Stotfold 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 Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

based at

Stotfold Stotfold is a town and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The town covers and the River Ivel passes through the town. The population of the parish at the 2021 census was 9,014. The wider built-up area ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. They play in the . The club is affiliated to the

Bedfordshire County Football Association The Bedfordshire Football Association, also simply known as ''Bedfordshire FA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Bedfordshire, England. Founded in 1894, the Bedfordshire FA run a number of cups at different levels for teams a ...

History

The first recorded football in Stotfold occurred in 1904 although it is certain the game was played in the town for a number of years before that. In the early 1900s, Stotfold sides played in the Biggleswade and District League. This was followed by a spell of nearly 30 years in North Herts football. The first record of a trophy being won was 1911 when Potton were beaten 1–0 in the Biggleswade and District Championship. Stotfold FC was officially founded, with proper financing, stewardship and record-keeping, in 1946. The club played for many years at the Hitchin Road Recreation Ground before moving into the newly developed Roker Park ground in 1965. This ground was just a meadow named "Roker" when it was first used by Stotfold Athletic in 1911. In 1951 the club joined the

South Midlands League The South Midlands League was a football league covering Bedfordshire and some adjoining counties in England. It was founded in 1922 as the Bedfordshire County League and merged with the Spartan League in 1997 to form the Spartan South Midlands ...

Division Two, finishing 2nd to gain immediate promotion to Division One. They were Division One champions in 1953–54 and were promoted to the Premier Division, where they remained for thirty years. Stotfold won the South Midlands League Premier Division for the first time in the 1980–81 season under the management team of Brian Parker, Peter Godden, and Geoff Heard. They were also runners-up seven times. In 1984, the Eagles were transferred to the

United Counties League The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''GCE Hire Fleet Ltd. United Counties League'') is an England, English association football, football league covering an area including the English Counties of the United Kingdom, ...

. They were admitted straight into the Premier Division, where they stayed until 2010. Through the 1990s, the club generally finished high in the top ten. After several changes of manager, the club re-appointed former

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 ...

man Ian Allinson as manager for 2007–08, and he rewarded them by leading the club to their most successful season, including the UCL championship for the first time. He subsequently left to join

Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 36,322, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

. The championship was clinched in dramatic fashion; starting the second half 0–4 down to closest challengers

Long Buckby Long Buckby is a large village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the parish of Long Buckby, which includes the hamlet of Long Buckby Wharf, was recorded ...

, Stotfold managed to equalise in the 90th minute for the point needed to clinch the title. Stotfold transferred to the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

for the 2010–11 season. They remained in the Premier Division before being relegated to Division One on the last day of the 2018–19 campaign. Stotfold achieved a landmark for the club in February 2020 when they moved to their brand new £2m step 4 ready stadium at New Roker Park on Arlesey Road.

Former players

1. Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league).
2. Players with full international caps.
3. Players that hold a club record or have captained the club. * Mitchell Cole – (2011) * Josh Coley – (2020) * Darren Dykes – (2005–06) * Graeme Tomlinson – (2003–04) * Ian Allinson – (2005–08) * Phil Gray – (2005) *

Liam George Liam Brendan George (born 2 February 1979) is a footballer who plays for Barton Rovers on a part-time basis, having signed for them in 2010. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland in the Under 18 European Youth Championship. C ...

– (2005)

Management Team

*Manager – Paul Donnelly *Assistant manager – Callum Donnelly *Assistant manager – Ryan Frater *Goalkeeper coach – Vacant *Physio – Vacant *Development Team Manager – Jon Little *Development Team Assistant Manager – Sean Lyness *Kit Man – Roy Ryall

Honours

Premier Division **Champions 2007–08 **Runners-up 1993–94, 1995–96, 2008–09 *

Premier Division **Champions 1980–81 **Runners-up 1955–56, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1977–78 *

Premier Division **Runners-up 2022–23 *

Division 1 **Champions 1953–54 *

Division 1 **Champions 2021–22 *

Division 2 **Runners-up 1951–52 *

Knock-Out Cup **Winners 1999, 2000 *

Challenge Trophy **Winners 1982 *

Challenge Trophy **Runners-up 2014, 2022 *

Senior Floodlight Cup **Runners-up 2014 *

Division 1 Cup **Runners-up 2022 *

Senior Cup **Winners 1965, 1994, 2000, 2008 **Runners-up 2001 *

Premier Cup **Winners 1982, 1992, 1999 *

Intermediate Cup **Winners 1959, 1992, 1998, 2002 **Runners-up 2009 *

Senior Trophy **Winners 2020, 2022 Biggleswade Knock-Out Cup **Winners 1998, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013 **Runners-up 2010 North Bedfordshire Charity Cup **Winners 1956, 1957, 1962, 1982, 1988, 1991, 1998, 2003, 2010 Southern Combination Cup **Winners 1995, 1996 Hinchingbrooke Cup **Winners 2000 **Runners-up 2014

Records

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 ...

**Third Qualifying Round 2007–08 *

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 ...

**First Qualifying Round 2023–24, 2024–25 *

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 ...

**Fourth Round 1994–95, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2009–10

References

External links

Stotfold official website
{{Coord, 52, 01, 18.48, N, 0, 13, 22.31, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title United Counties League Association football clubs established in 1904 1904 establishments in England Football clubs in Bedfordshire Football clubs in England Stotfold Spartan South Midlands Football League Southern Football League clubs