Bishop's Cleeve Football Club is a semi-professional

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 Bishop's Cleeve, near

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

, Gloucestershire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Kayte Lane. Nicknamed 'The Mitres', the club are affiliated to the

Gloucestershire County FA The Gloucestershire County Football Association, also simply known as the ''Gloucestershire FA'' or ''GFA'', is the governing body of football in the county of Gloucestershire. It was formed in 1886. History The Gloucestershire County Footb ...

History

Formed in 1905,Club History
Bishop's Cleeve F.C. the club initially played in the

Cheltenham League The Cheltenham Association Football League is a football competition based in England and has a total of four divisions. Its top division, Division One, sits at level 14 of the English football league system. It is a feeder to the Gloucestershi ...

. They won Division Two in 1924–25 and again in 1930–31.Division 2 winners
Cheltenham League After being promoted to Division One, they won the league title in 1931–32 and 1934–35. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

they won Division Two in 1958–59, before going on to win Division One in 1961–62 and 1963–64.Division 1 winners
Cheltenham League Following back-to-back titles in 1965–66 and 1966–67, the club moved up to Division Two of the

Gloucestershire Northern Senior League The Gloucestershire Northern Senior League is a football competition based in England founded in 1922. The league is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA. It has two divisions, Division One and Division Two, with Division One sitting at ...

. They won Division Two at the first attempt, and after earning promotion to Division One, went on to win back-to-back titles in 1968–69 and 1969–70.Previous NSL Seasons
Gloucester Northern Senior League A third Division One title was won in 1972–73. In 1983 Bishop's Cleeve moved up to Division One of the Hellenic League. They won the division in 1986–87, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They won the Premier Division Cup in 1987–88, but were relegated back to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 1991–92. League restructuring in 2000 saw them placed in Division One West, and after finishing as runners-up in 2000–01, they were promoted back to the Premier Division. In 2005–06 the club finished as Premier Division runners-up, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Southern League. They were transferred to Division One South & West in 2008. After finishing bottom of the division in 2017–18, the club were relegated to the Premier Division of the Hellenic League. In 2021–22 they won the Hellenic League title, earning promotion back to Division One South of the Southern League.

Ground

The club originally played at a ground on Stoke Road. It was redeveloped in the early 1970s, and was officially reopened by FA Secretary

Ted Croker Edgar Alfred Croker (13 February 1924 – 25 December 1992) was an English football player and administrator. He was Secretary of the Football Association from 1973 to 1989. Life and career Born in Kingston-upon-Thames in 1924, Croker joined th ...

in 1971. However, by the 1990s the club were required to leave Stoke Road to maintain their Hellenic League status, resulting in them spending several seasons groundsharing at Moreton Town, Wollen Sports, Forest Green Rovers and Evesham United.Bishop's Cleeve
Pyramid Passion Permission was given for a new ground at Kayte Lane in 1997 and following a new stand and floodlights being installed, the club returned to the town in 2002. A new clubhouse was completed in 2004. It has a capacity of 1,500, of which 50 is covered seating. During refurbishments in 2021–22, including the installation of an artificial pitch and new floodlights, the club played at Evesham United's Jubilee Stadium.

Honours

*Hellenic League **Premier Division champions; 2021–22 **Premier Division Cup winners; 1987–88 **Division One champions; 1986–87 *Gloucestershire Northern Senior League **Division One champions; 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73 **Division Two champions; 1967–68 *Cheltenham League **Division One champions; 1931–32, 1934–35, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1965–66, 1966–67 **Division Two champions; 1924–25, 1930–31, 1958–59 **Senior Charities Cup winners; 1928–29, 1936–37, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1966–67Senior Charities Cup winners
Cheltenham League

Records

*Highest league position: 11th in Southern League South & West Division, 2011–12 *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: Fourth qualifying round, 2005–06 *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: First qualifying round, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2012–13, 2014–15 *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: Third round, 2005–06 *Record attendance: 1,300 vs

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

, July 2006 *Most appearances: John SkeenMike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p507 *Most goals: Kevin Slack

References

External links