Hamilton Academical F.C. facts for kids
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| Full name | Hamilton Academical Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | The Accies | ||
| Founded | 1874 | ||
| Ground | New Douglas Park | ||
| Capacity | 5,510 | ||
| Owner & CEO | Seref Zengin | ||
| Chairman | Jock Brown | ||
| Head coach | John Rankin | ||
| League | Scottish Premiership | ||
| 2015–16 | Scottish Premiership, 10th | ||
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Hamilton Academical Football Club, often called Hamilton Accies or The Accies, is a Scottish football team from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire. They play in the Scottish Premiership. The club started in 1874 from a school football team at Hamilton Academy. They are special because they are the only professional football club in Britain that began as a school team! Hamilton Accies have won the Scottish Challenge Cup three times and have been runners-up in the Scottish Cup twice. Their home games are played at New Douglas Park.
Contents
The Accies' Journey: A Look Back
Hamilton Academical F.C. was formed in late 1874 by the head teacher and students of Hamilton Academy. The club quickly joined the Scottish Football Association. They first played in the Scottish Cup and Qualifying Cup. Later, in November 1897, they joined the Scottish Football League. This happened after another club, Renton, left the league.
Scottish Cup Finals
Throughout their history, the club has reached the Scottish Cup final two times.
- The first time was in 1911. They played against Celtic and the game ended in a draw. The replay game had 45,000 fans, but Hamilton Academical lost 2–0.
- Their next big chance was in the 1935 Scottish Cup final. Bertie Harrison scored a goal for Hamilton. This was the club's only goal in a major final. However, Rangers won the match 2–1 in front of over 87,000 fans.
Tough Times and New Beginnings
In the 1970s, Hamilton briefly left the league because they had many debts. In 1994, the club sold its old home ground, Douglas Park, to a supermarket. For seven years, they had to share stadiums in other towns. During this time, the club faced money problems. Players even went on strike because they weren't paid. This led to Hamilton losing 15 points in the 1999–2000 season. As a result, they were moved down to the Third Division. The club finally moved into their new stadium, New Douglas Park, in 2001.
Climbing to the Top League
In 2008, after 20 years, the Accies were promoted to the top division of Scottish football, the Scottish Premier League. In the 2009–10 season, they won a game against Kilmarnock 3–0. This win meant they would stay in Scotland's top league for a third season in a row!
The Accies' time in the SPL ended in the 2010–11 season. They were moved down after losing 1–0 to St Johnstone. Even though they were relegated, Hamilton was known for focusing on young players. Two of their young stars, James McCarthy and James McArthur, later played for Wigan Athletic in the Premier League. They also played for their national teams.
Back to the Premiership
After a tough 2013–14 season, the Accies finished second. They won their last home game 10–2 against Morton. They missed out on automatic promotion, but they still had a chance through the play-offs.
- They beat Falkirk 2–1 over two games.
- Next, they faced Hibernian from the top league. Hamilton lost the first game 2–0 at home. But in the second game, they scored two goals away from home, including one in extra time! This forced the game to go to penalty kicks. Hamilton scored all their penalties and earned promotion back to the top league!
Their manager, Alex Neil, left the club in January 2015 to join Norwich in England.
Hamilton Accies found themselves in another play-off at the end of the 2016–17 season. This time, they were already in the Premiership. They played against Dundee United from the Championship. Hamilton won 1–0 overall, with a goal from their youth player Greg Docherty.
A Difficult Financial Challenge
In October 2017, Hamilton Academical faced a very difficult financial situation. A large amount of money, close to £1 million, was taken from the club's accounts. This incident caused the club to stop a project to improve its youth academy. The club worked with the police to try and get their money back.
Recent Seasons
After seven years in the Scottish Premiership, Hamilton was moved down to the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2020–21 season.
In the Scottish Championship, Hamilton continued to face challenges. They managed to avoid being moved down again in the 2021–22 season. They secured their safety with two games left after winning 1–0 against Greenock Morton. They finished 6th in the league.
The 2022–23 season was also tough. Hamilton again found themselves fighting to avoid being moved down. They avoided automatic relegation and entered the play-offs. Even though they won the 2023 Scottish Challenge Cup final, they lost the Championship play-off final on penalties. This meant they were moved down to Scottish League One. So, Hamilton had been relegated twice in three seasons, falling from the Premiership to League One. However, they were promoted back to the Scottish Championship after beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5–3 in the play-off final.
Home Ground: New Douglas Park
The club plays its home games at New Douglas Park, which opened in 2001. The playing field is an artificial surface. The stadium can hold 6,018 people. It has two permanent stands and one temporary stand.
New Douglas Park replaced Douglas Park, which was Hamilton's home from 1888 to 1994. Douglas Park opened on May 30, 1888, with a match against Glasgow University. It was sold to a supermarket chain in 1994. The money from the sale helped build the new stadium, which is right next to where Douglas Park used to be.
Between 1994 and 2001, the club did not have its own home stadium. They shared grounds at Cliftonhill and Firhill Stadium. Since 2021, Hamilton has been sharing New Douglas Park with Clyde.
Club Achievements
Here are some of the main awards and achievements of Hamilton Academical:
- Scottish First Division
- Winners: 1985–86, 1987–88, 2007–08
- Runners-up: 2013–14 (second tier)
- Scottish Second Division
- Winners: 1903–04
- Runners-up: 1952–53 (second tier), 1964–65 (second tier), 1996–97 (third tier), 2003–04 (third tier)
- Scottish Third Division
- Winners: 2000–01
- Scottish Cup
- Runners-up: 1910–11, 1934–35
- Scottish Challenge Cup
- Winners: 1991–92, 1992–93, 2022–23
- Runners-up: 2005–06, 2011–12
Club Records
These are some of the biggest records for Hamilton Academical:
Match Records
- Biggest victory: 10–2 against Cowdenbeath (October 1932) and 10–2 against Morton (May 2014)
Transfer Records
- Biggest player bought: Tomáš Černý from Sigma Olomouc (July 2009; £180,000)
- Biggest player sold: James McCarthy to Wigan Athletic (July 2009; £1,200,000)
Players
Current Squad
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Players on Loan
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Player of the Year Awards
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2004 |  Brian McPhee |
| 2009 |  Tomáš Černý |
| 2013 | Ziggy Gordon |
| 2017 | Darian MacKinnon |
Team Captains
Here is a list of the official captains for the Hamilton Academical first-team:
| Name | Nation | Years | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Neil | Scotland |
2005–2014 | Became player-manager | |
| Martin Canning | Scotland |
2014–2015 | Became player-manager | |
| Michael McGovern |  Northern Ireland |
2015–2016 | Signed for Norwich City | |
| Michael Devlin | Scotland |
2016–2018 | Signed for Aberdeen | |
| Dougie Imrie | Scotland |
2018–2019 | Retired in 2019 | |
| Darian MacKinnon | Scotland |
2019–2020 | Contract ended | |
| Brian Easton | Scotland |
2020–2023 | Contract ended | |
| Scott Martin | Scotland |
2023– |
Past Players
Coaching Staff
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | John Rankin |
| Assistant head coach | Darian MacKinnon |
| Goalkeeping coaches |  Dean Lyness Ryan Marshall |
| Academy director | Gordon Young |
| Physiotherapist | Caitlin Wright |
| Sports scientist | Euan Taylor |
| Kit manager | Danny Cunning |
Managers
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See also
In Spanish: Hamilton Academical Football Club para niños
