Farnborough Football Club is a semi-professional

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all ...

based in

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1967 as Farnborough Town, they are currently members of the , the sixth tier of English football and play at

Cherrywood Road Cherrywood Road, known as the Saunders Transport Community Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the ground of Farnborough F.C. and the former home of Farnborough Town F.C. before the club went out of business in 2007. It lies in the town of Fa ...

History

The club was established as Farnborough Town in 1967 and joined the Surrey Senior League in 1968.History
Farnborough F.C. Their first league match saw them beat Surbiton Byron 7–6. In 1971 they reached the top division of the Surrey Senior League, and after finishing as runners-up in 1971–72, they moved up to the Spartan League. They went on to win three consecutive league titles, losing only one league match during each of the 1973–74 and 1974–75 seasons. When the league merged with the Metropolitan–London League to form the London Spartan League in 1975, the club were placed in Division One, and were its first champions. Following their move to Cherrywood Road, Farnborough moved up to Division Two 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 1976. They won the division at the first attempt, and were subsequently accepted into 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 t ...

. During their domination of the Spartan and Athenian league divisions, the club went 87 matches unbeaten at home between 1973 and 1977. In 1978–79 they won Division Two of the Isthmian League, earning promotion to Division One. The 1980–81 season saw them reach 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 compet ...

for the first time, losing 2–1 at Yeovil Town. Another first round appearance in 1983–84 ended with a 2–1 defeat at Barking. They reached the first round again the following season and faced

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

opposition for the first time, losing 3–0 at

Hereford United Hereford United Football Club was an association football club based in Hereford, England. They played at Edgar Street for their entire history. They were nicknamed 'The Whites' or 'The Lilywhites', after their predominantly white kit, or 'Th ...

. The season also saw them win the Division One title, resulting in promotion to the Premier Division. They were Premier Division runners-up behind Leytonstone/Ilford in 1988–89 and were promoted 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 ...

as Leytonstone/Ilford were unable to be promoted due to their ground failing to meet the necessary criteria. Farnborough were relegated at the end of their first season in the Conference and were placed in the Premier Division of the Southern League. They won the division at the first attempt to earn promotion back to the Conference. After reaching the first round of the FA Cup in all but one of the seasons between 1983–84 and 1990–91, the club progressed beyond the first round for the first time in 1991–92; after a first round replay win over Halesowen Town, they defeated Third Division

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 nickna ...

4–3 in a second round replay. They were drawn at home to top division

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancient ...

. With the game switched to the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

, they held West Ham to a 1–1 draw before losing the replay 1–0. The season also saw them finish fifth in the Conference, but they were relegated back to the Southern League at the end of the following season. Farnborough were Southern League champions again in 1993–94, making an immediate return to the Conference. The club spent five seasons in the Conference until being relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season, which had seen them finish bottom of the table. They were placed in the Premier Division of the

, which they went on to win in 2000–01, resulting in promotion back to the Conference. In 2002–03 the club progressed beyond the first round of the FA Cup for a second time; after a 5–1 win against Harrogate Town in the first round, they defeated

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

3–0 in the second round and Third Division

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underw ...

3–2 in the third round. They were then drawn at home to

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

in the fourth round, although the game was switched to

Highbury Highbury is a district in North London and part of the London Borough of Islington in Greater London that was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor house was situ ...

. Following a 5–1 defeat, manager

Graham Westley Graham Neil Westley (born 4 March 1968) is an English former professional footballer and manager who was most recently manager of League Two club Stevenage. Westley's playing career, spent mostly as a striker in non-League football, was curt ...

left the club, also taking seven players with him as he moved to

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

. Farnborough remained in the Conference (and its new top division the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

) until the end of the 2004–05 season, when they were relegated to the

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. A third-place finish in 2005–06 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, but they lost 3–0 to

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 ...

in the semi-finals. In 2006–07 Farnborough went into administration and were deducted ten points. In May 2007 the club was expelled from the Football Conference and were reformed as Farnborough Football Club. They were admitted to Division One South & West of the Southern League, which they went on to win at the first attempt, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2008–09 they were Premier Division runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating

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 pl ...

4–3 on penalties after a 0–0 draw in the semi-finals, they lost 1–0 to Gloucester City in the final. The following season saw them win the Premier Division, earning promotion to the Conference South. They were runners-up in their first season in the division and entered the promotion play-offs. After a 2–1 aggregate win over local rivals

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

in the semi-finals (winning 1–0 away and drawing 1–1 at home), they lost the final 4–2 to

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

. However, Farnborough began to suffer financial problems. In 2011–12 they were deducted five points after submitting misleading financial information to the Football Conference, and had ten points deducted the following season after going into administration again. They were relegated to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League at the end of the 2014–15 season and were subsequently demoted to Division One Central of the Southern League at the end of the 2015–16 season despite not finishing in the relegation zone due to their financial situation. They were Division One Central runners-up the following season; in the subsequent play-offs they defeated Egham Town 4–0 in the semi-finals before beating Barton Rovers 2–0 in the final to earn promotion back to the Premier Division of the Southern League. League reorganisation saw Farnborough placed in the Southern League Premier South Division in 2018. After finishing third in 2021–22, they defeated

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 ...

in the play-off semi-final, before beating Hayes & Yeading United 2–1 in the final to secure promotion to the

National League South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

. In

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

the club defeated League Two side

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

2–0 in the first round of the FA Cup to progress to the second round.

Ground

The club initially played on a council pitch at the Queen's Road recreation ground. However, to progress in the non-League pyramid the club had to find a ground that could be enclosed. A site on Cherrywood Road was obtained and developed with support from a local company.Farnborough Town
Pyramid Passion

Current squad

Management team

{, class=wikitable !Position !Staff , - , Manager, , Spencer Day , - , Assistant Manager, , Leigh Dynan , - , rowspan="3", Coaches, , Ricky Holmes , - , James Gray , - , Danny Masters , - , Goalkeeping Coach, , Dave Hill , - , Therapist, , Peter Morris , - , Kitman, , Mike Long , -

Honours

*Isthmian League **Premier Division champions 2000–01 **Division One champions 1984–85 **Division Two champions 1978–79 *Southern League **Premier Division champions 1990–91, 1993–94, 2009–10 **Division One South & West champions 2007–08 *Athenian League **Division Two champions 1976–77 *London Spartan League **Champions 1975–76 *Spartan League **Champions 1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75 *Hampshire Senior Cup **Winners 1974–75, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1990–91, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2021–22

Records

*Highest league finish: 5th in the

, 1991–92 *Best

performance: Fourth round, 2002–03 *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: Quarter-finals, 1991–92, 2002–03 *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: Semi-finals, 1975–76, 1976–77 *Record attendance: 4,267 vs

, Conference South play-off final, 15 May 2011Rushmoor Stadium
Farnborough F.C.

References

External links

Official website
{{National League (English football) Football clubs in England Football clubs in Hampshire Farnborough, Hampshire 1967 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 2007 Phoenix clubs (association football) Surrey Senior League Spartan League Athenian League Isthmian League National League (English football) clubs Southern Football League clubs