Rialto Football Club

Most of the information about the Rialto Football Club is taken from the excellent recollections of Ettie Abrahams which he recorded in his 2009 book Eddy Of Time Rialto FC 1958 - 1961 The book is now a collector’s item and very few copies are still available. The book was given to members of the club

The nucleus of Rialto was the football team at Bechet College in 1958 which had been very successful against the top High School Soccer teams including Sastri College and Ixopo High School. The very young team - average age 18 - joined the Natal Coloured Football Association and played in the men’s senior league playing mainly at the Stamford Hill Sports grounds. The team played a modern style of football and outplayed the more senior team winning both the League and the Cup in their first year. This success was repeated in the next two years. The team also built a friendly rivalry with New Orleans. The two teams were involved in one of the most celebrated matches, the 1959 Cup Final. The match ended in a five all draw, Rialto took the Cup as they had gone through the season undefeated.