Banbury United Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Spencer Stadium.

History

The club was established in 1931 as Spencer Sports Club, a

works team A works team, sometimes also referred to as factory team and company team, is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business, institution, or organization in a broad sense. Works teams have very close ties with thei ...

of the Spencer Corsets factory.80th Anniversary
Banbury United F.C. They initially played friendly matches, with their first match against St John's of the Oxfordshire Junior League played on 29 August 1931 and resulting in an 8–2 win for St John's. In 1933 they joined the Banbury division of the Oxfordshire Junior League, at which point they were renamed Spencer Villa. Later in the season they were renamed Banbury Spencer, and went on to win the league title in their first season. They then joined the Oxfordshire Senior League for the 1934–35 season. After winning the league at the first attempt,History
Banbury United F.C. they were elected to the

Birmingham Combination The Birmingham Combination was an English football competition for teams in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, which was active from 1892 until 1954. It was founded as the Birmingham & District Junior League, and changed its name in 1908. The ...

, also entering a team into the Central Amateur League for the 1935–36 season. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the club turned professional. The 1947–48 season saw them finish as runners-up in the Combination and reach the first round of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

for the first time, where they lost 2–1 at

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

. In 1954 the Combination folded, with its remaining clubs joining the Birmingham & District League; Banbury were placed in the Southern Division, and after finishing fourth in 1954–55, won a place in Division One for the 1955–56 season. The league was reduced to a single division in 1960, and became the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

in 1962. The 1961–62 season had seen the club reach the FA Cup first round again, this time losing 7–1 at

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. In 1965 the club was renamed Banbury United after a change in ownership, and at the end of the 1965–66 season they transferred to Division One of the Southern League. When Division One was split into two divisions in 1971, the club was placed in Division One North. In 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for a third time, this time losing 2–0 at home to Barnet. The following season saw them repeat the feat, this time losing 3–2 at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the c ...

in a replay after a 0–0 draw at home. Banbury were placed in the Southern League's Midland Division in 1979 after league reorganisation, and remained in the division until being relegated to the Premier Division of the Hellenic League at the end of the 1989–90 season. After winning the Premier Division in 1999–2000, Banbury were promoted to Division One East of the Southern League. An eighth-place finish in 2003–04 was enough to be promoted to the Premier Division after the creation of the

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

led to several clubs being moved up a division. The season also saw the club win the Oxfordshire Senior Cup for a fifth time.Banbury United
Non-League Club Directory In 2014–15 Banbury won the Oxfordshire Senior Cup for a sixth time defeating

North Leigh North Leigh is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish about northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of East End and since 1932 has also included the hamlet of Wilcote. The United Kingd ...

4–3 on penalties in the final. However, they were also relegated to Division One South and West at the end of the season. In August 2015, a supporter-led

Community Benefit Society An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules. The members of a society benefit from the protection of limited liability ...

took formal control of the club. Their first season in Division One South and West saw them finish as runners-up and qualify for the promotion play-offs. After beating Winchester City 1–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated Taunton Town 2–0 in the final to earn promotion back to the Premier Division. The club were placed in the Premier Central division at the end of the 2017–18 season as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. The 2020–21 season saw Banbury reach the first round of the FA Cup for the fifth time, going on to lose 2–1 at home to

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

. They reached the first round again the following season, where they were beaten 4–0 at home by Barrow; the season also saw them win the Southern Premier Division Central title, earning promotion to the

National League North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National League (English footb ...

. However, they were relegated back to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League at the end of the 2023–24 season after finishing third-from-bottom of the National League North.

Ground

The club has played at the Spencer Stadium (currently known as the Banbury Plant Hire Community Stadium for sponsorship purposes) on Station Approach since the start of the 1934–35 season, having originally played at Middleton Road. When the club joined the Southern League in 1966, floodlights were installed and a new clubhouse was built to replace the railway carriages that the club had used for changing rooms.Banbury United FC
Pyramid Passion Financial problems led to the ground deteriorating, and the main stand was closed in 1985 before being demolished in 1990. A new stand was built on the north-eastern touchline in the summer of 2000, but towards one end of the pitch rather than near the half-way line. Both ends of the ground had uncovered terracing installed, with the other touchline having terracing along half its length. The ground currently has a capacity of 6,500, of which 250 is seated and covered. A new flood defence scheme was completed in 2012 to protect the stadium, the local railway station and nearby housing.Flood defence scheme
BBC News, 19 October 2012

Honours

*Southern League **Premier Division Central champions 2021–22 *Hellenic League **Premier Division champions 1999–2000 *Oxfordshire Senior League **Champions 1934–35 *Oxfordshire Junior League **Banbury Division champions 1933–34 *Oxfordshire Senior Cup **Winners 1978–79, 1987–88, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2014–15 *Buckingham Charity Cup **Winners 2001–02, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16

Records

*Best

performance: First round 1947–48, 1961–62, 1972–73, 1973–74, 2020–21, 2021–22 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Fourth round, 2022–23 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

performance: Second round, 1999–2000 *Biggest win: 12–0 vs RNAS Culham, Oxfordshire Senior Cup, 1945–46Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p446 *Heaviest defeat: 11–2 vs West Bromwich Albion 'A', Birmingham Combination, 1938–39 *Record attendance: 7,160 vs Oxford City, FA Cup third qualifying round, 30 October 1948 *Most goals: Dick Pike, 222 (1935–48); Tony Jacques, 222 (1965–76) *Most appearances: Jody McKay, 576 *Most goals scored in a season: Tony Jacques, 62 in 1967–68 *Record transfer fee paid: £2,000 to

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

for Phil Emsden *Record transfer fee received: £20,000 from

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

for Kevin Wilson, 1979

References

External links