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
Spondon
Spondon is a ward of the city of Derby. Originally a small village, Spondon dates back to the Domesday Book and it became heavily industrialised in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with companies such as British Celanese.
History
The n ...
,
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Asterdale Bowl. The club originated in the adjacent village of
Borrowash
Borrowash is a village in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, situated immediately east of the Derby city boundary. The appropriate civil parish is called Ockbrook and Borrowash.
History
Borrowash was, for most of its history, the sec ...
before relocating to Spondon in 1984.
History
The club was established in 1911 and initially played in the Long Eaton & District Church League. They had a brief spell in the Derby Amateur League, but soon returned to the Long Eaton & District Church League.Club history Borrowash Victoria A.F.C. Following
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 ...
the club was reformed under the name Wesleyan Youth Club, playing in the Derby & District Welfare League. They won the league in 1952–53 but folded in 1957.
The club reformed again in 1963 and joined Section E of the Derby Welfare League,Borrowash Victoria AFC History 2013/14 Borrowash Victoria A.F.C. replacing Borrowash Youth Club. In 1969 they joined Division One of the
Central Alliance
The Central Alliance was a football league in England, covering the East Midlands.
History
The league was established in 1911 with twelve clubs, most of which had previously been members of the Notts & Derbyshire League; Derby County Reserve ...
.The Central Alliance 1962–1976 Non-League Matters They finished as runners-up in their first season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in the Premier Division. They subsequently switched to the
East Midlands Regional League The East Midlands Regional League was a football league in the East Midlands region of England between 1967 and 1985.East Midlands Regional League 1967–1983 Non-League Matters They were runners-up again in 1975–76 and 1976–77, before winning the league in 1977–78.
In 1979 the club joined Division One of the
Midland League
The Midland Football League is an English football league that was founded in 2014 by the merger of the former Midland Alliance and Midland Combination. The league has four divisions that sit at levels 9–12 of the football pyramid.
History
Th ...
.Midland Counties League 1958–1982 Non-League Matters They won the division and the divisional cup in 1980–81, but were not promoted. In 1982 the league merged with the Yorkshire League to form the
Northern Counties East League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively.
History
Th ...
, with Borrowash placed in Division Two South. The first season of the league saw them finish as runners-up, earning promotion to Division One South. They went on to win Division One South the following season, but were not promoted due to their inadequate ground facilities. After finishing as Division One South runners-up in 1984–85, they were placed in Division One for the 1985–86 season. Despite finishing seventh, they left the league at the end of the season, dropping into the new Supreme Division of the
Central Midlands League
The Central Midlands Football League is an English football league covering the northeast-central part of England. Formed in 1971 as the South Derbyshire League, changing name initially to the Derbyshire League before changing to its current nam ...
, which had been founded as a result of many Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire clubs leaving the Northern Counties East League due to disputes between coal mining unions in the East Midlands and Yorkshire over the
miners' strike
Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions.
See also
* List of strikes
References
{{Reflist
Miners
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are tw ...
.
The club remained in the Central Midlands League until 1995, when they rejoined Division One of the Northern Counties East League. In 2000–01 they won Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, after finishing second-from-bottom for two consecutive seasons, they were relegated back to Division One after finishing last in 2004–05. In 2008 the club became founder members of the
East Midlands Counties League
The East Midlands Counties Football League was an English football league that operated from 2008 to 2021, covering the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands. The league had one division, which stood a ...
, which sat at the same level in the
pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
as Division One of the Northern Counties East League. They were runners-up in the league's first season, and again in both
2010–11
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
and 2011–12. They also won the League Cup in both 2008–09 and 2011–12. The club remained members of the East Midlands Counties League until it was disbanded at the end of the 2020–21 season, at which point they were transferred to Division One of the
United Counties League
The United Counties League (also known after its sponsor as the ''Uhlsport United Counties League'') is an English football league covering Northamptonshire, Rutland and Bedfordshire and most of Leicestershire as well as parts of Buckinghamshi ...
.
Ground
The club initially played at Coffee Joe's Field in
Borrowash
Borrowash is a village in the Erewash district of Derbyshire, England, situated immediately east of the Derby city boundary. The appropriate civil parish is called Ockbrook and Borrowash.
History
Borrowash was, for most of its history, the sec ...
, with changing rooms located a mile and a half away. Up until 1984, they played on a council-owned pitch at Deans Drive in Borrowash, but were threatened with expulsion from the league due to drainage at Deans Drive, and were refused promotion at the end of the 1983–84 season. In need of new facilities, the club moved to the Asterdale Bowl Ground, on Borrowash Road in the
Spondon
Spondon is a ward of the city of Derby. Originally a small village, Spondon dates back to the Domesday Book and it became heavily industrialised in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with companies such as British Celanese.
History
The n ...
area of
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, which adjoins Borrowash. Since 2012, the club's junior section are based at Deans Drive, restoring the club's link with their former ground.
The club initially leased the Asterdale ground before later purchasing it. A new changing room was built and floodlights installed in 1985–86, with the official switching on marked by a friendly match against
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
. The attendance of around 2,000 remains the cub's record. A 250-seat stand was built after the club bought the ground in the 1990s. For sponsorship reasons, the ground has variously been known as the Robinson Construction Bowl, Watkinson Construction Bowl and – since 2014 – the Anderson Electrical Arena. Belper United shared Asterdale from 2016 to 2018, while Derby County Ladies previously also played at the ground.Derby County Ladies FC target Women's Super League BBC Sport, 11 December 2015 The Bowl is part of the wider Asterdale sports complex, which is also home to Graham Street Prims and Leesbrook Rugby Club.
Honours
*Northern Counties East League
**Division One South champions 1983–84
**Division One champions 2000–01
*East Midlands Counties League
**League Cup winners 2008–09, 2011–12
*Midland League
**Division One champions 1980–81
**Division One Cup winners 1980–81
*East Midlands Regional League
**Premier Division champions 1977–78
*Derby & District Welfare League
**Champions 1952–53
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, 1991–92
*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 ...