Cardiff Met F.C.

Cardiff Met Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Met Caerdydd), commonly known as Cardiff Met F.C., are a Welsh football club, based in Cyncoed, Cardiff that plays in the . The club badge features the bowman with the words "I lwyddo, rhaid chwarae" which is translated as "To succeed, [one] must play".

History

Origins: 1964-2000

Cardiff Met F.C. was originally founded sometime before 1964 as the Cardiff College of Education F.C. They made their Welsh Amateur Cup debut in 1964, defeating Pembroke Borough 3–2 in their inaugural game and Dunlop Semtex 3–0 in the third round before suffering elimination in round 4 at the hands of Merthyr Tydfil.

During the 1966–67 and 1969–70 seasons, Cardiff College of Education reached the final of the Welsh Amateur Cup every year, winning the cup on 2 occasions in 1968 and 1969 beating Welshpool and Tonyrefail Welfare respectively.

During the 1972–73 season, Cardiff College joined the second division of the Welsh Football League, finishing a creditable 7th (amongst 19 teams) in their first season. The following season the club ended the campaign in 10th place and again reached the final of the Welsh Amateur Cup, losing 2–1 to Whitchurch Alport. The 1974–75 season saw the club promoted to the second tier of Welsh football for the first time following a second-place finish behind eventual champions Blaenavon Blues, despite ending the season level on points.

The 1975–76 season saw the club complete a league and FAW Intermediate Cup double, scoring over 100 goals in the process. The promotion meant the club would be playing at the top level of Welsh Football for the first time in its history. However, after two seasons in the Welsh League South Premier Division, the 1978–79 season saw the team record only one win and its lowest ever points tally to finish bottom of the league. During this season, they renamed themselves to South Glamorgan Institute F.C. in 1979 when their host college (Cardiff) merged with neighbouring colleges.

In the following 7 seasons, the club recorded consistent mid-table finishes until the 1986–87 season when the club was once again relegated back to the third tier of Welsh football for the first time since 1974. Before the 1990 season, the college renamed itself to Cardiff Institute of Higher Education, so the club once again rebranded to Cardiff Institute of Higher Education F.C. for the 1990–1991 season.

Once again, the club was demoted to the Welsh League Division 3 following the inception of the League of Wales in 1992. It was not until the 1995–96 season that the club was promoted back to level 3 of the Welsh Pyramid, scoring 104 goals in 28 league games and without losing a game all season. Back-to-back promotions were confirmed the following season as the Archers secured a second-place finish, six points behind champions Bridgend Town.

Merge with Inter Cardiff: 2000-2012

After 3 seasons in Welsh League Division 1, it was announced that the club would be merging with Inter Cardiff to form a new club, UWIC Inter Cardiff, for the 2000–01 season of the League of Wales. With only 3 wins and 13 points, the club was relegated after one season. They returned to the Welsh League Division 1 where they remained until the 2006–07 campaign which saw the Archers demoted to Division 2.

In 2009, the club again rebranded to UWIC and appointed former professional footballer and Welsh international Christian Edwards as their Director of Football. Edwards was ably assisted by Professor Robyn Jones, who was part of the Sutton United team that dumped Coventry City out of the FA Cup in 1989. Initially, the club dropped back into Welsh League Division 3 due to a Cymru Premier restructure. Whilst the 2010–11 season ended with a mid table finish, the club equaled their best Welsh Cup showing by reaching the quarterfinals, only to lose 4–0 at the hands of GAP Connah's Quay.

Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C: 2012–present

Preceding the 2012 season, the club rebranded to Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C., and immediately showed success by getting back to back champions in the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons.

Despite the club starting a 2014–15 campaign in Welsh League Division 1, they were unable to gain a third successive promotion and a chance to play at the top level of Welsh football following a loss of 5–0 to Aberdare Town.

The 2015–16 season began with the Archers as favourites to get promoted and despite being pushed all the way by both Barry and Goytre, promotion was sealed in late April with a 3–0 victory at Taff's Well to ensure Capital City representation in the Cymru Premier for the first time since the 2005–06 season.

The 2016–17 campaign picked up just one point from their first 6 matches with a goalless draw away to Cefn Druids. A run of 3 consecutive victories within a week proved the catalyst to not only ensuring survival but qualifying for the end of season Europa League Play-offs with a 6th-place finish. Met faced Carmarthen Town and despite going a goal down early in the second half, a sumptuous lob from Adam Roscrow and an injury time diving header from Charlie Corsby was enough to see the club through to face Bangor City in the final. The dream was shattered when Dean Rittenburg drilled home from 12 yards for the Citizens to give Bangor a 1 – 0 victory and a passport into the Europa League Qualifying round.

On 19 May 2019, Cardiff Met defeated Bala Town F.C. in a penalty shoot-out to qualify for the preliminary round of the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League,^[2] but lost to Progrés Niederkorn in the preliminary round due to the away goals rule. The club played their only home match in Europe to date at Cardiff International Sports Stadium.^[3]

League and cup history

¹: League games only
²: Name reverted to UWIC at end of season.
³: Relegated as part of League reorganization
⁴: Name changed to Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C. at end of season.
Last Updated: 30 August 2020

QR = 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

Honours

League

• Welsh Football League Division One
  • Champions: 1975–76, 2015–16
• Welsh Football League Division Two
  • Champions: 2013–14
  • Runner-up: 1974–75, 1996–97
• Welsh Football League Division Three
  • Champions: 1995–96, 2012–13

Cups

• Welsh Amateur Cup
  • Champions: 1968, 1969, 1976
  • Runner-up: 1967, 1970, 1974
• Welsh League Cup
  • Champions: 2019
  • Runners-up: 2018, 2022

European record

All results (home and away) list Cardiff's goal tally first.

Updated 4 July 2019

Notes

• PR: Preliminary round

References

1. ^ "It is with great pleasure we announce that our new first team manager is Ryan Jenkins. Eliot Evans becomes player-coach as we look forward to the 2022/23 campaign.". Cardiff Metropolitan University FC. Retrieved 29 June 2022. – via Twitter.
2. ^ "Welsh Premier Europa League play-off final: Met beat Bala in shoot-out". BBC Sport. 19 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
3. ^ Jones, Jordan (2019-06-10). "Cardiff Metropolitan to play Europa League qualifier at Leckwith Stadium". Y Clwb Pêl-droed – Your home for Welsh football. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
4. ^ Cardiff Metropolitan University were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player against Bala Town on 3 February 2024.

External links

• Official website