Bromley Football Club is a 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

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. They are currently members of and play at Hayes Lane.

History

Established in 1892,Bromley vs Whitehawk
Bromley F.C. Bromley initially played in the South London League,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2013) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013: 35th Edition'' TW Publications, p273 before becoming a founder member of the Southern League in 1894, joining Division Two. However, after finishing bottom of Division Two in 1895–96 they left to become founder members of the London League, also joining Division Two. They won the division at the first attempt and were promoted to Division One.London League 1896-1910
Non-League Matters They switched to the Kent League for the 1898–99 season, but after finishing bottom of the league, they returned to Division One of the London League. During the 1899–1900 season, the club withdrew from Division One, taking over their reserves' fixtures in Division Two. They withdrew from Division Two at the end of the 1900–01 season. In 1907 the club were founder members of 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 ...

and went on to become its inaugural champions. They joined the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

for the following season, and won back-to-back titles in 1908–09 and 1909–10. In 1910–11 the club won the

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 footba ...

, beating

Bishop Auckland Bishop Auckland () is a market town and civil parish at the confluence of the River Wear and the River Gaunless in County Durham, northern England. It is northwest of Darlington and southwest of Durham. Much of the town's early history surro ...

1–0 in the final. The season also saw them finish seventh in 1910–11, the club returned to the Kent League and were placed in Division One.The 'original' Kent League 1894-1922
Non-League Matters They remained in the league until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but joined the Athenian League when football resumed in 1919. The club were Athenian League champions in 1922–23. In 1937–38 they reached the first round of the

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 ...

for the first time. After beating

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is located north of London, north-east of Peterborough, no ...

in the first round, they lost 4–1 at

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in the second. They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup again, beating Erith & Belvedere 1–0. The club repeated the feat the following season, this time playing Football League opposition for the first time as they lost 8–1 at Lincoln City in the second round. In 1945–46 another second round appearance resulted in a 4–2 aggregate defeat to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. In 1947–48 they held

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

to a 1–1 draw in the first round, before losing the replay at Elm Park 3–0. The club won another Athenian League title and the FA Amateur Cup in 1948–49, with the following season seeing another FA first round defeat, this time 2–1 to Watford. In 1950–51 the club won their third Athenian League title; the season also saw them lose 1–0 to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

in the FA Cup first round. Going straight into the first round the following season, they lost 3–2 at

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

. In 1952 they rejoined the Isthmian League, and after finishing as runners-up in their first season back in the league, they were champions in 1953–54. They won the league for a fourth time in 1960–61. After finishing bottom of Division One in the 1974–75 season Bromley were relegated to Division Two. In 1976–77 the club appeared in the FA Cup first round for the first time in over twenty years, losing 7–0 at Swindon Town. Division Two became Division One in 1977, and the club were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing as runners-up in 1979–80. They were relegated to Division One again in 1983–84, but returned to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in 1985–86. Another relegation followed in 1989–90, but was followed by an immediate return to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in 1990–91. In 1996–97 they qualified for the FA Cup first round again, but were beaten 3–1 at home by Enfield. Bromley were relegated to Division One again at the end of the 1998–99 season; non-league reorganisation in 2004 saw Division One become the eighth rather than seventh tier of the football pyramid. A fourth-place finish that season saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, and after defeating

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

on penalties in the semi-finals, they beat

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

3–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 they finished as runners-up in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs. A 1–0 win over

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

in the semi-finals and a victory against

Billericay Town Billericay Town Football Club is a football club based in Billericay, Essex, England. The club are currently members of and play at New Lodge. They are the second most successful club in FA Vase history, having won the competition on three o ...

on penalties in the final saw them promoted to the Conference South. The season had also seen them reach the FA Cup first round again, eventually losing 4–1 at Gillingham. Further appearances in the first round were achieved in 2009–10 (against Colchester United), 2011–12 ( Leyton Orient), 2012–13 (

Fleetwood Town Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...

) and 2014–15 (

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

), but they were beaten on each occasion. In 2014–15 Bromley won the Conference South, earning promotion to the renamed National League, where they have remained since. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 2017–18 saw them defeated by

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. The season also saw them reach the final of the

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 ...

, where they lost 5–4 on penalties to

Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St. James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...

after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw.FA Trophy final: Brackley Town beat Bromley 5-4 on penalties after 1-1 draw
BBC Sport, 20 May 2018 The club won the FA Trophy for the first time in their history in 2021–22, beating

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

1–0 in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Ground

The club initially played at the Queensmead Recreation Ground, before moving to Glebe Road. Seven years later they moved to the Plaistow Cricket Club ground when Glebe Road was bought for use as housing.Bromley
Pyramid Passion However, the cricket club's ground was also obtained for housing in 1904, leading to the football club (and the other sports club using the ground) moving to a site on Hayes Lane. The new ground was opened on 3 September 1904. In 1938 the club moved to the current Hayes Lane ground. The record attendance of 10,798 was set during a game against a Nigeria XI in September 1948. The ground currently has a capacity of 5,150, of which 1,300 is seated and 2,500 is covered.

Current squad

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Honours

*FA Trophy **Winners 2021–22 *National League South **Champions 2014–15 *Isthmian League **Champions 1908–09, 1909–10, 1953–54, 1960–61 *Athenian League **Champions 1922–23, 1948–49, 1950–51 *Spartan League **Champions 1907–08 *London League **Division Two champions 1896–97 *FA Amateur Cup **Winners 1910–11, 1937–38, 1948–49 *

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 Ar ...

**Winners 1909–10, 1945–46, 1950–51, 2002–03, 2012–13 * Kent Senior Cup **Winners 1949–50, 1976–77, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2005–06, 2006–07 *London Challenge Cup **Winners 1995–96 *Kent Floodlit Trophy **Winners 1978–79 *Kent Amateur Cup **Winners 1907–08, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1959–60

Records

*Best

performance: Second round, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1945–46 *Best

performance: Winners 2021–22 *Record attendance: 10,789 vs Nigeria XI, 24 September 1948 *Biggest victory: 13–1 vs Redhill, Athenian League, 1945–46 *Heaviest defeat: 11–1 vs Barking, Athenian League, 1933–34 *Most appearances: George Brown (1938–1961) *Most goals: George Brown, 570 (1938–1961) *Record transfer fee received: Undisclosed sum from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

for

Reeco Hackett-Fairchild Reeco Lee Hackett-Fairchild (born 9 January 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Portsmouth. Career Hackett was born in the London Borough of Redbridge, and started his career in the youth sides of Fulham and B ...

, January 2020

In popular culture

Lifelong fan Dave Roberts wrote three books on his experiences following Bromley FC: ''The Bromley Boys'' (2008), ''32 Programmes'' (2011) and ''Home and Away'' (2016). '' The Bromley Boys'' has also been made into a film available on DVD and via streaming, starring Martine McCutcheon, Alan Davies and Jamie Foreman.

References

External links

Official website
{{Football in London Football clubs in England Football clubs in London Sport in the London Borough of Bromley 1892 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1892 Southern Football League clubs London League (football) Kent Football League (1894–1959) Spartan League Isthmian League Athenian League National League (English football) clubs