Wembley Football Club is an English semi-professional

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

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, in the

London Borough of Brent Brent () is a London boroughs, borough in north-west London, England. It is known for landmarks such as Wembley Stadium, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Swaminarayan Temple and the Kiln Theatre. It also contains the Brent Reservoir, W ...

, London, England. Founded in 1946, the club currently play in the . They play in red and white and are nicknamed "The Lions", due to the lion on the coat of arms for the old Borough of Wembley. Traditional local rivals for Wembley are Harrow Borough and Edgware Town, while

Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional Association football, football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National Lea ...

are also regarded as rivals although, as Wealdstone have regularly played at a higher level, meetings between the clubs have been rare.

History

The club was established in 1946 during the post-

Second World War 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 ...

football boom, as many in the area felt it an anomaly that the area which proudly boasted the English National Stadium did not have its own senior football team. It was formed from two local Junior clubs: Sudbury Rangers and Sudbury Ratepayers. As a result of their efforts, the club took the motto "A Posse Ad Esse" ("From Possibility To Reality"). Wembley became champions of the Middlesex Senior League in only their second season of existence in 1947–48. They then spent two seasons in 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 ...

Western Division, becoming Champions in the 1950–51 season. The next season saw them move from the Spartan League to become one of the founder members of the Delphian League. Vale Farm's record attendance was recorded in 1952 when 2,654 attended a derby game with local rivals

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow, London, Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont, Harrow, Belmont and Kenton, London, Kenton, ...

. In the 1955–56 season, they finished as runners up in the league. That season also saw them reach the finals of both the

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of ...

(losing 1–3 to Briggs Sports at Ilford) and

Middlesex Senior Cup The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have ...

(losing 1–2 to Hendon at Wealdstone). Notable players from this era was the Captain Len Berryman, prolific striker Stan Lowen and long serving defenders Tony Carroll and Arthur Percy.The team played in red and white quartered shirts. The club then joined the Corinthian League the following season (1956–57). That competition merged with 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 1963 and became the First Division where the club remained until gaining promotion to the Premier Division in 1968.

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora a ...

's first job in football management was with Wembley but most of his reign unfortunately coincided with the Big Freeze of 1962–63 so his impact was minimal. 1967–68 saw Wembley's best ever FA Amateur Cup run as they reached the 2nd round proper. The club in the 1972–73 season finished bottom of the Premier division but were saved from relegation when a lot of clubs left the Athenian league to join the Isthmian League, with this loss the Athenian League had to restructure into Divisions One and Two, and Wembley remained in the top division. However they were elevated to the Isthmian league at the end of the 1974–75 season. Wembley remained in the second tier 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 ...

for 21 seasons, during which time they came close to promotion to the Premier Division on two occasions in the 1980s but finished third on both occasions. During this period Wembley reached the 1st round proper 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 one and only time in 1980–81 where they lost 0–3 to Enfield. In 1983–84 Wembley reached the semi-finals of the

Cup before losing 4–1 to the eventual winners Sutton United. Wembley were one of the most successful clubs in Middlesex throughout the 1980s appearing in eight County Cup finals – winning five, including doing the County Cup 'Double' in 1986–87 by winning both the

and the

Middlesex Senior Charity Cup The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup is a knock-out system Association football, football competition that has been running since 1901. It was presented in 1901 by C.S. Goldmann, Esq. and was first played for in the 1901–02 season, the first winn ...

. Wembley reached both finals again the following season but lost both. The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup Final, was played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in front of almost 5,000 supporters but the Lions lost 3–0 to Hendon. They had however beaten

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 ...

side

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a association football, football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground was in a predominantly resi ...

in the semi-final coming from 0–1 down to win 2–1. It is the only time (thus far) in Wembley's history that they have beaten Football League opposition in a competitive match. The 1990s saw two excellent FA Cup runs, reaching the 4th qualifying round in 1992–93 before eventually going out to Nuneaton Borough after three replays (including one played in front of over 2,000 people) and the 3rd qualifying round in 1994–95 – beating Welling United – then of the

Conference A conference is a meeting, often lasting a few days, which is organized on a particular subject, or to bring together people who have a common interest. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always d ...

– 4–1 away from home. 1994–95 also saw The Lions win the

for the fifth time, beating Hampton 2–0 at Northwood. Hopes of promotion were high as Wembley entered their Jubilee season in 1995–96 but the loss of key players Giuliano Grazioli to Football League side Peterborough United and Charlie Flaherty meant that The Lions struggled from the off and eventually were relegated for the first time in the club's history. In a strange coincidence this season also saw Wembley's best ever

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 ...

, reaching the 2nd round proper before losing 0–2 to Conference side Northwich Victoria at Vale Farm. The club though bounced straight back up to division one in the 1996–97 campaign, and almost topped this off with another Middlesex Charity Cup win but lost 0–1 to local rivals Edgware Town. Under the management of Errol Dyer, 1998–99 saw Wembley reach the

final at Enfield's Southbury Road but they eventually lost to Hendon on penalties – the game having finished 2–2 after extra time. However that was the highlight of the season as the club was relegated back to Division two. The club then spent the next three seasons in Division two, when as part of the re-organisation for the 2002–03 campaign of the Isthmian League, all Division two clubs were elevated to the regionalised Division ones and Wembley were put in Division one North. However they could only survive one season in the higher league and were back in Division two. In the 2005–06 season, as a result of the restructuring of non-league football, Wembley were moved sideways into the Combined Counties League Premier Division. After a strong first season when The Lions remained in contention for the title for most of the season, the club have struggled at the wrong end of the table since. The club rounded off the 2010–11 season by reaching the Combined Counties League Premier Challenge Cup Final – their first final in 12 years – but lost 0–1 to Sandhurst Town. The final was played at Farnborough Town FC's Cherrywood Road ground. In the 2011–12 season, their FA Cup extra preliminary-round tie against Ascot United, was shown exclusively via a stream from

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

; funded by the FA Cup's new sponsors, multinational brewing company

Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

, it was the first broadcast of its kind anywhere in sport. Wembley won the match 2–1, with second-half goals from Chris Korten and Roy Byron, securing the win for The Lions in front of a record attendance of 1,149 at Ascot's Racecourse ground. On 15 March 2012,

announced that they would now be sponsoring Wembley FC as part of a marketing campaign to promote their involvement with clubs at all levels after taking over the sponsorship of the

The sponsorship deal included a clubhouse upgrade and provision of a team minibus. Other initiatives include the implementation of a new responsible drinking programme as well as promotion of the club in the wider Wembley community. On 28 March 2012, it was confirmed that

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (6 January 1943 – 25 November 2023), often referred to as El Tel, was an English football player and manager who played for clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers and won two caps for E ...

would join the club in a technical advisor capacity. On 21 June 2012 it was announced the club had recruited former internationals Ray Parlour,

Martin Keown Martin Raymond Keown ( ; born 24 July 1966) is an English football pundit and former professional footballer. A defender, he played from 1984 to 2005, notably in the Premier League for Arsenal, where he made over 400 appearances for the club an ...

, Graeme Le Saux,

Claudio Caniggia Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of bot ...

and

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former association football, soccer player who played as a forward (association football), forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Chicago Fire SC, Chicago Fire. He is the sixt ...

to play in their FA Cup campaign that season, none of whom made a competitive appearance for the club. Tobias Piers Webb remained in the side, despite calls for him to step down due to a string of poor performances, alongside Martin Parry, Christopher Lidstone, Stephen Garner, Cliff Darby, Liam Connolly, Rob Collins, Ross Mackiewicz, Pardeep Rai, Paddy Barron and Colin O’Connor. The north London side also hired

David Seaman David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country ...

as goalkeeping coach.

Ugo Ehiogu Ugochukwu Ehiogu (; 3 November 1972 – 21 April 2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre-back from 1989 to 2009. He was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team until his death in April 2017. He played in the Pr ...

was drafted in later for the preliminary qualifying game against

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...

, but could not prevent Wembley from being knocked out. At the end of the 2020–21 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division North of the Combined Counties League.

Ground

Wembley play their home games at Vale Farm, Watford Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 3HG. The stadium has a capacity of 2,450. The ground was used in 1966 as the training base for the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

during their successful

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

campaign. The ground was also shared by Hendon F.C. Hendon shared Vale Farm for four full seasons from the 2009-10 campaign. The ground is now shared with Cricklewood Wanderers F.C.Football Ground Map
Vale Farm, home to Wembley FC, Hendon, Cricklewood Wanderers - Football Ground Map
accessdate: 20 January 2020

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 1980–81 *Best

performance: Second round, 1995–96 *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, 1999–00, 2007–08, 2016–17 *Best

FA Amateur Cup The FA Amateur Cup was an English football competition for amateur clubs. It commenced in 1893 and ended in 1974 when the Football Association abolished official amateur status. History Following the legalisation of professionalism within footb ...

performance: Second round, 1968–69

Honours

League honours

** Runners-up (1): 1974–75 *

Division One ** Runners-up (1): 1967–68 * Delphian League ** Runners-up (1): 1955–56 *

(Western Division) ** Champions (1): 1950–51 * Middlesex Senior League ** Champions (1): 1947–48

Cup honours

** Winners (2): 1983–84, 1986–87 ** Runners-up (7): 1955–56, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1998–99 *

** Winners (5): 1967–68 (joint), 1980–81 (joint), 1982–83, 1986–87, 1994–95 ** Runners-up (2): 1996–97, 2013–14 *

** Runners-up (1): 1955–56 *

Dunkels Cup ** Winners (1): 1950–51 (joint) * North West Middlesex Invitation Cup ** Winners (1): 1956–57 * Middlesex League Cup ** Winners (1): 1946–47 * Suburban League Cup ** Winners (1): 1984–85 * Combined Counties League Premier Challenge Cup ** Runners-up (1): 2010–11

Wembley versus Football League opposition

*1956–57:

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a association football, football tournament formerly organised by the London Football Association, London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974 ...

–

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 ...

(a) L 1–5 *1959–60:

– Chelsea (a) L 0–16 (Wembley's record defeat) *1966–67:

–

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

(a) L 0–5 *1987–88:

Semi-final –

(a) W 2–1 *1989–90:

Semi-final – Chelsea (h) L 0–2 *1990–91:

– Chelsea L 2–3 *1991–92:

–

L 0–1 *1995–96:

–

L 0–1

Former players

# Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league). # Players with full international caps. *

Danny Bailey Danny Stephen Bailey (born 21 May 1964) is an English retired professional footballer. Early career He began his career as an apprentice with AFC Bournemouth, turning professional and making his league debut in the 1980–81 season. After onl ...

* Richard Cadette *

* Keith Cassells * Ken Coote * Bartłomiej Fogler * Giuliano Grazioli * Karamoko Kéïta *

* Howard Newton * Steve Parsons * Tony Readings * Gary Roberts * Gary Seward *

(Played one match in the FA Cup for the club)

References

External links

* * {{coord, 51, 33, 27, N, 0, 18, 57, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Association football clubs established in 1946 Football clubs in England Football clubs in London Sport in the London Borough of Brent Spartan South Midlands Football League Combined Counties Football League Isthmian League clubs Delphian League Corinthian League (football) Athenian League 1946 establishments in England Wembley