AFC Dunstable are a
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in
Dunstable
Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...
, Bedfordshire, England. The club are members of Division One Central of the
Southern League, and are 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 ...
. They play at Creasey Park.
History
The club was established in 1981 as Old Dunstablians, named after a club for former pupils of
Dunstable Grammar School
Dunstable Grammar School was a grammar school in the market town of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1888, it was closed in 1971.
The site is now home to residential flats and apartments.
Foundation
Dunstable Grammar School was esta ...
.
["AFC Dunstable – Club History" Harefield United programme, 27 February 2016] The new club played at
Manshead School, which had succeeded the grammar school. They initially played in the Dunstable Alliance Football League, before joining the Luton District and South Befordshire League in 1983. In 1989–90 the club won the Bedfordshire Junior Cup.
[
In 1994 the club moved to ]Totternhoe
Totternhoe is a village and civil parish in the Manshead hundred of the county of Bedfordshire, England.
Overview
Totternhoe is an ancient village in southern Bedfordshire, near Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard. Totternhoe Knolls has been a fort ...
, when Dunstable Town Cricket Club opened a new sports facility in the village.[ The new ground allowed the club to join Division One of the ]South Midlands League
The South Midlands League was a association football, 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 ...
in 1995.[ In 1997 the league merged with 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 establish ...
to form the Spartan South Midlands League, with the club placed in Division One North. In 2001–02 they won the Division One Cup, and in 2003–04 were champions of the renamed Division Two. However, failure to achieve the ground grading regulations meant that the club was unable to take promotion.[
In 2004 the club changed their name to AFC Dunstable,] although reference to the former name was retained in the club's nickname of the OD's.[ After winning Division Two again in 2006–07, a season in which they also won the Division Two Cup and the Bedfordshire Senior Trophy the club were again refused promotion. They won the Senior Trophy for a second time in 2007–08, and after finishing third in Division Two 2008–09 and moving to Creasey Park, they were promoted to Division One. In 2010–11 AFC Dunstable finished as runners-up in Division One and won the Division One Cup, earning promotion to the Premier Division.][ In 2015–16 they won the Premier Division and were promoted to Division One Central of the Southern League. In 2016–17 the club won the ]Bedfordshire Senior Cup
The Bedfordshire Senior Challenge Cup, also known as the ''Beds Senior Cup'' is the county cup of Bedfordshire. According to the current rules of the competition, it is open to all clubs whose affiliation is with the Bedfordshire County FA (BCFA) ...
, defeating Dunstable Town 2–0 in the final, going on to defeat Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
by the same scoreline in the Bedfordshire Premier Cup.
The 2017–18 season saw Dunstable finish fifth in the renamed East Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 2–0 in the semi-finals by Hartley Wintney
Hartley Wintney is a large village and civil parish in the Hart (district), Hart district of Hampshire, England. It lies about northwest of Fleet, Hampshire, Fleet and east of Basingstoke. The parish includes the smaller contiguous village of ...
.
League history
Honours
*Spartan South Midlands League
**Premier Division champions 2015–16
**Division Two champions 2003–04, 2006–07
**Division One Cup winners 2001–02, 2010–11
**Division Two Cup winners, 2006–07
*Bedfordshire Senior Cup
**Winners 2016–17
*Bedfordshire Premier Cup
**Winners 2016–17
*Bedfordshire Senior Trophy
**Winners 2006–07, 2007–08
*Bedfordshire Junior Cup
**Winners 1989–90
Records
*Best FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
performance: Third qualifying round 2020–21[
*Best ]FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
performance: Second qualifying round, 2022–23[
*Best ]FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...
performance: Fourth round 2015–16[
*Most appearances: BJ Christie (2008–present)
*Most goals: BJ Christie (2008–present)Cashman is named new AFC skipper]
Luton Today, 24 May 2018
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunstable
Dunstable
South Midlands League
Spartan South Midlands Football League
Southern Football League clubs
Association football clubs established in 1981
Football clubs in Bedfordshire
1981 establishments in England
Football clubs in England