Downham Town 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

Downham Market Downham Market, sometimes simply referred to as Downham, is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Norfolk, England. It lies on the edge of the Fens, on the River Great Ouse, approximately 11 miles south of King's Lynn, 39 ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England. Affiliated to the

Norfolk County Football Association The Norfolk County Football Association is the governing body for association football, football in the county of Norfolk, England. History and Organisation Norfolk County Football Association was founded in 1881 and has been administering foot ...

, they are currently members of the and play at Memorial Field.

History

The club was established in 1881,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p410 and were originally nicknamed ''the Saints''. They initially played in junior leagues in the

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

area, before joining the Peterborough & District League in 1949,''A Celebration of 100 years 1902–2002'', Peterborough & District League when they gained senior status after being elected to the league's Premier Division. In 1961–62 they won the Peterborough Senior Cup, which they retained the following year, also winning the Peterborough & District League title. In 1963–64 they won the Norfolk Senior Cup, winning it again two years later. Further victories in the Peterborough Senior Cup came in 1966–67, 1971–72 and 1986–87, whilst the league title was won in 1973–74, 1978–79. Following back-to-back titles in 1986–87 and 1987–88, the club became founding members of the new Division One of the Eastern Counties League in 1988. They remained in the division until 2018, when the league reorganisation saw them placed in Division One North. In 2021–22 the club finished third in Division One North, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. Although they beat Norwich CBS 1–0 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–1 to Harleston Town in the final. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in the division, this time winning the promotion play-offs by beating Whittlesey Athletic 4–1 in the semi-finals and Harwich & Parkeston 4–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. Downham won the Norfolk Senior Cup for a third time in 2023–24, beating Gorleston 4–2 in the final. In 2024–25 they finished third in the Premier Division. In the subsequent play-offs they defeated Ely City 3–0 in the semi-finals and then beat

Walsham-le-Willows Walsham le Willows is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district, in Suffolk, England, located around 3 miles (4 km) south-east of Stanton. Queen Elizabeth I granted Walsham le Willows to Nicholas Bacon, Lord Keeper of the Great ...

2–1 in the final to earn promotion to the North Division of the Isthmian League.

Ground

The club plays at the Memorial Field, which is shared with the local cricket club. As a result, the ground only has three sides with hardstanding; one touchline features a seated main stand and two covered standing areas, with the area behind both goals consisting of hardstanding.

Honours

*Peterborough & District League **Champions 1962–63, 1973–74, 1978–79, 1986–87, 1987–88 *Norfolk Senior Cup **Winners 1963–64, 1965–66, 2023–24 *Norfolk Primary Cup **Winners 1990–91 *Peterborough Senior Cup **Winners 1961–62, 1962–63, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1986–87 *Isle of Ely Challenge Cup **Winners 1985–86, 1987–88 *Harry Overland Cup **Winners 1996–97, 1998–99 *West Norfolk Cup **Winners 1987–88 *Bill Knott Trophy **Winners 1989–90, 1991–92

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: Preliminary 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: Third round, 1986–87 *Record attendance: 1,500 vs

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

, 1948–49, friendly matchDownham Town
Eastern Counties League

References

External links