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
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021.
Brentwood is a t ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. They are currently members of the and play at the Brentwood Centre Arena.
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 ...
several times, reaching the quarter-finals in 1885–86, when they were beaten 3–1 by eventual winners
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. They were also briefly members of Division One of the
South Essex League
The South Essex League was 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 ...
for the 1896–97 season, but left after finishing bottom of the division. The club were later replaced as the town's main club by amateur club Brentwood & Warley.Club History Brentwood Town F.C. Brentwod & Warley joined Division One A of the South Essex League in 1921 and were runners-up in their first season in the league. They finished bottom of Division One in 1926–27, but were runners-up the following season, after which they joined Division One East of 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 ...
.Spartan League 1907–1934 Non-League Matters
League reorganisation at the end of the 1928–29 season saw Brentwood & Warley placed in the Premier Division, where they remained until leaving the league at the end of the 1933–34 season. They rejoined the league in 1948, and were runners-up in 1948–49. In 1951 they were founder members of the
Delphian League
The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area.
The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League.Athenian League
The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, 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 ...
in 1963 after the Delphian League was disbanded.
In 1965 the club turned professional and became Brentwood Town. Playing at the Hive on Ongar Road, the renamed club left the amateur Athenian League to join the
Metropolitan League
The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Southern League in 1967. In 1968–69 they won Division One, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In the same season the club also reached the second 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 ...
, where they lost 10–1 at
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
. The following season the club reached the third round of the cup; they beat
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
club
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...
1–0 in the first round, before defeating
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...
2–0 in the second round. The third round saw them drawn at home against
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 ...
, with a record crowd of over 4,000 seeing the club lose 1–0. In the league the club briefly topped the table in September, and eventually finished ninth. However, at the end of the season the club directors decided to merge the club with Chelmsford City. The club's ground was sold for housing.Memories of FA Cup glory in 1969 Brentwood Town
Modern club
After Brentwood Town were dissolved, Manor Athletic changed their name to Brentwood Athletic. Manor Athletic had been established in 1954,About BTFC Brentwood Town Football Club and joined the
Essex Olympian League
The Essex Olympian Football League is a football competition based in England, founded in the 1966–67 season. It has a total of six senior divisions and one under 21 division. The Premier Division sits at step 7 (or level 11) of the National ...
in 1967, winning the League Cup in their first season. In 1974 the club was renamed again, becoming simply Brentwood, and joined the Essex Senior League. They went on to win the League Cup in 1975–76, 1978–79, 1990–91
In 2000–01 the club won their first Essex Senior League title, although they finished third from bottom of the league the following season. In 2004 the club adopted its current name. After winning the Essex Senior League for the second time in 2006–07, and also winning the League Cup, the club was promoted to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In 2008–09 they finished third and qualified for the promotion play-offs, but lost 4–1 at home to
Waltham Abbey
Waltham Abbey is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the London metropolitan area, metropolitan and urban area of London, England, East London, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich ...
. In
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
the club finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs again. After defeating
Needham Market
Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...
3–1 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–2 to Wingate & Finchley in the final. They qualified for the play-offs again after a fourth-place finish in 2014–15, and after beating
AFC Sudbury
Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a association football, football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town F.C., Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers F.C., Sudbury Wanderers, the proc ...
on penalties in the semi-final, they defeated
Thurrock
Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
5–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. However, the following season saw them finish in the relegation zone, resulting in relegation back to Division One North.
In 2021–22 Brentwood finished third in the North Division. In the promotion play-offs they defeated Stowmarket Town 2–1 in the semi-finals, before losing on penalties 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. ...
in the final. They qualified for the play-offs again in 2023–24 with a fifth placed-finish. After beating
Bury Town
Bury Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club, based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Ram Meadow.
History Early history
The club was established by William Lake at a meeti ...
3–1 in the semi-finals, the club lost the final on penalties again, this time to Bowers & Pitsea. In 2024–25 season they were North Division champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division.
Ground
Manor Athletic played at King George's Playing Fields until moving to Larkin's Playing Field in 1957.Brentwood Town Pyramid Passion In 1992 they were required to leave the ground in order to maintain senior status, and groundshared at East Thurrock United's Rookery Hill. The following year they moved to the Brentwood Centre, with the opening match played on 9 October 1993. Initially the only spectator facilities was a covered area adjacent to the clubhouse; seats were later installed in one half of the stand.Jon Weaver (2005) ''The Football Grounds of Rural Essex'', p11 Floodlights were installed in 1999. A record attendance was set in August 2004 when a crowd of 472 watched a friendly match against a
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...
XI. This was beaten in April 2022 when 897 watched the play-off semi-final match against Stowmarket Town. A new record of 1,323 was set in December 2024 for an
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 ...
match against
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...
. This was bettered when 1,467 spectators attended a 21 April 2025 title-deciding match against Basildon United.
Coaching staff
List of managers
Honours
*Isthmian League
**North Division champions 2024–25
*Essex Senior League
**Champions 2000–01, 2006–07
**League Cup winners 1975–76, 1978–79, 1990–91, 2006–07
*Gordon Brasted Memorial Trophy
**Winners 2006–07
*Harry Fisher Memorial Trophy
**Winners 1995–96
*Essex Olympian League
**League Cup Winners 1967–68
Records
*Best
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 ...
performance: Third round, 1969–70
*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: Third round, 2024–25
*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: First round, 2004–05, 2006–07
*Record attendance
**Original club: 4,000 vs
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 ...
, FA Cup third round, 12 January 1970
**Modern club: 1,467 vs Basildon United, Isthmian League North Division, 21 April 2025