Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.

Cardiff Metropolitan University

Full name	Cardiff Metropolitan University Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Archers
Founded	2000 (2000) (as UWIC Inter Cardiff)
Ground	Cyncoed Campus Stadium
Capacity	1,620(280 seated)
Manager	Ryan Jenkins
League	Cymru Premier
2023–24	Cymru Premier, 6th of 12
Website	https://www.cardiffmetsu.co.uk/mens-football/
Home colours Away colours

Cardiff Metropolitan University Football Club (Template:Lang-cy), commonly known as Cardiff Met F.C., are a Welsh football club, of the Athletic Union of Cardiff Metropolitan University, based in Cyncoed, Cardiff that plays in the Cymru Premier. The club badge features the bowman with the words "I lwyddo, rhaid chwarae" which is translated as "To succeed, [one] must play".

History

The team has gone through a series of name changes, mirroring the name changes of the institution it represented. The team was originally known as Cardiff College of Education F.C.. They became South Glamorgan Institute F.C. in 1979; Cardiff Institute of Higher Education F.C. in 1990 and UWIC in 1996. In 2000, Inter Cardiff F.C. merged with Cardiff Metropolitan University (UWIC) to form UWIC Inter Cardiff F.C reverting to simply UWIC in 2009. They changed their name again in the summer of 2012 to Cardiff Metropolitan University F.C.

Cardiff College made their Welsh 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.

Between 1966 and 1967 and 1969–70 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.

Whilst the club had enjoyed Amateur Cup success and were now regulars in the Welsh Cup, it was not until the 1972–73 season that the Archers took their place in the Welsh league, finishing a creditable 7th 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 just two seasons in the Welsh League South Premier Division, the 1978–79 season saw the team record just one win and its lowest ever points tally to finish bottom of the league.

The following 7 seasons were unremarkable, as the club recorded consistent mid-table finishes until the 1986–87 season when the club once again suffered the ignominy of relegation back to the third tier of Welsh football for the first time since 1974. Once again, the club struggled and were 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 were promoted back to level 3 of the Welsh Pyramid, scoring 104 goals in just 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.

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 playing in the League of Wales for the 2000–01 season. With only 3 wins and 13 points, the club were relegated after just one season and returned to Welsh League Division 1 where they remained until the 2006–07 campaign which saw the Archers demoted to Division 2.

2009 represented a landmark moment in the history of the club with the appointment of former professional footballer and Welsh international, Christian Edwards as 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 things did not start well for the club, who dropped back into Welsh League division 3 due to a Cymru Premier restructure and the domino effect on the divisions below. Whilst the 2010–11 season ended with a disappointing 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.

The 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons saw the club collect back-to-back championships and start the 2014–15 campaign in Welsh League Division 1. Looking for an unprecedented third successive promotion and a chance to play at the top level of Welsh football, the students came agonizingly close to realizing that dream only to lose out cruelly on goal difference to Haverfordwest County, following the West Walians 5–0 defeat of Aberdare Town.

The 2015–16 season began with the Archers as favorites 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 started badly for the students, picking up just one point from their first 6 matches with a goalless draw away to Cefn Druids. Whilst many doubted whether the students could stay in the division, a run of 3 consecutive victories within a week restored confidence and 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. Sadly for Met, 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. The club will play their home matches in the competition at Cardiff International Sports Stadium.

League and cup history

Season	League Contested	Level	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	League Position	Avg. Home Attendance1	Welsh Cup	Welsh League Cup	Leading scorer1
1972–73	Welsh League South Division Two	3	36	19	7	10	85	57	+28	45	7th of 19	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1973–74	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	11	5	16	56	48	+8	27	10th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1974–75	Welsh League South Division Two	3	34	27	5	2	112	22	+90	59	2nd of 18 Promoted	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1975–76	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	25	4	5	108	22	+86	54	1st of 18 Promoted	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1976–77	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	15	9	10	54	38	+16	39	4th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1977–78	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	11	7	16	48	57	−9	29	13th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1978–79	Welsh League South Premier Division	1	34	1	7	26	25	88	−63	9	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1979–80	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	7	13	14	37	62	−25	27	15th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1980–81	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	13	13	8	42	45	−3	39	5th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1981–82	Welsh League South Division One	2	34	12	8	14	53	53	0	44	9th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1982–83	Welsh League South Division One	2	32	16	5	11	71	54	+17	33	12th of 17	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1983–84	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	36	14	8	14	75	68	+7	50	9th of 19	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1984–85	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	12	6	16	54	69	−15	42	10th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1985–86	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	9	9	16	46	80	−34	36	15th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1986–87	Welsh League South Premier Division	2	34	4	5	25	26	98	−72	17	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1987–88	Welsh League South Division One	3	34	2	11	21	24	77	−53	17	18th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1988–89	Welsh League South Division One	3	34	9	6	19	40	74	−34	33	15th of 18	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1989–90	Welsh League South Division One	3	32	9	6	17	40	63	−23	33	14th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1990–91	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	11	3	18	40	70	−30	36	12th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1991–92	Welsh League South Division Two	3	32	7	7	18	41	67	−26	28	14th of 17	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1992–93	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	26	11	6	9	63	49	+14	39	5th of 14	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1993–94	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	26	4	6	16	28	72	−44	18	12th of 14	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
1994–95	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	30	17	8	5	82	35	+47	55	4th of 16	??	QR	n/a	unknown ??
1995–96	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	28	26	2	0	104	16	+88	80	1st of 15 Promoted	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
1996–97	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	30	20	5	5	80	25	+55	65	2nd of 16 Promoted	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
1997–98	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	18	7	11	59	35	+24	61	7th of 19	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
1998–99	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	15	8	11	49	44	+5	53	5th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
1999-00	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	10	8	16	50	82	−32	38	15th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2000–01	League of Wales	1	34	3	4	27	26	104	−78	13	18th of 18 Relegated	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2001–02	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	23	7	6	81	45	+36	76	3rd of 19	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2002–03	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	23	7	4	67	33	+34	76	3rd of 18	??	R4	n/a	unknown ??
2003–04	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	21	6	7	72	33	+39	69	4th of 18	??	QF	n/a	unknown ??
2004–05	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	15	6	13	65	49	+16	51	9th of 18	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2005–06	Welsh Football League Division One	2	34	16	6	12	61	52	+9	54	5th of 18	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2006–07	Welsh Football League Division One	2	36	9	6	21	46	74	−28	33	16th of 19	??	R2	n/a	unknown ??
2007–08	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	15	11	8	59	42	+17	56	5th of 18	??	n/a	n/a	unknown ??
2008–09	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	14	4	16	76	67	+9	46	10th of 182	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
2009–10	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	34	11	11	12	57	59	−2	44	12th of 18 Relegated3	??	PR	n/a	unknown ??
2010–11	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	34	14	7	13	59	47	+12	49	9th of 18	??	QF	n/a	unknown ??
2011–12	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	28	13	5	10	49	51	−2	44	6th of 154	??	R1	n/a	unknown ??
2012–13	Welsh Football League Division Three	4	30	23	3	4	98	41	+57	72	1st of 16 Promoted	??	1Q	n/a	unknown ??
2013–14	Welsh Football League Division Two	3	30	20	6	4	86	24	+62	66	1st of 16 Promoted	??	R3	n/a	unknown ??
2014–15	Welsh Football League Division One	2	30	19	6	5	69	32	+37	63	3rd of 16	??	R4	n/a	unknown ??
2015–16	Welsh Football League Division One	2	30	19	5	6	63	26	+37	62	1st of 16 Promoted	??	QF	R1	unknown ??
2016-17	Welsh Premier League	1	32	10	6	16	41	41	0	36	6th of 12	264	R4	R2	Adam Roscrow (6)
2017-18	Welsh Premier League	1	32	12	7	13	46	41	+5	43	6th of 12	283	R4	F	Eliot Evans (12)
2018-19	Welsh Premier League	1	32	16	3	13	53	40	+13	51	7th of 12	259	SF	W	Eliot Evans (8)
2018-19	Cymru Premier	1	25	9	8	8	30	29	+1	35	7th of 12	241	SF	R3	Eliot Evans (7)

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.

As of 4 July 2019

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Agg.
Inter Cardiff
1994–95	UEFA Cup	PR	GKS Katowice	0–2	0–6	0–8
1997–98	UEFA Cup	1QR	Celtic	0–3	0–5	0–8
1999–2000	UEFA Cup	QR	Gorica	1–0	0–2	1–2
Cardiff Metropolitan University
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	PR	Progrès Niederkorn	2–1	0–1	2–2 (a)

Notes

• PR: Preliminary round
• 1QR: First qualifying round
• QR: Qualifying round

Current squad

As of 5 August 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	WAL	Alex Lang
2	DF	ENG	Matt Chubb
3	DF	WAL	Kyle McCarthy
4	DF	WAL	Alaric Jones
5	DF	WAL	Emlyn Lewis
6	DF	WAL	Tom Price
7	FW	WAL	Eliot Evans
8	MF	WAL	Dixon Kabongo
9	FW	WAL	Lewis Rees
10	MF	ENG	Charlie Corsby
11	FW	ENG	Harry Owen
12	GK	ENG	Ben Haines
15	DF	WAL	Joe Evans (on loan from Pontypridd United)
16	DF	WAL	CJ Craven

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	MF	WAL	Evan Cadwallader
20	DF	WAL	Cian Williams
21	DF	WAL	Barney Soady
22	MF	ENG	Harris Feltham
23	MF	WAL	Brandon Roberts
24	MF	ENG	Charlie Bullock
25	FW	ERI	Haben Samson
26	FW	WAL	Sam Jones
27	FW	ENG	Elliot Humphries
28	DF	WAL	Alfie Jones
29	FW	ENG	Tom Vincent
30	GK	ENG	Dragos Ojog
32	FW	WAL	Callum Jenkins

External links

• Official website