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Cambridge City Football Club is 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
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
, England who currently play in the . Formed in 1908 as Cambridge Town F.C. in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, they played their home games at the
City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...
,
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, between 1922 and 2013, and changed their name in 1951 when Cambridge was granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...
. Since 2013 they have been without a permanent home ground, groundsharing at
Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...
's Bridge Road (2013–15, 2018–present), and St Ives Town's Westwood Road, while a new ground at
Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge. It has a population of 7,260. History Prehistory Although the current village of Sawston has only existed as anything more than a ha ...
is being built, scheduled to open in February 2022. Their home colours are white and black, and their nickname is ''‘The Lilywhites’''. Club honours include the
Challenge International du Nord The Challenge international du Nord (Northern International Challenge) was an annual football tournament featuring clubs from Northern France and Belgium as they could not play in the French Championship. Later teams from Switzerland, Netherland ...
in 1912, and Southern League champions 1962–63.


History

The club was founded in 1908 as Cambridge Town F.C., as
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
had not been granted
city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, city status ...
at that point, and were committed to amateur sport. The club competed in the
Southern Amateur League The Southern Amateur League (SAL) is an association football league in England affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance (AFA). It is based in and around Greater London and caters for 11–a–side men's adult teams. A feature of the league i ...
, developing a fierce rivalry with
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
that was evident both on and off the pitch. In 1912 they won the
Challenge International du Nord The Challenge international du Nord (Northern International Challenge) was an annual football tournament featuring clubs from Northern France and Belgium as they could not play in the French Championship. Later teams from Switzerland, Netherland ...
in 1912, beating US Tourquennoise 4-1. The club were invited to join the newly formed
Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...
in 1935, but declined the invitation and switched instead to 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 ...
. The resumption of football after the
Second World War 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 ...
saw Cambridge Town continuing in 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 ...
, winning the competition 3 times between 1945 and 1950, before joining 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 ...
for the 1950–51 season.
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
was formally granted city status in 1951. Both Cambridge Town and their neighbours Abbey United applied to change their name to Cambridge City. Cambridge Town's application was approved because it arrived first and therefore Abbey United changed their name 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 1958, 22 years after turning down the chance to apply to the Football League, Cambridge City joined the Southern League South Eastern zone as a professional club. The club went on to make five applications to join the Football League between 1959 and 1974, all of which were unsuccessful. In the late 1950s and 1960s Cambridge City commanded the highest attendances in non-league football, regularly attracting average gates in excess of 3,500 (higher than rivals United during that period) and occasionally attracting gates over 10,000. They were Southern League Champions in 1962–63 and stayed in the League's top division until 1968, when they were relegated and turned semi-professional. They were promoted back to the Premier Division after finishing in the Division One runners-up spot in 1969–70, and finished second in their first season back in the Premier Division.
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 ...
were elected into
the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1970, and from that point City struggled to attract as many supporters to their games as their cross-city rivals – by the early 1980s, when United were enjoying a prolonged spell in the 2nd Division, City were attracting fewer than 200 supporters to each game. 1975–76 saw the second relegation in the club's history, into the Southern League's Division One North. They remained there until 1979–80, when a re-organisation of the league's structure, in order to become a feeder to the newly formed
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 ...
, placed City in the Midland Division. A switch was made to the Southern Division in the 1982–83 season and this seemed to coincide with a turn around in City's fortunes, and 1985–86 saw City win the division on goal difference and gain promotion back to the Premier Division. The late 1980's through to the early 90's saw City competing at the top of the Premier Division. City suffered a last day relegation at Atherstone United in May 1996, only to be reprieved. After a few seasons struggling at the wrong end of the table, including another reprieve from relegation in 1999, City's league form improved at just the right time and the club joined 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 ...
's newly formed
South Division South Division may refer to: * South Division (AFL), a division of the Arena Football League * South Division (CFL), a former division of the Canadian Football League * South Division (NAHL), a division of the North American Hockey League * South ...
in 2004–05, embarking on a successful
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 ...
run in the same season – following United's relegation from the League in 2005, the two Cambridge clubs were only one division apart. However, the club was encountering financial difficulties and the club's City Ground was sold to an Isle of Man company called Ross River, which was linked to Brian York, a man who had briefly been a director of the club. The then board announced that it was to scrap the first team and make the reserve team into a feeder for Cambridge United. This prompted the formation of a
supporters' trust In British sports, a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support. There are over 140 supporters' trusts across Eng ...
, who within weeks had taken over the running of the club. The club took Ross River to court, where it was ruled that the club were victims of fraudulent misrepresentation and bribery – the former chief executive Arthur Eastham having taken a £10,000 payment from Brian York. though the original deal was not overturned. In May 2008 City were demoted from the Conference South, after their ground failed an FA inspection, to the
Southern League Premier Division The Southern League is a men's football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from the South and Midlands of England. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven and eight of the English foot ...
for the 2008–09 season. They were moved into the
Isthmian League Division One North 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 teams ...
for 2019-20, before switching to the Northern Premier League Midlands Division for the start of the 2021/22 season, where they continue to be members.


Colours and badge

Cambridge City have traditionally played in white shirts, leading to the club being nicknamed "The Lilywhites", they currently play in white shirts, black shorts and black socks. Their current away strip is sky blue shirts, sky blue shorts and sky blue socks. The club uses the City of Cambridge’s coat of arms as a badge. It features a fortified bridge over a river.


Stadium

The
City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when E ...
(also known as ''"Milton Road"''), was Cambridge City's home ground from 29 April 1922 until 27 April 2013, located in the Chesterton area of the city, approximately 0.62 miles (1 km) north of the city centre. The original ground was one of the largest outside the football league and was estimated to have a capacity in excess of 16,000, although the highest recorded attendance was 12,058 against Leytonstone on 11 February 1950. In the mid 1980s, part of the land the original ground stood on was sold for redevelopment, with a new ground built on the remaining land. The capacity of the second ground was approximately 3,000 with 700 seats. The club was in a legal dispute with their landlords over the ground, which was sold by a previous board of directors for less than its market value. The High Court ruled that the club had been fraudulently misrepresented, and the club will receive 50% of the development profits on the site. In February 2010, Cambridge City announced a three-year ground-share with Newmarket Town at their Cricket Field Road ground in Newmarket, approximately 13 miles away, for the 2010–2011 season. The ground was deemed to need work to bring it up to the required standard, and Cambridge City were to use this time to seek a permanent home closer to Cambridge. The groundshare was later deferred several times, and in April 2013, it was announced that the club had agreed a 2-year groundshare with neighbours
Histon Histon is a village and civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district, in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is immediately north of Cambridge – and is separated from the city – by the A14 road (England), A14 road which r ...
, with City sharing Bridge Road from the beginning of the 2013–14 season. From 2015-18 they groundshared with St Ives Town, at their Westwood Road stadium, before reviving their share with Histon at the start of the 2018-19 season.


Future plans

In 2012, it was announced that the club's President, Len Satchell, had purchased 35 acres of land in
Sawston Sawston is a large village in Cambridgeshire in England, situated on the River Cam about south of Cambridge. It has a population of 7,260. History Prehistory Although the current village of Sawston has only existed as anything more than a ha ...
, a village 9 kilometres/ 6 miles south of Cambridge, with a view to building the club a new 3,000 seat stadium, alongside community facilities for the surrounding area. Following public consultation and an appeal over the decision to grant Planning Permission, construction began in January 2021 and is scheduled to open in late 2022.


Current squad


Honours and records

*Record attendance: 12,058 vs
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 ...
,
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 ...
first round, 1949–50Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2020) ''Non-League Club Directory 2021'', p510 *Record transfer fee received: £100,000 from
Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...
for Neil Harris, 1998 *Record transfer fee paid: £8,000 to
Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...
for Paul Coe, 1994 * Southern League **Champions 1962–63 *Southern League Southern Division **Champions 1985–86 *Southern League Cup **Champions 2009–10 *FA Cup **Second Round 2004–05 *FA Trophy **Fifth Round 2004–05, 2005–06 *FA Amateur Cup **Semi-final 1927–28 *
Supporters Direct Cup Supporters Direct are an umbrella organisation set up originally by the British government (with cross-party support) to provide support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic rep ...
**Joint winners 2007 *
Challenge International du Nord The Challenge international du Nord (Northern International Challenge) was an annual football tournament featuring clubs from Northern France and Belgium as they could not play in the French Championship. Later teams from Switzerland, Netherland ...
**Winners 1912


Reserve team

Cambridge City's reserve team joined the
Eastern Counties League The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...
in 1959 and won the Division One title in 2004. They were replaced in the league in 2006 by the newly formed feeder club
Cambridge Regional College Cambridge Regional College is a mixed further education college in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. College profile The college offers courses in a wide range of subjects from hair and beauty and mechanics to media studies and science, as ...
. A reformed Cambridge City reserve side was born playing at Milton Road, and won promotion as champions from the Kershaw Senior A League in the 2012/2013 season. After a period of uncertainty about the future home of the reserves after moving from Milton Road, a deal was announced with local side Cottenham to use their facilities. *1959–60 Joined Eastern Counties League *1961–62 Runners-up *1963–64 Joined