televised game on BT Sport ; Eastleigh beat Aldershot Town 1–0 with an injury-time winning goal. The 2014–15 season also saw Eastleigh's second appearance in
2842-650: The top division of non-League as champions in the 2013–14 season. They play their home matches at The Silverlake Stadium. The club was formed on 22 May 1946 by Derik Brooks and a group of friends in the Fleming Arms public house in Swaythling , Southampton and originally known as Swaythling Athletic , which then changed to Swaythling . The club began playing home matches firstly on Southampton Common and then at 'Westfield' in Swaythling. In 1950 they joined
2900-413: The two divisions is dependent on ground facilities rather than playing ability. During its 108-year existence, the Hampshire League was done proud when represented by its member clubs in the national cup competitions, especially in its heyday as listed below, when clubs frequently progressed past the early qualifying rounds: FA Cup FA Trophy FA Vase FA Amateur Cup The following table shows
2958-520: Was a football league in Hampshire , England . During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides of the areas professional clubs with many famous players playing in its matches over the years, often in front of large crowds. The league ran for 108 years, from 1896 until 2004 - after which two competitions have since spawned from it;
SECTION 50
#17327727772953016-538: Was appointed and enjoyed an unbeaten run to start his time at Eastleigh. On 4 October, Eastleigh beat Maidstone 3–0 to move up to 5th in the league after offering free admission for all, which attracted a crowd of 4,114. However Eastleigh's form dipped and Ronnie Moore left the club on 30 November with personal circumstances cited. Eastleigh promptly appointed Martin Allen , who had won the league with Barnet in 2015. Unfortunately, Allen had little success with Eastleigh and
3074-603: Was built in Southampton and first flown from Eastleigh Aerodrome, now Southampton Airport . After the club gained its official nickname the club had an irregular mascot, Sammy the Spitfire, who was a dog. However, in 2015 a new mascot was selected, Brooksy the Bear, in honour of Mr Derik Brooks, who founded the club in 1946. In Eastleigh's earlier Wessex League days they had rivalries with Sholing Sports , Hamble as well as
3132-414: Was extended to bring its capacity to 900 seats. This brought the stadium's capacity to 5,500. Eastleigh's colours are blue and white. They play in predominantly blue shirts with a white trim. They have white shorts and blue socks. The club were without an official nickname until 2005 when a competition was run amongst the fans and "Spitfires" was chosen by supporter Mike Wimbridge. The Spitfire aeroplane
3190-421: Was rebuilt along the Premier Telecom side of the ground as well as behind the clubhouse goal, providing a covered terraced accommodation for 2,000 spectators. On 2 December 2014, the newly completed 2,290-seater South Stand was opened for the first time in a Conference Premier game against Dartford , with the club allowing spectators in for free to celebrate the occasion. In early 2018, the 352-seat grandstand
3248-525: Was sacked on 22 February after just two wins from fourteen games. Whilst Eastleigh struggled in the league they again enjoyed success in the FA Cup. A first round home tie with Swindon Town was selected by the BBC for live coverage, and Eastleigh drew 1–1. Eastleigh won the reply 3–1 at the County Ground . Eastleigh again required a replay to beat FC Halifax Town in the second round triumphing 2–0 at
3306-443: Was soon becoming obvious that a more organised schedule was required, so in 1896 it was decided to form the Hampshire League. The inaugural campaign saw eight teams taking part with the first ever fixture being played on Saturday 5 September 1896 between Eastleigh Athletic and Freemantle, who won a thrilling match 5-4 with a player called Inglefield scoring the first ever goal! The first-ever league champions were Cowes. Administered by
3364-566: Was superseded by the FA Trophy and Vase and in the latter Havant Town notably reached the Quarter Finals in 1986. Locally, Hampshire League clubs prospered in the county Senior Cup, two big shocks came in the late Seventies when both Pirelli General and Romsey Town surprisingly defeated Isthmian League big guns Farnborough Town to clinch the trophy. The county Intermediate, Russell Cotes and local divisional cups were also frequently won by
#294705