Witheridge 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 the Devon village of

Witheridge Witheridge is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. In 2001 the population of the parish was 1162, reducing slightly to 1,158 at the 2011 Census. An electoral ward with the same name exists. The population ...

. They are currently members of the and play at Edge Down Park.

History

Witheridge have come a long way since the days of the Married team and Singles team. Up until 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 ...

, Witheridge played their football in the

North Devon League The North Devon Football League is a football competition based in England. It was established in 1904. The top division of this league, which is the Premier Division, sits at level 12 of the English football league system and is a feeder to th ...

. After the war Witheridge didn't rejoin the North Devon League but joined the Tiverton and District league, playing clubs like Bampton and Elmore. In 1971, Witheridge decided it was time to move on from the Tiverton League and joined the

Devon and Exeter League The Devon and Exeter Football League is a football competition based in England. It was established around 1900. The top division of this league, the Premier, sits at level 12 of the English football league system and is a feeder to the Devon Footb ...

, starting in Intermediate Four. The 1970s and 1980s at times were hard for Witheridge but the team kept plugging away and for a small village club managed to keep themselves going. Witheridge did have good times during this period but it wasn't until the 1990s that they started to make people in the Devon and Exeter League look up and take notice that the little village club was beginning to make a big stir. In 1990, the side won the Express and Echo Shield and they soon started flying through the

. 1992 saw Witheridge promoted to Intermediate One then race through Senior Three, Two and One. Then in 1996, Witheridge won promotion to the Devon and Exeter Premier League. In 1997, Andre Pike was appointed as first team manager and from that point on the club went from strength to strength. The 1999/2000 season saw Witheridge finish runners-up in the Devon and Exeter Premier League and also win three cups, the Okehampton Cup, Devon Premier Cup and the East Devon Senior Cup, all within two weeks of each other. During their spell in the Devon and Exeter premier division, Witheridge became one of the big teams, finishing as runners-up four times in their last 7 seasons in the league. 2006 saw Withy finally promoted to the

Devon County League The Devon County Football League was a football competition based in England. It consisted of 20 clubs and sat at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. History The league was formed in 1992 in order to form an intermediate level bet ...

and in their only season managed to finish 11th place, which saw Witheridge promoted into the newly formed South West Peninsula League Premier Division. In the inaugural season of the South West Peninsula League, Witheridge managed a mid table finish despite being bottom of the league on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

which included a 12-match unbeaten run which stretched from February to the end of the season. 2009 saw the club take a massive step forward when levelling work was done to the pitch as well as the installation of floodlights at Edge Down Park which allowed the club to enter The FA Vase for the very first time. During the summer of 2012, the club's changing rooms were completely renovated and a brand new 100-seat stand installed as well as a new pathway down to the stand. Witheridge Football Club entered 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 in the clubs 94-year history in August 2014 and won their inaugural match after beating Barnstaple Town 1–0 at Mill Road.

Ground

Witheridge play their home games at Edge Down Park, Fore Street, Witheridge, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8AH.

Honours

Runner-up: 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06 *Devon & Exeter League Cup Winners 1999–2000 *East Devon Cup Winners 1999–2000 *Okehampton Cup Winners 1999–2000, 2004–05 *Westward Ho! Cup Winners 2001–02 *Rowe Charity Cup Winners 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

Season-by-season record since 2000

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 50, 54, 55.09, N, 3, 41, 51.89, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in Devon Association football clubs established in 1920 1920 establishments in England South West Peninsula League Football clubs in England Devon County League Devon Football League