Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Heriot Watt University F.C.

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Nickname(s)
  
The Watt

Coach
  
Banji Koya

Ground
  
Riccarton, Edinburgh

Ground Capacity
  
1,800

Website
  
Club home page

Founded
  
1945

Heriot-Watt University F.C. httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaen880HWU

Full name
  
Heriot-Watt University Football Club

2015–16
  
East of Scotland Football League, 10th

League
  
East of Scotland Football League

Heriot-Watt University Football Club is a football club based at Riccarton Campus, on the western fringes of Edinburgh. The Club's First Team plays in the East of Scotland Football League. The Club was founded around 1945 as Heriot-Watt College F.C. After Heriot-Watt became a university and moved most of its activity to its new campus at Riccarton, (a move which was substantially complete by 1971), the Club, now named Heriot-Watt University F.C., applied to join the East of Scotland Football Association and League. It played in the League for the first time in season 1971–72 and has continued in membership since that time. Home matches are played on a high-grade 3G synthetic pitch within the John Brydson Arena on the University campus at Riccarton.

For the first three decades of its membership of the East of Scotland League, the Club struggled to make an impact, although it did reach the Final of the East of Scotland Qualifying Cup in season 1973 - 1974. The early years of the new century saw an improvement in the Club's performances and for the first time it gained promotion to the Premier Division of the League in 2005. The following season, under Head Coach Billy Henderson, the Club won its first trophy, the East of Scotland League Cup, and finished in second place in the League, two points behind winners Edinburgh City.

The Club was relegated twice during the course of the next five seasons, but on each occasion returned immediately to the Premier Division as First Division Champions. A second cup success occurred in 2009 when the Percival King Cup was won.

The East of Scotland League returned to a single-tier structure following the creation of the Lowland League and Heriot-Watt University continues as one of the eleven clubs which currently constitute the East of Scotland League.

In weekend competition, the Club also enters a team into the Lowland and East of Scotland Under-20 Development League; and another into Lothian and Edinburgh Amateur F. A . (LEAFA) competition.

A large part of the Club's purpose is to provide the opportunity for football training and playing to as great a number of students as possible, so seven men's teams and one women's team are entered into the competitions operated by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and Scottish Student Sport (SSS), with the matches being played on Wednesday afternoons.

Heriot-Watt University F.C. also participates in a Community Club in partnership with a youth football club based in its locality, Currie Star F.C.

The current Head Coach, Banji Koya, who took over at the beginning of season 2016 - 2017, is a former Heriot-Watt striker. As well as coaching the First Team squad in the East of Scotland League, he also takes charge of the Under-20 and BUCS First Team squads.

References

Heriot-Watt University F.C. Wikipedia