Ramsgate FC
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Ramsgate Football Club are 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 ...
team based in
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England. They are currently members of the . The club was founded in 1945 and was known as Ramsgate Athletic until 1972. After playing in the original Kent League in the 1950s, Ramsgate joined the Southern League in 1959. In 1976 they resigned from this league and returned to county-level competition in a new Kent League. In 2005 Ramsgate gained promotion to 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 ...
Division One and secured a second consecutive promotion to the Premier Division a year later. Ramsgate were relegated in 2009 and have since played at the seventh level of the
English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...
. Ramsgate play at Southwood Stadium, which has undergone significant improvement since 2020, including the laying of a new 3G pitch. The main local rivals of the club are
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
who are situated just four miles away. When the two teams meet, it is known as the Thanet derby.


History

The earliest incarnation of Ramsgate FC had played since at least 1886 but folded in 1924, with local rivals Ramsgate Glenville taking over their Southwood Stadium. Glenville did not reform after World War II and a new club dubbed Ramsgate Athletic took over Southwood. The club retained the Athletic name until 1972. Athletic played in the original incarnation of the Kent League from their formation until the collapse of the league in 1959. This was the club's best period for nearly 50 years, with two consecutive league titles, several county cups, and a run to 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 ...
. With the collapse of the Kent League the Rams migrated to the Southern League, where they initially did well but were forced to resign and drop down to the re-formed Kent League in 1976. For nearly thirty years the club performed well without seriously challenging for promotion, but their fortunes changed in 2004 with the return of former manager Jim Ward. He led the club to two consecutive championships ( Kent League Premier Division and Isthmian League First Division), taking the club into 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 ...
Premier Division for 2006–07, which therefore offered the first derby matches for many years against
Isle of Thanet The Isle of Thanet () is a peninsula forming the easternmost part of Kent, England. While in the past it was separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel, it is no longer an island. Archaeological remains testify to its settlement in a ...
rivals
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
. In the club's first season in the Premier Division the Rams finished in 9th place, and followed this with an even better season in 2007–08, finishing in 5th place to reach the play-offs, although they were beaten 2–1 in the semi-final by Staines Town. The Rams also won the Isthmian League Cup, 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 at
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
's Princes Park ground. The following season, however, Ramsgate finished bottom of the table and were relegated. The 2023–24 season saw Ramsgate reach the second round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in the club's history, defeating
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
club
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 ...
2–1 in the first round to earn a trip to League Two side
AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional association football club based in Wimbledon, London, Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, London. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in ...
, who won the match 5–0. With the season having ended in disappointment with defeat in the play-offs, they were promoted as champions the following season.


Stadium

The Rams play their home games at Southwood Stadium, currently known under a sponsorship deal as the WW Martin Community Stadium. The ground has historically been best known for two large terraces at the Town End and the Manston Airport End behind each goal. Southwood Stadium has been the home of football in Ramsgate since the late 1800s and became the home of Ramsgate Athletic in 1945. Around this time the pitch was rotated 90 degrees, a covered Main Stand, later renamed the Colin Hill Stand, was erected with wooden benches installed running the length of the pitch and land parallel to the opposite touchline was used as a training pitch. Both ends of the ground were covered soon after which remained in place until the Great Storm of 1987 caused irreparable damage which resulted in only one side of the ground being covered until 2007, when both ends were once again covered. In the late 2000s the wooden benches were replaced with red seating. Little improvement had been made at Southwood prior to James Lawson taking over as chairman in December 2019. In June 2020 Ramsgate refurbished the old Sponsor's Lounge and built the Corner Flag Bar, a glass fronted lounge overlooking the pitch as well as installing two Panna Cages. 2021 saw the laying of a 3G pitch. The opening of the pitch was against
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
on 17 July 2021. The pitch is an artificial 3G playing surface which is graded at FIFA Quality Pro level, the highest ranking available. A car park for 200 cars replaced the previous training pitch. Further advancements were made to increase the match day experience in 2022 with a elevated deck built between the Corner Flag Bar and Colin Hill Stand and new bar areas added. This area was further developed in 2023 with the installation of three containers providing bars for both sponsors and supporters. Future plans for Southwood include a new stand and education hub on the car park side of the ground.


Supporters

In the 2007–08 season, Ramsgate's average attendance was 369, the twelfth highest figure in 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 ...
Premier Division. For the visit of rivals Margate the crowd was 1,210, nearly double the attendance at any other match. The 2011–12 season had an average attendance of 159, 2012–13 was 157, 2013–14 was 269, 2014–15 was 248, 2015–16 was 207 and 2016–17 was 237. In the 2023–24 season the Rams average attendance grew to 1,075. During the season there was in excess of 1,000 fans at 14 games. 3,000 attended the FA Cup victory against Woking with over 2,500 watching the home draw with title rivals Cray Valley. 300 season tickets have been sold for the 2024–25 season.


Current squad

''As of 01 June 2025''


Club officials


Ramsgate FC

President: Lord Pendry
Director: James Lawson
Vice-presidents: Martin Able, Kevin Barham, David Butler, Ian Heath, Paul Jefcoate, Richard Lawson, Malcolm Mitchell, Steve Redford, Foy Turner, Colin West
General Manager: Ian Heath
Club Secretary: Ian Heath
Matchday Secretary: Rob Hughes
Media Officer: Dan Whitehead
Safety & Welfare Officer: James Lawson
Equality & Diversity Officer: Elliot Austin
Programme Editor: Dan Whitehead


Football management

Director of Football: Seb Tidey
Manager: Ben Smith
Assistant Manager : Vacant
Coach : Sean Hill
Coach : Darren Beale
GK Coach : Henry Newcombe
Sports Therapist: Georgina Dean
Kit Manager: Philip Butler


Managerial history


Honours

*
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 ...
**South East Division champions 2024–25 **First Division Champions 2005–06 ** League Cup Winners 2007–08 * Kent League **Champions 1948–49, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1998–99, 2004–05 **League Cup Winners 1948–49, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2000–01, 2004–05 *Thames & Medway Combination Champions' Cup **Winners 1959–60 *Thames & Medway Combination Eastern Division Champions **1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61 * Kent Senior Cup **Winners 1963–64 *Kent Senior Shield **Winners 1960–61, 1967–68, 1968–69 *Kent Senior Trophy **Winners 1987–88, 1988–89, 1998–99 *Kent League Charity Shield **Winners 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005


Records

*Best league performance: 5th in
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 ...
Premier Division (level 7), 2007–08 *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: 2nd round proper, 2023–24 *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: 1st round proper, 2023–24 *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: Quarter-finals, 1999–2000 *Record attendance: 5,038 vs
Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...
, 1956–57Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2020) ''Non-League Club Directory 2021'', p573 *Biggest victory: 11–0 and 12–1 vs Canterbury City, Kent League, 2000–01 *Most Apps: Warren Schulz (458) *Most goals: Joe Taylor (170)


Former players


References


External links

* {{Isthmian League Football clubs in Kent Isthmian League clubs Association football clubs established in 1886 Ramsgate Southern Football League clubs 1886 establishments in England Southern Counties East Football League Football clubs in England