View source for Ards F.C.

{{Short description|Association football club in Northern Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = Ards
| image = Ards.png
| fullname = Ards Football Club
| nickname = Red & Blue Army
| founded = {{Start date and age|df=y|1900}}
| ground = [[Clandeboye Park]], [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]]<br /> [[County Down]]
| capacity = 2,000 (500 seated)
| chairman = Warren Patton
| manager = John Bailie 
| league = [[NIFL Championship]]
| season = [[2024–25 NIFL Championship|2024–25]]
| position = [[NIFL Championship]], 5th of 12
| current = 2023–24 NIFL Championship
| pattern_la1 = 
| pattern_b1 = _redstripes2
| pattern_ra1 = 
| pattern_sh1 = 
| pattern_so1 = _whitestripe
| leftarm1 = 0029FF
| body1 = 0029FF
| rightarm1 = 0029FF
| shorts1 = 0029FF
| socks1 = FF0000
| pattern_la2 = _greyborder
| pattern_b2 = _thingreysides
| pattern_ra2 = _greyborder
| pattern_sh2 = _silverbottom
| pattern_so2 = 
| leftarm2 = FFFFFF
| body2 = FFFFFF
| rightarm2 = FFFFFF
| shorts2 = FFFFFF
| socks2 = FFFFFF|
}}

'''Ards Football Club''' is a semi-professional, Northern Irish [[Association football|football]] club playing in [[NIFL Championship]]. The club is based in [[Newtownards]], but plays its home matches at [[Clandeboye Park]] in [[Bangor, County Down|Bangor]], which it rents from rivals [[Bangor F.C.|Bangor]] to play home games.  The club colours are red and blue.

==History==
===Castlereagh Park===
Ards were forced to sell their Castlereagh Park home in 1998 to try to reduce their crippling debts. The stadium remained well tended for another three years while ambitious plans for a new ground further down the road were developed. In 2002 Castlereagh Park was demolished, as planned. Ards hoped to play at a new community-owned site, a stone's throw from Castlereagh Park that was due to be developed in 2010 by the local council. This plan has since been shelved, and they are still the nomads of Northern Irish football. During the time since Ards left Castlereagh Park, they have shared football grounds at Cliftonville's Solitude and Carrick Rangers' [[Taylors Avenue]], their rivals Bangor's ground, [[Clandeboye Park]] and Ballyclare Comrades' ground, [[Dixon Park]].

===First top-flight return: 2013–14===
For the 2012–13 season they played their home games at Clandeboye Park and were promoted to the [[NIFL Premiership]] for the 2013–14 season and went straight back down that season. Ards 2014–15 season was a season of change, with many players coming and going from the club and the season ultimately ended in disappointment with them finishing 3rd.
The 2015–16 was a better one with Ards reaching the league cup final by knocking out premiership sides [[Ballinamallard United F.C.|Ballinamallard United]] and [[Coleraine F.C.|Coleraine]] before losing 3–0 in the final to [[Cliftonville F.C.|Cliftonville]] at Solitude. Ards kept a comfortable hold at the top of the table before becoming league champions on the last day of the season beating [[Loughgall F.C.|Loughgall]] to secure their promotion back to the Premiership after a two-year absence.

===Second top-flight return: 2016–17===
Amidst proposed new plans for a stadium to be built on the grounds of [[Movilla High School]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/irish-league/ards/ards-propose-school-ground-scheme-with-movilla-high-34530258.html|title=Ards propose school ground scheme with Movilla High|access-date=11 April 2018|work=The Belfast Telegraph}}</ref> Ards returned to the top-flight once more under the stewardship of Niall Currie, who sought to bolster his squad with no less than 15 new signings. These included experienced Premiership players such as [[Ballymena United F.C.|Ballymena United]] centre-back Johnny Taylor, and former [[Glenavon F.C.|Glenavon]] striker Gary Liggett. Other recruitments included defender Stuart McMullan and French striker [[Guillaume Keke]], both signed from [[Larne F.C.|Larne]]. Ards started the season with a credible 2–2 draw with [[Cliftonville F.C.|Cliftonville]] and went on to win their next three games in a row to become early leaders at the top of the league table. Following Niall Currie's move to manage hometown club [[Portadown F.C.|Portadown]] the club appointed [[Glentoran F.C.|Glentoran]] legend [[Colin Nixon]] as his replacement.

===Londonderry Park===
Plans were under-way to develop Londonderry Park as the new grounds for the team. Planning officials gave [[Ards (borough)|Ards Borough Council]] the go-ahead on the £3.8&nbsp;million plan in October 2010.<ref>Ards FC website [http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/stadium141010p.htm New stadium gets go ahead] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020191307/http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/stadium141010p.htm |date=20 October 2010 }}</ref>

In 2009, supporters launched a campaign, 'Bring Ards FC Home', in which they publicised the need in the media and had discussions with politicians. Back as far as November 2008, the Council had discussed the need for a new Ards stadium. It was decided in April 2009 that Londonderry Park, on the Portaferry Road in [[Newtownards]], was the best option and the Ards Council accepted the [[Procurement|tender]] for redevelopment of the site in September 2010.<ref>Ards FC website [http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/bringardshome/council.htm Bring Ards FC Home Campaign] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728063154/http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/bringardshome/council.htm |date=28 July 2011 }}</ref> Plans included upgrades to the existing grass surfaces and the addition of new synthetic surfaces, and to allow for the possibility of future upgrading to meet regulations should the need arise. The ground would have also continued to provide facilities for hockey and cricket.

However, in August 2012 it was announced that Ards Borough Council would not be proceeding with the new stadium, and the plans were shelved.<ref>Ards FC Website [http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/meeting090812.htm Stadium meeting next week] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304024645/http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/meeting090812.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref><ref>Ards FC Website [http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/statement030812.htm Statement from the Chairman] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501224307/http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/statement030812.htm |date=1 May 2015 }}</ref>

==European record==
{{main|Northern Irish football clubs in European competitions}}

===Overview===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Competition
! Matches
! W
! D
! L
! GF
! GA
|-
| [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]
| {{center|2}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|2}}
| {{center|3}}
| {{center|10}}
|-
| [[UEFA Europa League|UEFA Cup]]
| {{center|2}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|4}}
| {{center|8}}
|-
| ''[[European Cup Winners' Cup]]''
| {{center|4}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|3}}
| {{center|2}}
| {{center|17}}
|-
| ''[[UEFA Intertoto Cup]]''
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|0}}
| {{center|4}}
| {{center|1}}
| {{center|14}}
|-
| '''TOTAL'''
| {{center|'''12'''}}
| {{center|'''1'''}}
| {{center|'''1'''}}
| {{center|'''10'''}}
| {{center|'''10'''}}
| {{center|'''49'''}}
|}

===Matches===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:100%; text-align: center;"
! Season
! Competition
! Round
! Opponent
! Home
! Away
! [[Aggregate score|Aggregate]]
|-
| [[1958–59 European Cup|1958–59]]
| [[UEFA Champions League|European Cup]]
| [[1958–59 European Cup#Preliminary round|PR]]
| align="left" |{{flagicon|France}} [[Stade Reims]]
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|1–4
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|2–6
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|'''3–10'''
|-
| [[1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup|1969–70]]
| [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]]
| [[1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup#First round|1R]]
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Italy}} [[A.S. Roma|Roma]]
| bgcolor="#ffffdd" style="text-align:center;"|0–0
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|1–3
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|'''1–3'''
|-
| [[1973–74 UEFA Cup|1973–74]]
| [[UEFA Cup]]
| [[1973–74 UEFA Cup#First round|1R]]
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Standard Liège]]
| bgcolor="#ddffdd" style="text-align:center;"|3–2
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|1–6
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|'''4–8'''
|-
| [[1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup|1974–75]]
| [[UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|European Cup Winners' Cup]]
| [[1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup#First round|1R]]
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[PSV Eindhoven]]
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|1–4
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|0–10
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|'''1–14'''
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup|1997]]
| rowspan="4"| [[UEFA Intertoto Cup]]
| rowspan="4"| [[1997 UEFA Intertoto Cup#Group 3|Group 3]]
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Royal Antwerp FC|Royal Antwerp]]
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|0–1
| style="text-align:center;" {{n/a}}
| bgcolor=#ffdddd rowspan=4 style="text-align:center;"| '''5th'''
|-
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Cyprus}} [[Nea Salamis FC|Nea Salamis]]
| style="text-align:center;" {{n/a}}
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|1–4
|-
| align="left" |{{flagicon|France}} [[AJ Auxerre|Auxerre]]
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|0–3
| style="text-align:center;" {{n/a}}
|-
| align="left" |{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[FC Lausanne-Sport|Lausanne Sports]]
| style="text-align:center;" {{n/a}}
| bgcolor="#ffdddd" style="text-align:center;"|0–6
|}

==Current squad==
{{updated|24th August 2025}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=1st XI Player Profiles|website=Ards FC website|url=https://www.ardsfc.co.uk/teams/1st-xi/Players|access-date=26 March 2025|archive-date=9 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709220445/https://www.ardsfc.co.uk/teams/1st-xi/Players|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Number
!Name
!Nationality
|-
|1
|Marc Matthews (GK)
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|2
|Max Greer
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|3
|Connor Maxwell
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|4
|Caolan Loughran (On loan from [[Ballymena United F.C.|Ballymena United]])
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|5
|Ryan Arthur
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|6
|Michael Ruddy
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|7
|Eamon Scannell
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|8
|Patrick Cafolla (Captain)
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|9
|Zach Barr
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
| 10
|Ciaran Dobbin
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
| 11
|Gary Donnelly
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
| 12
|Kielan Reid
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|14
|Ethan Simpson (On loan from [[Larne F.C.|Larne]])
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|15
|Jamie Browne
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|16
|Caolan Donnelly
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|17
|Connor Scannell
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|18
|Paul Donnelly
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|19
|Darius Roohi
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|20
|Steven Gordon 
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|21
|Mark Carson
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|22
|George Tipton
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|23
|Jack Reilly
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|26
| William Francey
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
| 30
|Adam Ritchie (GK)
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
| 32
|James Taylor (GK)
| {{flag|NIR|name=Northern Irish}}
|-
|}

==Managerial history==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
!Tenure
!Manager
|-
|1935
|[[Tom Adamson]]
|-
|1937–39
|Sam Patton
|-
|1947–48
|Ronnie Dellow
|-
|1949–50
|Harry Walker
|-
|1950–51
|John Reid
|-
|1951–53
|Isaac McDowell
|-
|1953–59
|[[George Eastham Sr.]]
|-
|1959
|Jimmy Tucker
|-
|1959–60
|[[Len Graham (footballer)|Len Graham]]
|-
|1960–63
|Tommy Ewing <ref>{{NeilBrownPlayers|player4/tommyewing|Tommy Ewing}}</ref>
|-
|1963–64
|Johnny Neilson
|-
|1964–70
|[[George Eastham Sr.]]
|-
|1970–78
|[[Billy Humphries]]
|-
|1978–79
|Joe Kincaid
|-
|1979–80
|Billy Nixon
|-
|1980–82
|[[Billy Humphries]]
|-
|1983–85
|Lawrence Walker
|-
|1985–87
|Jimmy Todd
|-
|1987
|John Reaney
|-
|1988–89
|Jimmy Todd
|-
|1989–90
|Peter Dornan
|-
|1990–91
|Bertie Mcminn
|-
|1991–92
|[[Roy Coyle]]
|-
|1992–93
|Paul Malone
|-
|1993–97
|[[Roy Coyle]]
|-
|1997
|George Bowden (Temporary)
|-
|1997–99
|[[Tommy Cassidy]]
|-
|1999–01
|[[Trevor Anderson]]
|-
|2001–03
|Frankie Parks
|-
|2003–05
|Shane Reddish
|-
|2005–06
|George Neill
|-
|2006
|Gary Hillis & Raymond Morrison
|-
|2006–10
|Tommy Kincaid
|-
|2010–11
|Justin McBride
|-
|2011–16
|Niall Currie
|-
|2017–2019
|[[Colin Nixon]]
|-
|2019
|[[Warren Feeney]]
|-
|2019–2022
|John Bailie
|-
|2022–2023
|[[Matthew Tipton]]
|-
|2024-Present
|John Bailie
|}

==Honours==
===Senior honours===
*'''[[IFA Premiership|Irish League]] (tier 1): 1'''
**[[1957–58 Irish League|1957–58]]
*'''[Irish League First Division/Championship] (tier 2): 3'''
**2000–01, 2012–13, 2015–16
*'''[[Irish Cup]]: 4'''
**[[1926–27 Irish Cup|1926–27]], [[1951–52 Irish Cup|1951–52]], [[1968–69 Irish Cup|1968–69]], [[1973–74 Irish Cup|1973–74]]
*'''[[Irish League Cup]]: 1'''
**[[1994–95 Irish League Cup|1994–95]]
*'''[[County Antrim Shield]]: 3'''
**[[1955–56 County Antrim Shield|1955–56]], [[1971–72 County Antrim Shield|1971–72]], [[1993–94 County Antrim Shield|1993–94]]
*'''[[Gold Cup (Northern Ireland)|Gold Cup]]: 2'''
**[[1953–54 Gold Cup|1953–54]], [[1973–74 Gold Cup|1973–74]]
*'''[[Ulster Cup]]: 1'''
**[[1973–74 Ulster Cup|1973–74]]
*'''[[Blaxnit Cup]]: 1'''
**[[1973–74 Blaxnit Cup|1973–74]]

===Intermediate honours===
*'''[Irish League B Division]'''
**1957–58†
*'''[[Irish Intermediate Cup]]: 1'''
**1970–71†
*'''[[Steel & Sons Cup]]: 1'''
**2008–09
*'''[[George Wilson Cup]]: 2'''
**1957–58†, 1982–83†
* '''[[Irish Intermediate League#List of McElroy Cup winners|McElroy Cup]]: 1'''
**1940–41††
'''Clements Lyttle Cup'''
**1941-42, 1942-43††

<small>† Won by Ards II </small>
<small>†† Won by Ards playing as Ards II during war years</small>

==International players==
Number of [[Cap (sport)|caps]] listed are those gained whilst contracted to Ards FC.
*[[Andy Bothwell]], 5 caps ([[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]), 1925–27
*[[Tommy Forde]], 4 caps ([[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]), 1958–60
*[[Billy Humphries]], 1 cap ([[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]), 1962
*[[Paul Kee]], 2 caps ([[Northern Ireland national football team|Northern Ireland]]), 1994

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ardsfc.co.uk/ Ards FC Website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121018082454/http://home.online.no/~smogols/ifcp/clubs/ards/clubards.htm Ards Statistics and Results at the Irish Football Club Project]

{{Football in Northern Ireland}}
{{NIFL league}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ards F.C.| ]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1900]]
[[Category:Association football clubs in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Sport in Newtownards]]
[[Category:Association football clubs in County Down]]
[[Category:1900 establishments in Ireland]]