Up to 1995 any young footballer who lived in the Cove area, and who wanted to play for a team in the local Juvenile leagues, they had to travel to other areas of the city to get a game of football. There was no organised football (competitive, non-competitive or trophy free) in Cove!! In September 1995 that all changed and it was due to an off the cuff suggestion that has led, (so far), to a thirty year youth football legacy in the area.

One Sunday afternoon on a car journey home to Cove, Grace Craig suggested to Donald Smith that he start a football team in Cove as his son (Scott), her son (Martin) and their friend (Scott Maitland) all aged 8 had just played a trial for Glentanar Boys Club Under 8’s and they are based at Woodside, which is at the at the other side of the city!! Following on from that suggestion; on September 15th 1995 Donald organised 10 young players to attend their first football coaching session at Altens Community Centre and within 10 days they were playing their first ever Hydro Electric Soccer Sevens game at the Aulton football pitches beside the Kings Links Golf Course. One week later the squad had increased to 14 players. At the time the HE Soccer Sevens was organised by the Aberdeen Football Club youth set up. And so it was that Altens Cove Boys Club was born!!

Altens Cove Boys Club (1995-1996)

The first Cove team were initially known as Altens Cove Boys Club as the team was supported by the Altens Community Centre with indoor training facilities and the Centre also sourced a kit that had resided in their loft for many years!! Despite the age and condition of the all-white kit the 14 young footballers were delighted with it and wore it proudly for their first few games. Within a few weeks however the team was presented with a brand new kit by a local based company called AGIP UK and they were derived from an Oil and Gas company that originated in Italy.

When they sponsored the team’s first kit they suggested that we adopt the colours of the Italian national team, (The Azzuri), so the colours were Royal Blue tops and socks with white shorts. However the Mum’s were concerned about keeping white shorts clean on the muddy football pitches so we agreed on Royal Blue shorts as well as the tops and socks. We have however chosen to retain our Italian heritage, despite the Mum’s intervention!!!! At the same time as the first kit sponsorship was provided, local company MD Electrical Services also sponsored the team by providing each player with Tracksuits so that they looked pretty special when they attended their games and their training sessions.

Cove Boys Club (1996-2014)

Word of the success and enjoyment of the team playing trophy free seven-a-side football soon spread throughout the local schools and within a year a second team was formed with a team of boys one year younger and then quickly after that another team was formed that was a year older than the original players. So, within eighteen months and from the humble beginnings of one coach and 10 players, the original team had been joined by three new teams and twelve coaches and therefore we were now a Club!!

After a number of meetings with the new volunteers it was agreed that the Club would be named “Cove Boys Club” and that they would endeavour to grow the club so that as many local young footballers as possible would get the opportunity to play the glorious game. There was a really positive feel-good feeling within the fledgling club but also within the area and it was clear that something very special and positive was happening and the enthusiasm and momentum was unmistakably evident.

At this point the club formed a committee led by officials who met monthly to ensure that the club was compliant with all ADJFA and SFA regulations and all coaches started attending the SFA Coaching Pathway. The club was run for the players but it was also run in an efficient way to ensure it had a future. These beliefs stand true today and the longevity of the club so far indicates that the coaches, committee members, volunteers and officials are certainly doing most things right to ensure a bright future for the players and the club.

Cove Youth Football Club (2014-Present)

Cove Youth’s ethos was and always has been that participation comes first. The objective of the club for all of its 30 years has been to give as many young players as possible the opportunity to play the game. Ability is important in any sport but the club also recognises that there are different levels of ability and embracing all levels of player gives more youngsters the opportunity to enjoy the game of football. Enjoyment is more important than anything else.

In 2014 the Club name was changed yet again, this time to Cove Youth Football Club as we created our first ever Girls team and all players were embraced within the same banner. Also in 2014 the club was provided with an opportunity that we never believed was possible and it changed our future, for the better. We were offered a place to call “Home”!!

Muir Group had recently agreed with Aberdeen City Council to create a business park on “Green Belt” land at the south end of Cove and part of their agreement with ACC was that they had to create a facility that could be utilised by the local community. Muir Group chose to construct a grass football pitch and they contacted Cove Youth and offered us a long term lease that would result in us being located at the pitch. Not surprisingly we jumped at the chance because we had no pitch or area of grass that we could call our own. All of our teams just used any piece of spare grass that they could source for training sessions and all games were played at council grass facilities. Winter training sessions were predominantly indoors which is not ideal for young footballers.

The Future....

Throughout the years we have had some much enjoyed success on the football pitch winning local leagues and trophies along the way. Also Scottish Cups runs have been regular and immensely enjoyed by the players and parents alike. The most impressive national trophy run was in 2018 when our Under 14’s went all the way to the final at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie, only to lose narrowly to Hutchison Vale after extra time.

We have also had great success in helping players reach their potential in the game. Keeping players in the game after they move from youth football at the age of 18 is not easy but at CYFC we try to help those who wish to continue to find a new home in the adult game. We have had many players move to Amateur, Junior and Highland League football. We have also had many players move to senior team Academies and also into the SFA Performance School at Hazlehead.

Our notable players who have gone on to earn a living out of football include, Andrew Shinnie, Graeme Shinnie, Ryan Fraser and Calvin Ramsay. Some of these players have secured Scotland international caps!! We are truly proud that Cove Youth played a part in their football journey. On saying that, we are proud of each and every player that has come through our teams in the last thirty years, as they are all equally important to us.

Our 30th anniversary is just the beginning for us. We hope to create an even brighter future than our impressive past history. We aim to continue making a difference, we aim to continue making an impact and we aim to continue striving to make things better within our community.

We believe in stronger together, we believe in better together and we believe in each other.

Here’s to the next thirty years!!