Capel Plough F.C. is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club based in Capel St. Mary,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

currently competing in the . The club is one of the fastest growing clubs in the

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. Since May 2023 it has been an official affiliate of

Ipswich Town FC Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

and is an FA Charter Standard club.

Facilities

The club plays its home matches at the Capel St. Mary's Playing Field. The club's pavilion was built in the early 1970s and underwent a significant reconstruction beginning in 2021. The previous year, the

Babergh District Babergh District (pronounced , ) is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Suffolk, England. In 2021 it had a population of 92,300. The district is primarily a rural area, containing just two towns, Sudbury, Suffolk, Sudbury an ...

Council approved plans to demolish the center to construct a new, modern sports and social hub which would have included a new 3G

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...

football pitch. As of May 2023, there are still plans to install the modern turf pitch at the grounds.

History

Capel Plough F.C. was founded in 1969. In May 2023, it was announced that the club had become an official affiliate of

. The partnership would see Capel Plough players participating in the Ipswich Town academy system as a possible pathway to the senior club. Capel Plough had already been working together on different initiatives with the Ipswich Town Foundation for a number of years.

Male

The club's senior team began the 2018/2019 season with six consecutive victories in the

Suffolk and Ipswich Football League The Suffolk and Ipswich Football League is a football competition based in Suffolk, England. The league has a total of eight divisions; the Senior Division and Divisions 1–3 for first teams, three divisions (Leagues A, B and C) for reserve tea ...

. Those victories included a 5–2 win over title holders Achilles F.C. thanks to a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

by Daniel Alderson. In late 2021, the club entered into a partnership with the academy of

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 ( ...

. As part of the agreement, Needham Market academy coach Arron Hall took over as the manager of Capel Plough's men's first team, replacing outgoing manager Pat Tynan. The deal would give Capel Plough access to some of the best facilities in Suffolk.

Female

In 2016, Capel Plough organized female teams for the first time. Soon thereafter a girls side was runners-up in the Suffolk FA Cup and third in the Suffolk League. In 2017, the club hosted nearby

Colchester United F.C. 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 ...

players Eoin McKeown and Ryan Clampin as part of a training for its girls teams. In 2018, the club opened a new Wildcat Centre in Capel St. Mary along with MP

James Cartlidge James Roger Cartlidge (born 30 April 1974) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015. A member of the Conserv ...

. The facility was designed specifically for young female players between the ages of five and eleven. The following year, Adrian Goodwin, the central figure in creating the women and girls' football program at Capel Plough, was headhunted to become first-ever Director of Women's and Girls' Football for

A.F.C. Sudbury Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a football club based in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers, the process giving rise to the name Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury. ...

. Goodwin was brought in to recreate the structures and success of Capel Plough and have a Sudbury women's team at every level in Suffolk. The club formed a senior women's team for the first time in 2023. In its first year of existence, the club was defeated 2–3 in the first round of the Suffolk Women's County Cup by Brantham Athletic Ladies Development.

Notable former players

* Jacobbi Tugman (2022–2023)

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capel Plough F.C. Football clubs in England Football clubs in Suffolk Association football clubs established in 1969 1969 establishments in England