A Short History of Taupo Association Football Club
Posted: 26th January 2008

Senior soccer in Taupo began in 1956 with the formation of Taupo United Association playing in the Bay of Plenty competition and it was in this competition that All White Peter Henry was introduced to senior football, playing alongside his father for the Taupo team.

In the 1960's the club joined the Tongariro Football Association as the number of overseas imports increased with the construction of the central North Island hydro electric power projects. The club had by 1974 become a force to be reckoned with and so the Taupo first team was accepted into the Bay of Plenty Division one, playing such teams as the excitable Italian tunnellers of Codelfa-Cogefar. The first team remained in the Bay of Plenty competition until 1978 when it was accepted into the Northern League Division 4 (South) where they stayed for a substantial period despite producing players of the calibre of All White Greg Little and National League stalwart Andy Darlington, who emerged through the junior ranks and into the senior side. Although on the pitch the team was unimpressive, the club itself was developing and in 1984 the Club vacated their cramped Clubroom at the AC Reserve and moved to their current home Crown Park.

It took Taupo until 1987 to win promotion to the third division and they did it in style, winning every game except one, and that was drawn, with a goal difference of 82 - 4. In the process they beat the second placed team Melville from Hamilton 10 - nil away from home. This remains the best record in the history of the Northern League and could never be beaten. A successful first year in Division 3 saw Taupo finish 5^th after threatening the leaders for most of the season, but the loss of no fewer than eleven players from the squad of fourteen for the following season saw Taupo suffer relegation to Division 4 in 1989. The slide continued in 1990 with the team dropping back into the Bay of Plenty competition after losing in the Northern League playoffs.

Fortunes reversed after just one season back in the Bay of Plenty competition and the team were accepted back into Division 4 of the Northern League for the 1992 season, and promptly won it losing only once in the process. The team won the trophy for the best goal difference for the second time (after 1987) scoring 59 and conceding 13 in 18 games. The Northern League team finished in third place in Division 3, just out of a promotion spot in 1993 and in mid table in 1994 before another mass exodus of players exposed the lack of depth in the Club and the decision was made to withdraw back into the Bay of Plenty competition.

The Club remained in the Bay of Plenty for three seasons as it rebuilt before applying once again to enter the Northern League. Over the same period the majority of the clubs based in the Bay of Plenty region had also dropped out of the Northern League and a number of Auckland clubs amalgamated, meaning that an enlarged 3^rd Division was now the entry point for Taupo and the launching pad for an incredible couple of seasons.

Entering again in 1998, Taupo went through the 26 match campaign unbeaten, scoring a record 178 goals while conceding only 25. The team followed up the runaway Division 3 championship with a similarly emphatic display in winning Division 2 in 1999. The team lost only once in 22 games scored 114 goals and conceded only 17 to win the best goal difference trophy two years in succession, and for the fourth time overall, and gain promotion to Division 1 of the Northern League. The club from its early days has never looked back but it is only with the commitment of a few that the club continues to thrive and develop its talent.  test