Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

based in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at

Cherrywood Road Cherrywood Road, known as the Saunders Transport Community Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the ground of Farnborough F.C. and the former home of Farnborough Town F.C. before the club went out of business in 2007. It lies in the town of ...

History

The club was established as Farnborough Town in 1967 and joined 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 Leag ...

in 1968.History
Farnborough F.C. Their first league match saw them beat Surbiton Byron 7–6. In 1971 they reached the top division of the Surrey Senior League, and after finishing as runners-up in 1971–72, 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 ...

. They went on to win three consecutive league titles, losing only one league match during each of the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. When the league merged with the

Metropolitan–London League The Metropolitan–London League was a short-lived football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1971 by a merger of the Greater London League and the Metropolitan League (which had lost several clubs to the Southern League). I ...

to form the London Spartan League in 1975, the club were placed in Division One, and were its first champions. Following their move to Cherrywood Road, Farnborough moved up to Division Two of the

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 1976. They won the division at the first attempt, and were subsequently accepted into Division Two of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

. During their domination of the Spartan and Athenian league divisions, the club went 87 matches unbeaten at home between 1973 and 1977. In 1978–79 they won Division Two of the Isthmian League, earning promotion to Division One. The 1980–81 season saw them 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, losing 2–1 at

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

. Another first round appearance in 1983–84 ended with a 2–1 defeat at

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

. They reached the first round again the following season and faced

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 ...

opposition for the first time, losing 3–0 at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. The season also saw them win the Division One title, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division. They were Premier Division runners-up behind Leytonstone/Ilford in 1988–89 and were promoted to the

Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...

as Leytonstone/Ilford were unable to be promoted due to their ground failing to meet the necessary criteria. Farnborough were relegated at the end of their first season in the Conference and were placed in the Premier Division of the Southern League. They won the division at the first attempt to earn promotion back to the Conference. After reaching the first round of the FA Cup in all but one of the seasons between 1983–84 and 1990–91, the club progressed beyond the first round for the first time in 1991–92; after a first round replay win over

Halesowen Town Halesowen Town Football Club is a football club based in Halesowen, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Grove Recreation Ground. History The club was believed to have been established around 1873, but rec ...

, they defeated Third Division

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

4–3 in a second round replay. They were drawn at home to top division

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

. With the game switched to the

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

, they held West Ham to a 1–1 draw before losing the replay 1–0. The season also saw them finish fifth in the Conference, but they were relegated back to the Southern League at the end of the following season. Farnborough were Southern League champions again in 1993–94, making an immediate return to the Conference. The club spent five seasons in the Conference until being relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season, which had seen them finish bottom of the table. They were placed in the Premier Division of the Isthmian League, which they went on to win in 2000–01, resulting in promotion back to the Conference. In 2002–03 the club progressed beyond the first round of the FA Cup for a second time; after a 5–1 win against

Harrogate Town Harrogate Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Harrogate Hotspurs were fou ...

in the first round, they defeated

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

3–0 in the second round and Third Division

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

3–2 in the third round. They were then drawn at home to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the fourth round, although the game was switched to

Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...

. Following a 5–1 defeat, manager

Graham Westley Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English professional football manager and former professional footballer. Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curtailed due to injury whilst playing for ...

left the club, also taking seven players with him as he moved to

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The club competes in EFL League One, the third level of the Engli ...

. Farnborough remained in the Conference (and its new top division the

Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...

) until the end of the 2004–05 season, when they were relegated to the

Conference South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 of the NLS and sixth-highest ti ...

. A third-place finish in 2005–06 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, but they lost 3–0 to

Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which runs eas ...

in the semi-finals. In 2006–07 Farnborough went into administration and were deducted ten points. In May 2007 the club was expelled from the Football Conference and were reformed as Farnborough Football Club. They were admitted to Division One South & West of the Southern League, which they went on to win at the first attempt, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2008–09 they were Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Hemel Hempstead Town 4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the semi-finals, they lost 1–0 to Gloucester City in the final. The following season saw them win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference South. They were runners-up in their first season in the division and entered the promotion play-offs. After a 2–1 aggregate win over local rivals

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

in the semi-finals (winning 1–0 away and drawing 1–1 at home), they lost the final 4–2 to

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1946 from the merger ...

. Farnborough then began to suffer financial problems. In 2011–12 they were deducted five points after submitting misleading financial information to the Football Conference, and had ten points deducted the following season after going into administration again. They were relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League at the end of the 2014–15 season and were subsequently demoted to Division One Central of the Southern League at the end of the 2015–16 season despite not finishing in the relegation zone due to their financial situation. They were Division One Central runners-up the following season; in the subsequent play-offs they defeated Egham Town 4–0 in the semi-finals before beating Barton Rovers 2–0 in the final to earn promotion back to the Premier Division of the Southern League. League reorganisation saw the club placed in the Southern League Premier South Division in 2018. After finishing third in 2021–22, they defeated Metropolitan Police in the play-off semi-final, before beating

Hayes & Yeading United Hayes & Yeading United Football Club is an association football club based in Hayes, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England. The club was formed in 2007 from a merger of Hayes Football Club (founded in 1909) and Yeading Football Club (f ...

2–1 in the final to secure promotion to the National League South. In

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

the club defeated League Two side

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional association football club from Sutton, South London, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Sutton started out playing in junior, ...

2–0 in the first round of the FA Cup, before losing 4–1 to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in the second.

Ground

The club initially played on a council pitch at the Queen's Road recreation ground. However, to progress in the non-League pyramid the club had to find a ground that could be enclosed. A site on Cherrywood Road was obtained and developed with support from a local company.Farnborough Town
Pyramid Passion

Current squad

Management team

{, class=wikitable !Position !Staff , - , Manager, ,

Spencer Day Spencer Day (born June 28, 1978) is a modern jazz singer and songwriter best known for his hit Jazz single "Till You Come to Me" as well as appearing on the CBS television network show ''Star Search'' in 2002–2003. He has released six studio ...

, - , rowspan="2", Coach, , Neil Baker , - , Steve Baker , - , Goalkeeping Coach, , Dave Hill , - , Head Therapist, , Holly Vickers , - , Therapist, , Steve Girdler-Whitcombe , - , Kitman, , Mike Long , - , Kit Assistant, , Josh Brown , -

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 2000–01 **Division One champions 1984–85 **Division Two champions 1978–79 *Southern League **Premier Division champions 1990–91, 1993–94, 2009–10 **Division One South & West champions 2007–08 *Athenian League **Division Two champions 1976–77 *London Spartan League **Champions 1975–76 *Spartan League **Champions 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75 *Hampshire Senior Cup **Winners 1974–75, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1990–91, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2021–22

Records

*Highest league finish: 5th in the

, 1991–92 *Best

performance: Fourth round, 2002–03 *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: Quarter-finals, 1991–92, 2002–03 *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: Semi-finals, 1975–76, 1976–77 *Record attendance: 4,267 vs

, Conference South play-off final, 15 May 2011Rushmoor Stadium
Farnborough F.C.

References

External links

* {{National League (English football) Football clubs in England Football clubs in Hampshire Farnborough, Hampshire 1967 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 2007 Phoenix clubs (association football) Surrey Senior League Spartan League Athenian League Isthmian League clubs National League (English football) clubs Southern Football League clubs