Stockingford
AA FC were formed in 1948.
The AA stands for
Allotment Association and visitors to the Pavilion will see
the reason why the team are well known as `The
Cabbage'.
After the war
allotments in the Nuneaton were well used, growing produce to
compensate for rationing.
The gardeners
clubbed together, formed an Institution committee and bought
the land which they were growing vegetables
on.
A club called the
Institute was built in Church Road, Nuneaton, later a small
pavilion was erected and a football and cricket pitch
constructed in view of the club house, with bowling greens to
the side, the rest as they say is
history.
A team was formed
to play in the now elapsed Nuneaton and District Amateur
League, the Cabbage were always knocking on the door of
success and regularly won cups in local
competitions.
Familiarity breeds
contempt and new targets were needed to motivate the
club.
With the
development of the nearby Coventry Works league it attracted a
number of major teams in Nuneaton who felt their teams would
flourish with a bigger area of challenge.
In 1989 SAA took
out intermediate status, the result being that they were able
to enter the prestigious BCFA Vase
competition.
This was won at
the first attempt with the Cabbage side of that time under the management
of John Douglas, scooping all cup finals entered and being
unfortunate in only losing one match that season. In recent
years the Cabbage have been Premier Division champions in the
Coventry Alliance, (formerly the Coventry Works League, in
1995/6 and 1998/9, runners-up in 1996/97 and
2000/1.
The club has a
great affinity with the Coventry Charity Cup, a major
competition in the area with the final being played at Highfield Road,
winning 1996/7 and 1998/9, also runners up
twice.
Jimmy Ginnelly,
SAA manager for ten years pushed for better weekly football to
keep his quality players, so a decision was made to move into
the Midland Combination League.
In April 2001 the
major decision was made, and with help from the main club and
a Football Association grant new changing rooms were
built.
Manager Paul
Wilson has steadily
been building up his own squad, and has been particularly
pleased with the
attendance of players to the quality training he and
assistant
manager Adie Stephens provides for
the lads.
In the season 2007-08 Stockingford won
the Coventry Evening Telegraph Challenge Cup beating
Copeswood 2-1 at the Recoh Arena with
Dave Aston hitting the winner.
This season the club is sponsored by Ian Neale Building Contractors.