About St Albans Shirley FC

Affiliated with Mainland Football Federation and New Zealand Football, SASFC is a thriving grassroots football club catering for players of all ages and abilities, right here in the heart of Christchurch

The club was founded in 1973, with our home ground at St Albans Park on Edward Avenue. The ground was completely refurbished in 2019 and a premium sand-based playing surface is now fully established. We also play and train at nearby English Park and Elmwood Park, as we actively monitor the new turf and keep it in pristine playing condition.

SASFC closely follow the Whole of Football Player Pathway as developed by New Zealand Football, along with its attendant Junior and Youth Frameworks. We play attacking, possession-based football and pay close attention to individual player development within a positive and respectful team environment.

This has been made possible by a move away from volunteer-based, parent-led activities to recruitment of a team of qualified, NZF accredited coaches and top-level players, focussed on delivering unrivalled standards of coaching and mentoring across the entire age range.

For many years SASFC focussed solely on under-12s Junior Football; however recent changes have seen the club expand to provide a complete player pathway from First Kicks through Junior to Youth and Senior football at the highest competitive levels.

In 2021 SASFC joined forces with Coastal Spirit FC across the Youth and Senior player spaces to reinforce that pathway and complete the transition to a club that can seriously compete in the top flight of New Zealand football, without losing its total commitment to the grassroots of the game.

For 2023, SASFC is part of the Ōtākaro FC initiative for Youth players looking to take part in the Canterbury Development Leagues.