University College Cork Association Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Cork. It was founded in 1952 by students at University College Cork. Its senior men's team plays in the Munster Senior League Senior Premier Division. They have also previously competed in the Collingwood, Crowley and Harding Cups, the FAI Intermediate Cup, and FAI Junior Cup. They have also played in the FAI Cup. As of 2023, UCC A.F.C. fields teams in the Munster Senior League, the Cork Athletic Union League, and the FAI College & Universities Football League

History

Intervarsity

UCC A.F.C. is affiliated to the Irish Universities Football Union and competes in three annual intervarsity competitions – the Collingwood Cup, the Crowley Cup and the Harding Cup. UCC A.F.C. first won the Collingwood Cup in 1974. Then, during the 1990s, they won it twice in a row – 1990 and 1991. The club won it again in 2000 and then between 2002 and 2005 retained it four times in a row. In 2011, with a team managed by John Caulfield, UCC won the Collingwood Cup again. In 2015, UCC A.F.C. had one of its most successful intervarsity seasons. In addition to winning the senior Collingwood Cup, they also won the Crowley Cup, the reserve team competition, and the Harding Cup, featuring teams made up of freshers or first year students. UCC A.F.C. actually entered two teams in both the Crowley Cup and the Harding Cup. In February 2015 UCC A.F.C. hosted the Harding Cup. The UCC freshers team defeated teams representing Dublin City University, NUI Galway and University of Limerick over three consecutive days to claim the cup. In the final played at The Mardyke on 8 February, UCC defeated Limerick 1–0. Later in the same month the UCC senior team won the Collingwood Cup. In the quarter finals they defeated defending champions Maynooth University, managed by Ger O’Brien, 7–6 on penalties. In the semi-final they defeated NUI Galway 1–0. The final, which was played at Eamon Deacy Park on 26 February, saw UCC defeat Dublin University 3–1. In March UCC completed an Intervarsity treble when they also won the Crowley Cup. In 2015 they completed an Intervarsity treble – winning the Collingwood Cup, the Crowley Cup and the Harding Cup.

MSL and EA Sports Cup

In addition to Intervarsity wins, UCC A.F.C. has had some success in the Munster Senior League. In 2011–12, they won the Senior First Division and as a result were promoted to the Senior Premier Division. In 2013–14,2016–17 and 2018–19 they were the Senior Premier Division champions. As a result, they qualified to compete in the 2015 League of Ireland Cup. After knocking out League of Ireland First Division teams Wexford Youths and Cobh Ramblers in early rounds they reached the quarter-finals where they played the holders, Dundalk, at The Mardyke. Dundalk were also the 2014 and 2015 League of Ireland champions and proved too strong for UCC.

Following the club's MSL Premier Division win in 2017, they qualified for the 2018 League of Ireland Cup, losing 4–1 to Premier Division side Waterford FC in the first round at the RSC.

UCC (University College Cork AFC) é a equipe de futebol do University College Cork, Irlanda. Fundado em 1891, o clube manteve uma longa tradição de sucesso e atualmente compete na League of Ireland First Division. O UCC tem jogado suas partidas em casa no Mardyke Sports Ground desde a década de 1980.

O clube tem conquistado vários títulos ao longo dos anos, incluindo a FAI Cup em 1941 e 1949, a League of Ireland Shield em 1942 e 1949 e a League of Ireland First Division em 1993-94. O UCC também tem uma longa história na Taça da UEFA, tendo participado da competição pela primeira vez em 1961-62 e avançado para a segunda rodada em 1963-64.

O UCC é conhecido por seu estilo de jogo aberto e atraente e tem produzido vários jogadores que passaram a representar a Seleção Irlandesa, incluindo Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Pat Bonner e Eddie McGoldrick. O clube também tem uma forte tradição de futebol de apuramento, avendo ganho a All-Ireland Colleges Cup em 1932, 1933 e 1937.

O UCC é uma parte importante da comunidade do futebol irlandês e continua a ser um dos clubes mais bem-sucedidos e respeitados do país.