History
Universal Football Club is a truly multicultural club based in Glasgow, founded in May 2005 by Moran Nthoiwa mainly to challenge and combat racism in football in Glasgow communities and hopefully Scotland as a whole by bringing multi-racial groups together and play the sport without having to worry about race, religion or cultural differences. The first members of Universal Football Club used to gather in Kelvingrove Park to play football on red pitches because they did not have the means to play anywhere else where they had to pay for facilities.
Most of the players were young and ambitious but unguided. One day they approached Moran and asked him if he could help them compete in one of the many five-a-side leagues based in Glasgow. He agreed, but had to make it clear he had full time work commitments and might not be able to help them all the time.
They did play a few games under Moran’s guidance until an opposition team became very aggressive and made racist comments about him. With sadness the boys abandoned the game and unanimously agreed to quit the league because they felt it wasn’t fair for their manager to be racially abused in this way.
After the game Moran promised to start a full team whose objectives would be directed towards challenging racism and within a couple of weeks Universal Football Club came into existence.
The first couple of months were a real challenge because the club had no training equipment or facilities. This did not discourage them from their objective, instead, they became even more determined to get the team running. Most players trained on the red-ash pitch in Kelvingrove Park, Moran approached another Glasgow-based team (Afroscots) to lend them strips so they could play friendlies against more established teams. Their first game was a success, UFC beat Glasgow Anderston 6-2!
Encouraged by this result and by the individual skills in the team, Moran started looking for Glasgow based leagues to join, and through a friend, he learned about the Scottish Unity League (SUL). Moran phoned the league’s chairman Paul Morrison who was very helpful and granted them entry into this league.
The team were very enthusiastic about this news. More friendly games were arranged, eight in total, and the result was an overwhelming success as this newly formed club managed to win seven and draw one - all against well established teams who were already playing in different leagues across Glasgow.
This success was beyond the team’s expectations and they started looking for donations to buy equipment and strips in preparation for the new season. The first organisation that Universal Football Club committee approached was Positive Action in Housing (PAIH) who raised the money needed to buy basic training equipment and strips. This allowed them to train hard in preparation for their first season 2005.
But there were some set backs, the team missed it’s captain (Steven Odunewu) in the first game, and - owing to their relatively late entry into the league - the opposition had much more experience and training. UFC lost their first league match (2-1). This was disappointment at first but realising they might not win every single game made them stronger.
What followed from this experience was remarkable, by the end of their first season UFC finished in third place in the SUL and competed in two tournaments. For their first tournament they made it as far as the semi-finals getting knocked out in a penalty shoot-out. This was a painful way to lose but UFC regrouped, in the second tournament - the Millennium Cup - UFC won by beating Pollokshields 3-1.
Standing:
Left to right: Brahim, Rodrigo, Diel, Duran, McGall, Daddy, Abou, Justin, Garfield, Kwaby
Sitting:
Left to right: Makaveli, Oday (captain), Shevon, William, Ibby, Raphael
In September 2006, UFC was invited to PAIH Annual Meeting in Glasgow’s City Chambers where they were presented with a small donation. Moran was asked to receive the donation on behalf the club and made a small speech about the club’s achievements. Sandra White MSP was so moved by his speech that she passed a motion in the Scottish Parliament on 8th September to congratulate the club for winning the Millennium Cup.
Honest Men Trust Cup & Day Of Action On The Cards
Sunday 22nd October saw the The Honest Men Trust show their backing for Show Racism the Red Card with a 7-a-side tournament held at Dam Park, Ayr.
The day proved to be a great success with 14 teams taking part, Ayr United Amateurs, The Honest Men Trust, KaisAyr, Ayr United Veterans, SAC Wallacetoun, SAC Dundonald, Unison (East Ayrshire), Hand of God, Universal FC, Glasgow Ansar, Ayr Dynamos, Squirrelhunters and Newcastle United.
Ayr United manager Robert Connor turned out to play for the Hand of God who pulled off the surprise of the tournament when they defeated Glasgow Ansar in the semi finals. Ansar had looked very impressive during through their qualification group and their defeat was a major surprise.
Universal FC defeated SAC Wallacetoun 3-1 in the other semi final to set up a final clash with the Hand of God. With former Scotland international Connor pulling the strings in midfield, It looked as if Hand of God were set to claim victory but that honour went to Universal with a counter attack that was clinically finished for the only goal of the game.
The tournament was played in a great spirit throughout the day and the Trust would like to thank everyone who made the event possible and are already laying the plans for a similar event next year.
The Honest Men Trust are also staging their Day of Action in support of SRTRC at Ayr United’s home league fixture this coming Saturday.
25th October 2006
This will go down as one of the days the club will never forget. After a fantastic season Universal FC goalkeeper, Ibby, had no option but to go under the knife due a niggling shoulder injury that troubled him for most of the season. The results on 29th October reflects how important he was to the team.
2006/2007 League Results
08-October 2006
Universal FC 7 – 0 Yorker
29-October 2006
Universal FC 9 – 5 Jammys
05 November 2006
Universal FC 11 – 0 Pronations
5th November 2006 : Universal goes rampant
What a different game and score line from the previous week. Why such a difference? Remember the team conceded five goals in one game the previous weekend? This time Universal FC boys were in a different mood though, they did not concede a goal and scored two goals more than in the previous game. This still does not answer the question as to what made the difference or does it?
Well there were a number of factors that lead to that massive difference. The first and most important thing was team spirit. The boys have a very strong believe in themselves and their team mates, they certainly knew that they misfired in the previous game and understood they had to regroup to come up with a better performance and an improved result. The second reason, as the number of goals reflect was the goalkeeper, the hero of the seven aside tournament in Ayr two weeks earlier returned to action this time taking gloves in the eleven aside game.
Just like in the tournament, Jaison proved to be very gifted in goal as he made fantastic saves. One other factor was new members who added quality into the team, and last but not least the new red kit. It brought positive energy into the team as the boys indicated that they did like it and asked for a pose before kick-off.
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