South Park Reigate Football Club are an English

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

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. The club is affiliated to the

Surrey County Football Association The Surrey County Football Association was founded in 1877 and affiliated to The Football Association in 1882, at the same time as a County Senior Cup competition, the Surrey Senior Cup, was established. The organisation administers all levels ...

. They play in the .

History

The club was founded in 1897 and joined the Redhill and District Football League as a founding member. The facilities of the club were very basic to start with, with the club playing on a sports field between Crescent and Church Roads. 1925 brought a partnership with the local

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

club which formed the South Park Sports Association, the association aimed to improve athletic facilities for the two clubs and the people of South Park. The new association found suitable land on Whitehall Lane, the current home of South Park F.C., and purchased four acres through subscriptions and door-to-door collections. Further purchases of two and four acres respectively ensured that the ground would remain a permanent sports home by vesting them to the

National Playing Fields Association Fields in Trust is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

. The entire allotment was renamed " King George's Field" in 1935. The club took a hit during and immediately after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, however, an air raid shelter on King George's Field proved to be a defining feature of the landscape for the club in its rebound after the war. Donations ensured amenities were added to the shelter, such as a clubhouse, showers, and toilets, to provide the club with much-needed improvements to fulfill its sporting aspirations. After this period the club continued playing in the local leagues, where they achieved some success over the years. In 2001, nearby Reigate Town Football Club moved into South Park and merged with the current club. As a result, the club was renamed South Park & Reigate Town Football Club until 2003 when they reverted to South Park Football Club. Even more renovations were made to King George's Field with the installation of floodlights and new changing rooms. 2006 saw the club's promotion from the Crawley & District League to the

Combined Counties Football League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's Association football, football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the wester ...

Division One. The club's first ever

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 ...

match was held in 2008–09, a second qualifying round 2–1 home defeat to Shoreham. In 2010, South Park participated in 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. They beat Greenwich Borough and Horsham YMCA to set up a tie with

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional association football, football club based in Chislehurst, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St ...

. That season also saw the club gain promotion to the

Premier Division, and won a cup double of the Combined Counties Division one cup and the Surrey County premier Cup. In the 2011–12 season South Park reached the last 32 of the FA Vase competition where they were eventually overcome by the holders

Whitley Bay Whitley Bay is a seaside town in the North Tyneside borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly governed as part of Northumberland and has been part of Tyne and Wear since 1974. It is part of the wider Tyneside built-up area, being around ...

. In the 2012–13 season the club achieved its best-ever performance in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth qualifying round, where they were beaten 3–0 at home by Metropolitan Police. In the 2013–13 season, the club won the Combined Counties Premier division, being promoted to the Isthmian League Division One South. After a reorganisation of the Isthmian League structure occurred for the 2018–19 season the club became a member of the Isthmian League South Central Division. South Park updated their badge in July 2018. In October 2018, manager Mick Sullivan, who joined at the start of the season, left the club. Jay Lovett was named manager later that month. In November 2019, Martin Dynan replaced Lovett. Harrison Williams took charge of the club in February 2022. In November 2022, Harrison left the club and his assistant Tom Cope took over the side and was named the First Team Manager. South Park renamed themselves South Park Reigate in July 2022, the decision was made by the club as they believe it will enhance their profile locally as well as in the wider football community. In the 2023–24 season, manager Tom Cope lead the club on to have their most successful season in club history. They reached the Third round of the

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 ...

after beating

Bognor Regis Town Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently co ...

of higher league standing, 4–1 away and went on to play

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

away in the Third round. They narrowly lost 1-0 to the team who were 3 divisions higher than them, ending their run but making their first ever appearance in the third round in the competition. South Park also went on that season to win the Surrey Senior Cup, beating high flyers Farnham Town and ending their 40+ game winning streak. Season 2024-25 began with mixed results and Rob Kember was appointed as the new Manager in November 2024. The recovery when it came was significant and the team finished strongly to avoid relegation and ensure another season in the Isthmian South Central Division.

Ground

South Park plays their home games at Whitehall Lane, South Park, Reigate, Surrey RH2 8LG. The club benefits from an excellent 3G pitch that supports the first team, youth section, Vets and wider community.

Non-playing staff

:''As of November 2018.'' The club is run by a Board of Directors including the aforementioned Ricky Kidd and Nick Thatcher who all take on specific roles. Alongside them, Joe McElligott as Director of Football, Steve Robb as Treasurer and Neil Morris as Press Officer make up the group.

Awards and honours

Premier Division **Champions: 2013–14 *Surrey FA Saturday Premier Cup: ** Winners: 2010–11 *Combined Counties Football League Premier Cup **Runners up: 2012–13 *Combined Counties Football League Division One Cup: ** Winners: 2010–11 *Surrey Senior County Cup: ** Winners: 2023-24

Records

*Highest League Position: **1st in Combined Counties Premier Division: 2013–14 *

best performance: **Fourth qualifying round: 2012–13 *

best performance: **Fourth round: 2011–12 *

best performance: **Third round: 2023–24 *Highest Attendance: **643 vs Metropolitan Police: October 20, 2012

References

External links

*
South Park
at 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 ...

* {{Reigate and Banstead Isthmian League clubs Combined Counties Football League Association football clubs established in 1897 Football clubs in Surrey 1897 establishments in England Football clubs in England Reigate Crawley and District Football League Redhill and District Saturday Football League