Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury is a football club based in

Sudbury, Suffolk Sudbury (, ) is a market town in the south west of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour near the Essex border, north-east of London. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 13,063. It is the largest town in the Babergh local government d ...

, England. The club was formed in 1999 by the merger of Sudbury Town and Sudbury Wanderers, the process giving rise to the name Amalgamated Football Club Sudbury. and went on to win the Eastern Counties League Premier Division five seasons in a row as well as reaching the final of the FA Vase in three successive seasons, records for both competitions. They are currently members of the and play at the King's Marsh Stadium in the Ballingdon- Brundon area of Sudbury.

History

A.F.C. Sudbury was formed on 1 June 1999 by the amalgamation of the town's two previous clubs, Sudbury Town (founded 1885) and Sudbury Wanderers (founded 1958). The new club played at Wanderers' ground, and were initially managed by Wanderers' Keith Martin. In their debut season, 1999–2000, Sudbury finished in third place in the Eastern Counties League Premier Division. The following five seasons all resulted in Sudbury winning the Premier Division title – a league record. Sudbury did not take

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

at any of these opportunities, despite being entitled to. In this period Sudbury had a series of good performances in national cup competitions. In 2000–01 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 ...

, where they were beaten 6–1 by Darlington. They reached the semi-final of the 2001–02 FA Vase, before being knocked out by Tiptree United. The following three seasons saw Sudbury reaching the final each year (a Vase record), but being defeated every time, by Brigg Town in 2003 (after which Martin left the club and was replaced by Gary Harvey), Winchester City in 2004 and Didcot Town in 2005. However, the club did win the Suffolk Premier Cup three times, in 2001–02, 2002–03 and 2003–04. The financial constraints of owning two grounds led the board not to apply for promotion until the beginning of the 2005–06 season. After finishing third in 2005–06, a season in which they won the Eastern Counties League Cup, and passing the necessary ground inspection Sudbury were invited to take promotion into a resurrected Isthmian League Division One North, following the re-structuring of the National League System. Potential legal action from the Northern Premier League nearly scuppered this move, but Sudbury started 2006–07 in the new division. The management team of Gary Harvey and

Michael Cheetham Michael Cheetham is an English retired footballer most notable for his time at Cambridge United in the early 1990s. Career Ipswich Town manager Bobby Robson paid to buy him out of the army to enable him to start his football career at Portma ...

, who took the team up, both resigned before the season could begin, citing work and family commitments, respectively. New manager Mark Morsley was appointed in May 2006, signed from Needham Market. Sudbury's first season at this level saw the club finish in fifth place, qualifying them for the promotion play-offs. After beating Enfield Town in the semi-final, Sudbury lost to Harlow Town in a penalty shoot-out. Sudbury again qualified for the play-offs in 2007–08, finishing second in the table, but were defeated in the semi-final by eventual winners Canvey Island. In the

close-season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

manager Morsley resigned, and was replaced by his assistant Nicky Smith. Sudbury were moved into the Southern League Division One Midlands for 2008–09 following a restructuring of the English football pyramid. After two seasons of mid-table finishes the club was moved back to the Isthmian League Division One North for

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

. Smith resigned in September 2011 and was replaced by his assistant Chris Tracey. At the start of the 2013–14, Sudbury appointed Wroxham manager David Batch as their new manager, after Chris Tracey left the club. Sudbury reached the final of the Isthmian League Cup in April 2014, but lost 3–0 away to Maidstone United. Batch left to join St Neots Town at the end of 2014, and was replaced by Jamie Godbold. Godbold led the club to a third-place finish and qualification for the play-offs, where they were defeated by Brentwood Town in the semi-final. The following season Sudbury won the division with three games to spare, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Their stay in the division only lasted one season as they were relegated back to Division One North at the end of the campaign, the club's first-ever relegation. Mark Morsley re-joined as first team manager in early 2017–18. In 2021, Sudbury reached the first round of the

for a second time, causing an upset by beating

Dartford F.C. Dartford Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Dartford, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club participates in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed i ...

3-1 in the Fourth qualifying round, who were two tiers above Sudbury, top of the league and unbeaten. In the first round, they were drawn at home against nearby League Two side

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 ...

, losing 0-4 in front of a record but reduced capacity attendance of 2,000. The match was broadcast live on BBC2 and shown in 78 countries.

Season-by-season record

Other teams

Reserve team

The A.F.C. Sudbury reserve team initially played in the Reserves section of the Eastern Counties League before joining Division One of the league at the start of the 2013–14 season, at which point it was renamed AFC Sudbury Reserves/Under-21s. In the team's second season in Division One they won the First Division Knock-Out Cup, after beating Great Yarmouth Town 1–0. Currently AFC Sudbury Reserves find theirselves in the Thurlow Nunn league, the 10th tier of English football.

Women's team

The A.F.C. Sudbury women's team took over Sudbury Wanderers' place in Division Two of the

Eastern Region Women's Football League The Eastern Region Women's Football League is at the fifth and sixth levels of the English women's football pyramid, with the seven other Regional Leagues – London & SE, Southern, South West, East Mids, West Mids, North East and North West ...

in 1999. However, they dropped out the league at the end of the 2001–02 season. They returned to the league in 2010, and were placed in Division One North. After being promoted from Division One North at the end of the 2014–15 season, they currently play in the Premier Division.

Youth teams

The club's academy team plays in the Eastern Counties Youth League, whilst it has two under-19 teams in the Football Conference Youth Alliance. In addition to an under-16 team, it has youth teams for every year group from age 7 to 13.

Colours and badge

A.F.C. Sudbury's club colours are yellow and blue, the same as those of Sudbury Town. The club's second choice kit, usually when away from home, is all blue, although in past seasons other colours have been used, such as all white in the 2007–08 season. The club badge is the town crest of Sudbury, which incorporates a talbot dog with its

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...

sticking out. This was augmented with a banner containing the club's name in early 2018.

Ground

A.F.C. Sudbury play their home games at the 2,500 capacity King's Marsh Stadium in the Ballingdon- Brundon area of Sudbury, previously home to Sudbury Wanderers. Between June 2010 and August 2014, due to a sponsorship deal, the ground was officially titled The MEL Group Stadium. At the time of A.F.C. Sudbury's formation the ground consisted of two pitches, a training area, clubhouse, floodlights, a 200-seat stand on the West side of the main pitch and covered ends behind the goals. A 300-capacity terrace (the Shed) was constructed on the East side of the pitch in 2000 and houses the more vocal section of the crowd. A new clubhouse, also containing a grassroots football and education centre, was completed in 2010. The ground is fully enclosed by fencing and there are turnstiles at the main entrance. A.F.C. Sudbury sold Sudbury Town's former ground, the Priory Stadium, to a housing developer in June 2007. The money from this sale was earmarked for paying off loans, and

capital gains tax A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property. Not all countries impose a c ...

, as well as a new

clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

and changing rooms. Planning permission for the construction of the new facilities was granted by Babergh District Council in August 2008, though various conditions regarding issues such as possible land contamination, the site's archaeological value, risk of flooding and

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

are required to be addressed before work may commence. A 3G artificial turf pitch was installed prior to the 2015–16 season.

Honours

* Isthmian League **Division One North champions 2015–16 * Eastern Counties League **Premier Division Champions 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05 ** League Cup winners 2005–06 * Suffolk Premier Cup **Winners 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 2000–01, 2021–22 *Best FA Trophy performance: First round, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15 *Most appearances: Sam Clarke, 387 *Most goals: Gary Bennett, 172Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p578 *Record attendance: 2,000 vs

, FA Cup first round, 5 November 2021

References

External links

Club website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudbury Isthmian League Football clubs in Suffolk Association football clubs established in 1999 Southern Football League clubs Sudbury, Suffolk Eastern Counties Football League GA-Class football in England articles 1999 establishments in England Football clubs in England