AFC Basingstoke was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

football based in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

. The club existed between 1993 and 2000, during which it made a meteoric rise up through the local football leagues.

Club history

Founded in 1993 as a pub side, George FC, the team entered the

Basingstoke League The Basingstoke and District Football League is a football competition based in England. It has two Saturday divisions, of which the highest is the First Division, which sits at level 13 of the English football league system and is a feeder lea ...

, through which it rapidly climbed to quickly win promotion to the

North Hants League The North Hants Senior League was a football competition based in Hampshire, England and was administered by the North Hants FA. History The League was founded in 1968, by the North Hants FA, to bridge the gap between the Hampshire League and ...

. After winning the

title, the club changed its name to AFC Basingstoke and successfully applied to join Division Three of the

Hampshire League The Hampshire League was a football league in Hampshire, England. During its heyday its constitution consisted of four divisions with over 60 clubs taking part - this included a vast number of semi-professional teams and Reserve/’A’ sides o ...

in 1996. In their second season in the league the club won the division to earn promotion to Division Two. In 1999 the Hampshire League renamed its top flight the Premier Division, which would only accept clubs with floodlights and a fixed barrier. AFC Basingstoke moved to play at the old Portals Athletic ground near Overton, and after finishing sixth in Division Two in 1998–99, were accepted into the new Premier Division. However, the club's search for a new ground failed and after the loss of a sponsor the club withdrew from the competition in the summer of 2000 and folded. Alan Goulding was the club's all-time top goal scorer with 100 goals in all competitions for the club.

Honours

**Division 3 champions 1997/98 *North Hants League **Champions 1995/96 *Basingstoke & District League **Premier Division Champions 1993/94 *North Hants FA May Cup **Winners 1994/95

League records

References

{{reflist Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs established in 1993 Association football clubs disestablished in 2000 Defunct football clubs in Hampshire 1993 establishments in England 2000 disestablishments in England Sport in Basingstoke Basingstoke and District Football League North Hants League Hampshire League