Chesham United Football Club is a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

football club in

Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordsh ...

, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the and play at the Meadow.

History

The club was established in 1917 by a merger of Chesham Town and

Chesham Generals Chesham United Football Club is a semi-professional football club in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. Nicknamed "the Generals", they are currently members of the and play at the Meadow. History The club was established in 1917 by a merger o ...

.History
Chesham United F.C. The new club joined 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 ...

in 1919, which the Generals had been members of prior to

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 ...

. They won back-to-back league titles in 1921–22 and 1922–23, and were champions again in 1924–25. League reorganisation in 1928 saw them placed in Division One West. However, the following season saw them placed in the Premier Division after further reorganisation, and they were league runners-up in 1929–30, before going on to win the league in 1932–33. During

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 played in the

Great Western Combination The Great Western Combination was a football league in south-central England. History The league was established in 1939, initially as a wartime competition as many other leagues had been abandoned following the outbreak of World War II. Its or ...

. When the league resumed after the war, Chesham were placed in the Western Division of the Spartan League for the 1945–46 season.Spartan League 1934–1955
Non-League Matters The league was reduced to a single division for the 1946–47 season, after which the club switched to the

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

. They were runners-up in 1960–61 and 1961–62, but the league disbanded in 1963 and together with the majority of clubs in the league, Chesham were founder member of the new Division One of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur 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 Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

. In 1966–67 the club 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, losing 6–0 at

Enfield Enfield may refer to: Places Australia * Enfield, New South Wales * Enfield, South Australia ** Electoral district of Enfield, a state electoral district in South Australia, corresponding to the suburb ** Enfield High School (South Australia) ...

. The following season saw them reach the final of 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 ...

, losing 1–0 to

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 1968–69 ended with a 5–0 defeat at

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

. In 1973 Chesham switched to Division Two of 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 ...

, which was renamed Division One in 1977. They reached the FA Cup first round again in 1976–77, losing 2–0 at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

. In 1979–80 the club progressed beyond the FA Cup first round for the first time; after beating

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

2–1 in the first round, they defeated

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

3–1 in a second round replay, before losing 2–0 at home to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on N ...

in the third round. A fifth appearance in the first round in 1982–83 resulted in a 1–0 defeat by

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town L.F.C. Bridgwater United Women's Football Club are an English women's association football club based in Bridgwater, Somerset who wer ...

. The club were relegated to Division Two North at the end of the 1985–86 season, but won the division at the first attempt and were promoted back to Division One. The 1990–91 season saw Chesham win Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They went on to win the Premier Division in 1992–93, but were denied promotion to the

Football Conference The National League (named Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons) is an association football league in England consisting of three divisions, the National League, National League North, and National League South. It was called the ...

due to their ground failing to meet the necessary criteria. The club were subsequently relegated back to Division One at the end of the 1994–95 season, although they did reach the FA Cup first round, losing 1–0 to Bashley. However, they returned to the Premier Division after winning Division One in 1996–97. Following relegation to Division One North at the end of the 2002–03 season, the club finished fourth in 2003–04, earning promotion back to the same level, although they were transferred to the Premier Division of the Southern League. Chesham finished bottom of the Southern League Premier Division in 2005–06, resulting in relegation to Division One South & West. After one season in the division they were transferred to Division One Midlands. A fifth-place finish in 2008–09 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 2–1 to

Nuneaton Town Nuneaton Borough Football Club is an English football club that is based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. The men's 1st team competes in the , the seventh tier of English football. In 1889, Nuneaton St. Nicholas FC was the first team in Nuneaton to ...

in the semi-finals. They reached the play-offs again the following season with a fourth-place finish, and after beating

Burnham Burnham may refer to: Places Canada *Burnham, Saskatchewan England *Burnham, Buckinghamshire ** Burnham railway station ** Burnham Grammar School *Burnham Green, Hertfordshire, location of The White Horse * Burnham, Lincolnshire **High Burnham, ...

1–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated

Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...

4–0 in the final to earn promotion back to the Premier Division. The club went on to qualify for the Premier Division promotion play-offs in 2011–12, losing 3–2 to

AFC Totton Amalgamated Football Club Totton is a football club based in Totton, Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and is an FA Standard Chartered club. They are currently members of the . History The club ...

in the semi-finals. The following season resulted in another play-off qualification, this time losing 2–0 to

Hemel Hempstead Town Hemel Hempstead Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Affiliated to the Hertfordshire County Football Association, they are currently members of the National League South and pla ...

in the semi-finals. A third successive play-off campaign was secured when they finished as Premier Division runners-up in 2013–14, but after beating

Stourbridge Stourbridge is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley in the West Midlands, England, situated on the River Stour. Historically in Worcestershire, it was the centre of British glass making during the Industrial Revolution. The 20 ...

2–1 in the semi-finals, they lost 3–1 to St Albans City in the final. The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1994, and after beating

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been c ...

1–0, they were beaten 4–0 by

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

in the second round. In 2016–17, another first round appearance resulted in a 2–1 defeat at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

Reserve team

Chesham United reserves joined the new Division Two of the Spartan League in 1920, a year after the first team joined the league.Spartan League 1907–1934
Non-League Matters They were Division Two champions in 1921–22, the same year as the first team won Division One. When a second Division Two was added in 1925, they became members of Division Two A. League reorganisation in 1928 saw them placed in Division Two West. They did not rejoin the league after

. After playing in the Suburban League, in 2010 the reserve team joined Division One of the

Spartan South Midlands League The Spartan South Midlands Football League is an English football league covering Hertfordshire, northwest Greater London, central Buckinghamshire and southern Bedfordshire. It is a feeder to the Southern Football League or the Isthmian League, ...

. They left the league at the end of the 2016–17 season.

Non-playing staff

First XI squad
Chesham United F.C.

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 1992–93 **Division One champions 1990–91, 1996–97 **Division Two North champions 1986–87 *Spartan League **Champions 1921–22, 1922–23, 1924–25, 1932–33 **Division Two champions 1921–22 *Athenian League **Memorial Cup winners 1963–64, 1968–69 *

Berks & Bucks Senior Cup The Berks & Bucks FA County Senior Cup is the Senior County Cup competition of the Berks & Bucks FA, which first took place in 1878–79 – a time when the FA Cup had only been going for seven years, there was no Football League, and most countr ...

**Winners: 1921–22, 1925–26, 1928–29, 1933–34, 1947–48, 1950–51, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1975–76, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2017–18

Records

*Highest league position: 1st in the Isthmian League Premier Division, 1992–93 *Best

performance: Third round, 1979–80 *Best

performance: Runners-up, 1967–68 *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: Fourth round, 1998–99 *Record attendance: 5,000 vs

, FA Cup third round, 5 December 1979Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p646 *Most appearances: Martin Baguley *Most goals: John Willis *Record transfer fee received: £22,000 from

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

for

Fitz Hall Fitz Benjamin Hall (born 20 December 1980) is an English former professional footballer and current football agent. He played as a defender in his professional career, and as a striker in amateur football. Club career Early career Hall began h ...

, 2002

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 51, 41, 55.889, N, 0, 36, 50.450, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Buckinghamshire Chesham 1917 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1917 Spartan League Great Western Combination Corinthian League (football) Athenian League Isthmian League Southern Football League clubs Spartan South Midlands Football League Great Western Suburban League