The club was born when one of the player's parents arranged for a group of boys to participate inaugural Five-a-Side tournament held at The marl in Grangetown, Cardiff in August 1999, which featured TV personality Maureen from BBC's Driving School. The team's progression to the semi final stage of the tournament won them many admirers, from current league coaches especially from Billy Hillman, coach of Grangetown Boys Club who convinced Team coach Caresimo to enter his side into The Cardiff & District Junior League.
Known as The Wanderers for the competition, the team consisted of six players :
James Loxton
Marc Dooley
Ryan Lewis
Daniel Valluzzi
William Laventure (captain)
Matthew Ryan
An application was submitted to the committee of the Cardiff & District League in September, 1999 and after meeting club officials two weeks later that month,the clubs application to the Association was accepted.
Due to FAW regulations and being in the Under 11's age group the club could only compete in mini football for the first season. Local businessman Mr. Shok Arora, helped get the club off the ground by agreeing to sponsor the club in its first season. The team's first kit was purchased from local firm Merlin Sportswear based in Llantrisant and consisted of blue & yellow stripes.
In the close season of 99-00, the club contemplated a merger with fellow Canton side, Cardiff Civil Service Juniors. However due to conflicting interests from both parties it was decided that the merger was not in the interest of Canton & Riverside FC and therefore the proposal to merge was shelved by the committee.
The club is still in its infancy but with the strong financial backing from its sponsors, local council support and the players enthusiasm, the club has gone from strength to strength. The club hopes to become competitive within two seasons , but the clubs' main aim is to ensure that the youngsters learn the skills of the game properly and to progress to a successful career within the sport. |
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