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| Full name | Annan Athletic Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Black and Golds[1] Galabankies[2] | ||
| Founded | 1942; 83 years ago (1942) | ||
| Ground | Galabank,Annan | ||
| Capacity | 2,504 (500 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Russell Brown | ||
| Manager | Willie Gibson | ||
| League | Scottish League Two | ||
| 2024–25 | Scottish League One, 9th of 10 (relegated via play-offs) | ||
| Website | http://www.annanathleticfc.com/ | ||
Annan Athletic Football Club is aScottishassociation football club based in the town ofAnnan, Dumfries and Galloway. The club was founded in 1942 and competes inScottish League Two as a member of theScottish Professional Football League.
The club competed inScottish junior football andEnglish regional leagues before becoming a member of theScottish Football Association in 1978 which made the club eligible to compete in theScottish Cup for the first time. Annan Athletic won theSouth of Scotland League twice and theEast of Scotland League four times before successfully applying to join theScottish Football League (SFL) in 2008.[3]
Annan Athletic's best finish in the SPFL is ninth in League One in2024–25 whilst its best result in theScottish Cup is reaching the fifth round in2021–22. The club plays its home games atGalabank in the north of Annan.[2]
Founded in December 1942 as AnnanAir Training Corps, the club changed their name to Annan Athletic the following April. They entered the Dumfries and District Youth League, but this competition lasted only throughout thewar years, and in 1945 they joined the Dumfries and District Junior League instead. They had a fairly successful time as ajunior club, reaching the fifth round of theScottish Junior Cup on one occasion (losing 2–1 toPerth sideJeanfield Swifts).
In 1950–51 the Dumfries and District Junior League had to be wound up due to lack of officials, and the following season (1951–52) the club had to go into abeyance as the Junior Association would not release them from their membership. For the following season (1952–1953) Annan Athletic joined the Carlisle and District League and the Cumberland Football Association. This proved an astute move when Annan Athletic won every competition they entered bar one in their first season in membership.
Annan remained members of the Carlisle and District League until they moved back to Scottish football in the 1977–78 season when they joined theSouth of Scotland Football League. This switch, along with some upgrade work to theirGalabank ground also allowed the club to compete in the qualifying stages of theScottish Cup as well.
The club proved very successful in the South League, winning every competition that was available to them. In an attempt to get more competitive football, they joined theEast of Scotland Football League in season 1987–88, although they maintained their commitment to the South League by running a reserve side. They won promotion in their first season in the East League, and two years later won the Premier Division. They became one of the league's top sides and qualified for the Scottish Cup's early rounds on various occasions.
Annan applied to join theScottish Football League in 2000, when two new clubs were admitted, but lost out toPeterhead andElgin City. Following the demise of local rivalsGretna in 2008, Annan applied along with four other clubs to replace them in theThird Division. They were the successful candidate, being chosen due to the standard of their facilities, ahead ofCove Rangers,Spartans,Preston Athletic andEdinburgh City.[4]
Their first league match as a professional team ended in a 4–1 win overCowdenbeath in the 2008–09 season. They finished 7th that season and 8th in the next season (however, they reached the semi-finals of theScottish Challenge Cup).They were challenging for promotion to theSecond Division in the 2010–11 season, their 3rd season in Scottish senior football. They finished 4th and qualified for the play-off final after a win overAlloa Athletic in play-off semi-finals (2–1, 0–0). They playedAlbion Rovers in the two-legged final, however, they lost the tie 4–3 on aggregate (1–3, 2–1), meaning that they missed out on promotion to theSecond Division.
After the first quarter of the2011–12 season, Annan sat top of the league, three points clear. Also, for the second time since becomingSFL members in 2008, they reached the semi-finals of the2011–12 Scottish Challenge Cup. Later as the season progressed Annan dropped points and fell into mid table; they would then finish the season in 6th place, 8 points off the play-off places and 28 points off first position. A 3–0 defeat to First Division Falkirk ended their hopes of a first Challenge Cup Final.
During the2012–13 season, Annan secured a 0–0 draw at home toRangers on 15 September 2012, in what was the first-ever league meeting between the two sides.[5] In the same season, on 9 March, Annan beat Rangers 2–1 atIbrox, the first win for the club after the appointment of Jim Chapman as manager in January.
A second-place finish in the newly named SPFL League Two the following season included the clubs record points tally and saw them face Stirling Albion in the play-offs. After losing the first leg 3–1 the return leg at Galabank was an 8-goal thriller, Annan eventually losing 8–4 on aggregate.
In 2014–15 Annan produced an upset with a 3–2 win over Championship side Livingston in the Scottish Cup.
2015–2016 saw Annan miss out on the play-offs on goal difference as a final day 1–0 win over Queens Park proved not enough, the visitors pipping them to the spot by one goal. The season highlight once again came in the Scottish Cup after the first in what was to become a series of cup wins over Premiership sideHamilton Accies.
Forfar Athletic defeated Annan 6–4 on aggregate the following season in the play-offs, which signalled the end of Jim Chapmans reign.
Irishman Peter Murphy became only the third manager of Annan Athletic whilst an SPFL club, his first managerial role.
On 19 May 2023, they defeatedClyde 2–1 to earn a 5–2 aggregate play-off victory and seal promotion toScottish League One, the club's first promotion to the third tier.[6]
Annan Athletic's local derby rivals areQueen of the South. It is often a familiar battle as many players played for both clubs; there are a lot of connections between the clubs and even people who support both teams. Two teams, Annan F.C. and Queen of the South Wanderers, played each other in theScottish Cup in 1878 and 1879, although neither are connected to the current clubs.[7]
The rivalry withStranraer is less local but has become an increasingly more competitive derby with many red cards seen in recent matches as the sides frequently meet in Scotland's fourth tier. Despite both clubs being in the same county, the distance between the grounds is 88 miles.Due to both being in the same division for many seasons, games againstClyde have become a day to look forward to for Annan fans as the clubs built up a rivalry which was only intensified when Annan manager Jim Chapman left to take charge of the Bully Wee and a large portion of players followed him.Berwick Rangers are a cross-border rival of Annan.
Gretna F.C. 2008 are more of a friendly opponent of the Galabankies with the Black and Whites frequently inviting the Black and Golds to their annualRaydale Park Cup competition. Annan have also shown kindness by welcoming the phoenix club to Galabank when their pitch was getting resurfaced. Annan took theScottish Football League place of the now defunctGretna in 2008.
Annan played atMafeking Park from 1946 to 1953, when they moved to their present ground atGalabank. The ground has a capacity of 2,504, including 500 seats.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Source:[9]
Annan Athletic appointed their first manager in 1975; previously, the team was selected by the club's management committee.[10]
Sam Wallace (1975–1993) Stuart Rome (1993–1994)Derek Frye (1994–1997)Kevin Hetherington (1997–1998)
Tony Chilton (1998)Davie Irons (1998–2002) Billy Sim (2002–2003)Harry Cairney (2003–2004) Sandy Ross (2004–2005) Kenny Brown (2005–2006)Harry Cairney (2006–2012)Jim Chapman (2013–2017)
Peter Murphy (2017–2024)Willie Gibson (2024–present)
