Ballymena United F.C.

Ballymena United F.C.

Ballymena United is a semi-professional football club from Northern Ireland. Based in Ballymena, County Antrim, the team competes in the IFA Premiership and plays home matches at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

The club was formed in 1934 as a replacement for the earlier Ballymena F.C. (formed 7 April 1928) that had folded following a dispute regarding the illegal payment of amateur players.

Nicknamed the ‘Braidmen’ or ‘Sky Blues’, latterly because of the colour of the home shirts, Ballymena have a rich history in Irish Cup, having won the competition six times – the most for a provincial club outside of Belfast. The club has never won the the league title in its history, but has finished runners-up on two occasions.

The current manager is Glenn Ferguson, who took over on 31 December 2011 following the departure of Roy Walker three weeks previously. The main club rivals of Ballymena United would be local club Coleraine. The traditional Boxing Day fixture between the two teams attracts large crowds and is one of the most high profile fixtures in the Northern Irish football calendar.