Wellington FC

Wellington Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, Nanaimo, British Columbia and presently playing in the BC Football League's Division One. It is one of fifteen clubs never to have been relegated from the BC Football League since its establishment in 1929.

Work to expand the Pleasant Valley Park stadium to accomodate 11,000 spectators began after the conclusion of the 2021 season, to be completed for the start of the 2024 season; the 2022 and 2023 seasons will be played at Merle Logan Field, home of the Nanaimo Hornets of the BC Rugby Union and of Northfield FC; this stadium seats 12,433 spectators.

History
Wellington FC are the second oldest association football club in the Greater Nanaimo area, having been formed in 1891, a year after Nanaimo Thistle FC were established. They were from the start one of the powerhouses of the Vancouver Island Football League established in 1899, winning several titles during the league's existence. When the VIFL was merged into the BC Football League in 1929, the fifteen clubs in the VIFL's First Division were distributed between the three divisions of the BCFL; having finished sixth, the Violets were assigned to Division Two. They remained a middle power in Division Two until the end of the 1940s, until a 15th place finish in 1950 led to their relegation to Division Three. They dominated play in the following season, losing only five times in thirty matches on the way to the Division Three title and a return to Division Two for the 1952 season, but this stay was short-lived, being once again relegated after another 15th place finish in 1954. This time the Wellies stayed two seasons in the lowest tier of League football, finishing third in 1956 to once again return to the second level. This return proved permanent, as they have not returned to Division Three since that time.

The club returned to middle-power status in Division Two through the 1960s. With a restructuring of the BCFL to take place in 1974 which included the expansion of Division One from twelve to eighteen teams, the top six finishers in Division Two in 1973 were promoted to the expanded Division One - amongst them Wellington, who had finished fifth. The top flight proved a step too far for the Violets' at that time, barely avoiding relegation in 1975, having finished four points ahead of 17th placed Regatta Club but a full ten points behind Alberni Town in 15th place, and following that with an abysmal 1976, winning only two matches and twelve points as they limped to a last-place finish and relegation. In 1978, they topped the table in the first period of play, earning the side a berth in the promotion play-offs, where they managed only six points out of six matches and finished third, failing to win promotion. In 1981, Wellington secured a promotion play-off spot by virtue of total points, and this time they managed to edge out Victoria Athletic by one point to secure promotion to Division One for the second time. This second tenure in the top flight was somewhat better than the first, achieving a high of seventh place in 1984, but ultimately being relegated again in 1987. By then, however, the squad had been much strengthened by its experiences in the highest level, and first-place finishes in the second and third periods of play secured the Division Two title, and a third promotion to the top flight.

The Violets continually improved themselves through the early 1990s, winning the FA Cup for the first time in 1991, which was followed up by a victory in the Super Cup the following year. It took a further three years for the Violets to secure their first Division One title in 1995, but they put an exclamation point on it by winning the double - both League and FA Cup titles in the same year. They successfully defended the League title in 1996 and 1997, finishing as runners-up in 1998 before winning the title (and the double) again in 1999; the same results - a second followed by a first-place finish - were repeated in 2000 and 2001.

Wellington have taken part in the BC FA Cup since the first edition of the competition in 1891, over which time they have appeared in the finals eleven times, winning the cup in 1896, 1902, 1991, 1995, and 1999. The Violets hold the record for the longest gap between Final appearances, with a drought of 81 years between 1902 and 1983; the 89 year gap between their title wins in 1902 and 1991 is also a record that seems unlikely to be broken any time soon.

Rivalries
The rivalry between the two oldest clubs in the Nanaimo area - Wellington and Nanaimo Thistle - is one of the fiercest in BC. Known as the Old Dispute, it was frequent during the years that the two clubs were not in the same division that supporters of one club went to matches of the other for the opportunity to root against the arch-enemy; though not quite as intense, derby matches with Nanaimo City are equally anticipated by fans of both sides. The rivalry with Victoria Athletic dates back to the 1902 FA Cup final (which required a replay to decide, with Wellington winning 2:1 away at Victoria), and has been enthusiastically cultivated by the two supporter camps ever since.

League competition
This is a complete listing of the club's performances in British Columbia Football League competition.