Banstead Athletic Football Club is a football club based in

Tadworth Tadworth is a large suburban village in Surrey, England in the south-east of the Epsom Downs, part of the North Downs. It forms part of the Reigate and Banstead, Borough of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2011 census, Tadworth (and Walton-on-the-Hil ...

, near

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...

in Surrey,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The club are currently members of the and play at Merland Rise. They are affiliated to the

Surrey County Football Association The Surrey County Football Association was founded in 1877 and affiliated to The Football Association in 1882, at the same time as a County Senior Cup competition, the Surrey Senior Cup, was established. The organisation administers all levels ...

History

The club was established in 1944 as Banstead Juniors, before adopting their current name during the 1946–47 season.A Brief History of Banstead Football Club
Banstead Athletic F.C. After winning the Surrey Intermediate Cup that season, the club won back-to-back league titles before moving up to the

Surrey Senior League The Surrey Senior League was an English regional football league for teams based in Surrey although teams from outside the county were often admitted as well. The league existed from 1922 until 1978, when it was rebranded as the Home Counties Lea ...

in 1949. They finished as runners-up in their first season, and went on to win the league four times in a row between 1950–51 and 1953–54, with Harry Clark scoring 81 goals in 26 games in 1950–51. The next two seasons saw them finish as runners-up to

Dorking Dorking () is a market town in Surrey in South East England, about south of London. It is in Mole Valley District and the council headquarters are to the east of the centre. The High Street runs roughly east–west, parallel to the Pipp ...

, before they won their fifth title in 1956–57.Surrey Senior League 1922-1978
Non-League Matters Although they finished as runners-up again for the next two seasons, the club went into decline at the start of the 1960s, and finished second-from-bottom in 1961–62. The 1964–65 season saw Banstead win their sixth Surrey Senior League title, claiming the championship on goal average from

Chobham Chobham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England. The village has a small high street area, specialising in traditional trades and motor trades. The River Bourne and its northern tributary, the Hale, ...

, and they moved up to the

Spartan League The Spartan League was a football league in England covering London and adjacent counties. Established in 1907, it merged with the South Midlands League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands League. History The Spartan League was establi ...

. When the league merged with the Metropolitan–London League in 1975, forming the London Spartan League, Banstead were placed in Division One. In 1979 the club switched to the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this ...

, where they remained until it disbanded in 1984, winning the League Cup in 1980–81. When the league folded most clubs (including Banstead) joining the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's 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 82 tea ...

, with Banstead placed in Division Two South. The league was reorganised in 1991, with the club placed in Division Two. They remained in the division until 2002 when further league reorganisation saw them moved to Division One South. Two years later another reorganisation saw them placed in Division One. At the end of the 2005–06 season Banstead resigned from the Isthmian League and dropped into the Combined Counties League Premier Division. After finishing bottom of the division in 2011–12 they were relegated to Division One. They were Division One champions in 2016–17, earning promotion back to the Premier Division.

Honours

*Spartan League **League Cup winners 1965–66 *Athenian League **League Cup winners 1980–81 *Combined Counties League **Division One champions 2016–17 *Surrey Senior League **Champions 1950–51, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1956–57, 1964–65 *Surrey Intermediate Cup **Winners 1946–47

Records

*Highest league position: 4th in Isthmian League Division Two, 1995–96 *Best

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...

performance: Third qualifying round, 1981–82, 2000–01 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

performance: First round, 2003–04, 2004–05 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...

performance: Semi-finals, 1996–97 *Record attendance: 1,400 vs

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

, FA Amateur Cup, 1953 *Most appearances: Dennis WallMike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p631 *Most goals: Harry Clark

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1944 1944 establishments in England Surrey Senior League Spartan League Athenian League Isthmian League Combined Counties Football League Football clubs in Surrey Football clubs in England

History

Honours

Records

See also

References

External links