The Gallagher Stadium
Gallagher Stadium is a football stadium in Maidstone, Kent, England, which has been the home of Maidstone United Football Club since its opening in 2012, when the club hosted Brighton & Hove Albion in a friendly. The stadium has a capacity of 4,200, of which 792 are seated. The stadium 3G artificial pitch Rather than the traditional choice of grass, Maidstone were the first English team to build a stadium with third generation artificial turf. The reasons for going with the synthetic turf were threefold, the first being to eliminate match postponements caused by waterlogging and freezing conditions, the second so that the pitch can be hired out, bringing in vital funds (around £120,000 to £150,000 profit per year), and thirdly so that the stadium can be a hub for all the club’s fans. The pitch currently hosts the home matches of the club's first team, academy (under 18s), under 16s-13s and under 7s-8s. It is also used for training among a large number of the club's teams, a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester, Kent, Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, which is known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services. Toponymy Anglo-Saxon period of English history, Saxon charters dating back to show the first recorded instances of the town's name, ''de maeides stana'' and ''maegdan stane'', possibly meaning ''stone of the maidens'' or ''stone of the people''. The latt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dartford F
Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in Essex, which can be reached via the Dartford Crossing. To its east lies the Borough of Gravesham and to the south the district of Sevenoaks. It had a population of 51,240. The town centre lies in a valley through which the River Darent flows and where the old road from London to Dover crossed: hence the name, which derives from ''Darent + ford''. Dartford became a market town in medieval times and, although today it is principally a commuter town for Greater London, it has a long history of religious, industrial and cultural importance. It is an important rail hub; the main through-road now by-passes the town itself. Geography Dartford lies within the area known as the London Basin. The low-lying marsh to the north of the town con ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isthmian League Division One South
The Isthmian League () is a regional football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 88 teams in four divisions: the Premier Division above its three feeder divisions, the North, South Central and South East divisions. Together with the Southern League and the Northern Premier League, it forms the seventh and eighth levels of the English football league system. It has various regional feeder leagues and the league as a whole is a feeder league mainly to the National League South. History Before the Isthmian League was formed, there were no leagues in which amateur football clubs could compete, only knock-out cup competitions. Therefore, a meeting took place between representatives of Casuals, Civil Service, Clapton, Ealing Association, Ilford and London Caledonians to discuss the creation of a strong amateur league. All the clubs s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Isthmian League
The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 88 teams in four divisions: the Premier Division above its three feeder divisions, the North, South Central and South East divisions. Together with the Southern Football League, Southern League and the Northern Premier League, it forms the seventh and eighth levels of the English football league system. It has various regional feeder leagues and the league as a whole is a feeder league mainly to the National League South. History Before the Isthmian League was formed, there were no leagues in which amateur football clubs could compete, only knock-out cup competitions. Therefore, a meeting took place between representatives of Casuals F.C., Casuals, Civil Service F.C., Civil Service, Clapton F.C., Clapton, Ealing A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dagenham & Redbridge F
Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest in the north to the River Thames in the south. Dagenham remained mostly undeveloped until 1921, when the London County Council began construction of the large Becontree housing estate. The population significantly increased as people moved to the new housing in the early 20th century, with the parish of Dagenham becoming Dagenham Urban District in 1926 and the Municipal Borough of Dagenham in 1938. In 1965 Dagenham became part of Greater London when most of the historic parish become part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham was chosen as a location for industrial activity and is perhaps most famous for being the location of the Ford Dagenham motor car plant where the Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 took place. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Craig Mackail Smith
Craig Anthony Robert Mackail-Smith (born 25 February 1984) is a retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently head of performance at Woking. He played in the English Football League for Brighton & Hove Albion, Luton Town, Peterborough United, Wycombe Wanderers, Notts County and Stevenage, and at senior international level for the Scotland national team. Club career St Albans City Born in Watford, Hertfordshire, Mackail-Smith began his career with the youth system at St Albans City in 1999. He made the step up to the first-team during the 2000–01 season, making his debut as a 68th-minute substitute in a 0–0 draw at home to Billericay Town on 10 March 2001. Mackail-Smith made his first starting appearance for the club in a 1–1 draw away to Gravesend & Northfleet in the Full Members Cup third round, resulting in a 4–3 defeat on penalties after a penalty shoot-out. He made six further starting appearances to complete the season with a tota ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home ground has been Falmer Stadium since 2011, having played at the Goldstone Ground for most of the 20th century. Founded in 1901, Brighton played their early professional football in the Southern League. They were later elected to the Football League in 1920. Between 1979 and 1983, they played in the First Division, and reached the 1983 FA Cup final, losing to Manchester United after a replay. They were relegated from the First Division in the same season. By the late 1990s, Brighton were in the fourth tier of English football and having financial problems. After narrowly avoiding relegation from the Football League to the Conference in 1997, a boardroom takeover saved the club from liquidation. Successive promotions in 2001 and 2002 bro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ebbsfleet United
Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger between Gravesend United and Northfleet United, they were known as Gravesend & Northfleet until changing to their current name in 2007. Between 2008 and 2013, the club was 75% owned by the web-based venture MyFootballClub whose members, by majority vote, decided on things that at many other clubs were decisions made by the club's management and staff. In May 2013 KEH Sports Ltd, a group of Kuwaiti investors took over full ownership of the club. History 1946–2007: Gravesend & Northfleet Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946 by a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890). The new club retained the red and white home colours and the Stonebridge Road stadium ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Football Stadia Improvement Fund
The Football Stadia Improvement Fund (FSIF) is an organisation that provides grants and loans to lower level football clubs in England. Financing activities are meant to develop the comfort and safety of football grounds and the FSIF is the largest provider for this type of grant in the country. The organisation receives funding exclusively from the Premier League and has contributed more than £50 million to various projects since 2000. Significant Investments * £2 million loaned, and later converted into a grant to the York City F.C. for the construction of an 8,000 seat stadium which will open sometime around 2019. * £1.2 million (withdrawn) to promote the efforts of Supporters Direct. * £150,000 provided to Cheshunt F.C. for various improvements including floodlights, grandstands, turnstiles, and barrier fencing. * £100,000 provided to March Town United F.C. March Town United Football Club is a association football, football club based in March, Cambr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ministry Of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. The MOD also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement. The expenditure, administration and policy of the MOD are scrutinised by the Defence Select Committee, except for Defence Intelligence which instead falls under the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. History During the 1920s and 1930s, British civil servants and politicians, looking back at the performance of the state during World War I, concluded that there was a need for greater ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Great Crested Newts
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt (''Triturus cristatus'') is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season. The northern crested newt spends most of the year on land, mainly in forested areas in lowlands. It moves to aquatic breeding sites, mainly larger fish-free ponds, in spring. Males court females with a ritualised display and deposit a spermatophore on the ground, which the female then picks up with her cloaca. After fertilisation, a female lays around 200 eggs, folding them into water plants. The larvae develop over two to four months before metamorphosing into terrestrial juveniles ( efts). Both larvae and land-dwelling newts mainly feed on differen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sittingbourne F
Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey. The town became prominent after the death of Thomas Becket in 1170, since it provided a convenient resting point on the road from London to Canterbury and Dover. Chatham Main Line links to London Victoria station and HS1 to St Pancras International, the journey taking about an hour from Sittingbourne railway station. History Sittingbourne owes its name to a modernised version of an observation on its location. The town's name came from the fact that there is a small stream or "bourne" running underground in part of the town. Hasted writing in the 1790s in his ''History of Kent'' states that: The Kent Hundred Rolls of 1274–75, preserved in the National Ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |