Bromley Football Club is a professional football club based in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

, Greater London, England. They are currently members of and play at

Hayes Lane Hayes Lane is a football stadium in Bromley, Greater London, England. Located between Bromley town centre and Hayes, it is the home of Bromley F.C., and also used by Cray Wanderers and Crystal Palace Women. The current capacity of the groun ...

History

Established in 1892,Bromley vs Whitehawk
Bromley F.C. Bromley initially played in the South London League,Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2013) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013: 35th Edition'' TW Publications, p273 before becoming a founder member of the Southern League in 1894, joining Division Two. However, after finishing bottom of Division Two in 1895–96 they left to become founder members of the London League, also joining Division Two. They won the division at the first attempt and were promoted to Division One.London League 1896-1910
Non-League Matters They switched to the Kent League for the 1898–99 season, but after finishing bottom of the league, they returned to Division One of the London League. During the 1899–1900 season, the club withdrew from Division One, taking over their reserves' fixtures in Division Two. They withdrew from Division Two at the end of the 1900–01 season. In 1907 the club were founder members of 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 ...

and went on to become its inaugural champions. They joined the Isthmian League for the following season, and won back-to-back titles in 1908–09 and 1909–10. In 1910–11 the club won the FA Amateur Cup, beating Bishop Auckland 1–0 in the final. The season also saw them finish seventh in 1910–11, the club returned to the Kent League and were placed in Division One.The 'original' Kent League 1894-1922
Non-League Matters They remained in the league until

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 ...

, but joined 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 ...

when football resumed in 1919. The club were Athenian League champions in 1922–23. In 1937–38 they 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. After beating King's Lynn in the first round, they lost 4–1 at

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

in the second. They also reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup again, beating Erith & Belvedere 1–0. The club repeated the feat the following season, this time playing Football League opposition for the first time as they lost 8–1 at Lincoln City in the second round. In 1945–46 another second round appearance resulted in a 4–2 aggregate defeat to

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

. In 1947–48 they held

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

to a 1–1 draw in the first round, before losing the replay at

Elm Park Elm Park is a suburban planned community in East London within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is identified as a district centre in the London Plan with several streets of shops and a priority for ...

3–0. The club won another Athenian League title and the FA Amateur Cup in 1948–49, with the following season seeing another FA first round defeat, this time 2–1 to Watford. In 1950–51 the club won their third Athenian League title; the season also saw them lose 1–0 to

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

in the FA Cup first round. Going straight into the first round the following season, they lost 3–2 at

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 nicknamed ...

. In 1952 they rejoined the Isthmian League, and after finishing as runners-up in their first season back in the league, they were champions in 1953–54. They won the league for a fourth time in 1960–61. After finishing bottom of Division One in the 1974–75 season Bromley were relegated to Division Two. In 1976–77 the club appeared in the FA Cup first round for the first time in over twenty years, losing 7–0 at

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

. Division Two became Division One in 1977, and the club were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing as runners-up in 1979–80. They were relegated to Division One again in 1983–84, but returned to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in 1985–86. Another relegation followed in 1989–90, but was followed by an immediate return to the Premier Division as Division One runners-up in

1990–91 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

. In 1996–97 they qualified for the FA Cup first round again, but were beaten 3–1 at home by

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) ...

. Bromley were relegated to Division One again at the end of the 1998–99 season; non-league reorganisation in 2004 saw Division One become the eighth rather than seventh tier of the football pyramid. A fourth-place finish that season saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, and after defeating Metropolitan Police on penalties in the semi-finals, they beat Horsham 3–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. In 2006–07 they finished as runners-up in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the promotion play-offs. A 1–0 win over AFC Wimbledon in the semi-finals and a victory against Billericay Town on penalties in the final saw them promoted to the Conference South. The season had also seen them reach the FA Cup first round again, eventually losing 4–1 at Gillingham. Further appearances in the first round were achieved in 2009–10 (against

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 ...

), 2011–12 (

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

), 2012–13 ( Fleetwood Town) and 2014–15 ( Dartford), but they were beaten on each occasion. In 2014–15 Bromley won the Conference South, earning promotion to the renamed National League, where they have remained since. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 2017–18 saw them defeated by

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

. The season also saw them reach the final of the FA Trophy, where they lost 5–4 on penalties to Brackley Town after the match had ended in a 1–1 draw.FA Trophy final: Brackley Town beat Bromley 5-4 on penalties after 1-1 draw
BBC Sport, 20 May 2018 The club won the FA Trophy for the first time in their history in 2021–22, beating

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

1–0 in

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Ground

The club initially played at the Queensmead Recreation Ground, before moving to Glebe Road. Seven years later they moved to the Plaistow Cricket Club ground when Glebe Road was bought for use as housing.Bromley
Pyramid Passion However, the cricket club's ground was also obtained for housing in 1904, leading to the football club (and the other sports club using the ground) moving to a site on Hayes Lane. The new ground was opened on 3 September 1904. In 1938 the club moved to the current Hayes Lane ground. The record attendance of 10,798 was set during a game against a Nigeria XI in September 1948. The ground currently has a capacity of 5,150, of which 1,300 is seated and 2,500 is covered.

Current squad

Out on loan

Coaching staff

Honours

*FA Trophy **Winners 2021–22 *National League South **Champions 2014–15 *Isthmian League **Champions 1908–09, 1909–10, 1953–54, 1960–61 *Athenian League **Champions 1922–23, 1948–49, 1950–51 *Spartan League **Champions 1907–08 *London League **Division Two champions 1896–97 *FA Amateur Cup **Winners 1910–11, 1937–38, 1948–49 * London Senior Cup **Winners 1909–10, 1945–46, 1950–51, 2002–03, 2012–13 *

Kent Senior Cup The Kent Senior Cup is an English football competition played between senior clubs in the county of Kent. It is administered by the Kent County Football Association. History The Kent Badge preceded the Kent Senior Cup, and was won in its three ...

**Winners 1949–50, 1976–77, 1991–92, 1996–97, 2005–06, 2006–07 *London Challenge Cup **Winners 1995–96 *Kent Floodlit Trophy **Winners 1978–79 *Kent Amateur Cup **Winners 1907–08, 1931–32, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1948–49, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1959–60

Records

*Best

performance: Second round, 1937–38, 1938–39, 1945–46 *Best FA Trophy performance: Winners 2021–22 *Record attendance: 10,789 vs Nigeria XI, 24 September 1948 *Biggest victory: 13–1 vs Redhill, Athenian League, 1945–46 *Heaviest defeat: 11–1 vs

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, a local government district covering the town of Barking ** Municipal Borough of Barking, a historical local government dist ...

, Athenian League, 1933–34 *Most appearances: George Brown (1938–1961) *Most goals: George Brown, 570 (1938–1961) *Record transfer fee received: Undisclosed sum from

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

for Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, January 2020

In popular culture

Lifelong fan Dave Roberts wrote three books on his experiences following Bromley FC: ''The Bromley Boys'' (2008), ''32 Programmes'' (2011) and ''Home and Away'' (2016). ''

The Bromley Boys ''The Bromley Boys'' is a 2018 British coming-of-age comedy film. Based on an eponymous autobiographical book by author Dave Roberts, the film is set in Bromley, in the suburbs of London, during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The story is abou ...

'' has also been made into a film available on DVD and via streaming, starring

Martine McCutcheon Martine Kimberley Sherrie McCutcheon (formerly Ponting, born 14 May 1976) is an English actress and singer. She began appearing in television commercials at an early age and made her television debut in the children's television drama '' Bluebir ...

Alan Davies Alan Roger Davies (; born 6 March 1966) is an English stand-up comedian, writer, actor and TV presenter. He is best known for his portrayal of the title role in the BBC mystery drama series ''Jonathan Creek'' (1997–2016) and as the only per ...

and

Jamie Foreman Jamie Foreman (born 25 May 1958) is an English actor best known for his roles as Duke in ''Layer Cake'' (2004) and Bill Sikes in Roman Polanski's ''Oliver Twist'' (2005). Career Foreman played opposite Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke in Gary Oldm ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Football in London Football clubs in England Football clubs in London Sport in the London Borough of Bromley 1892 establishments in England Association football clubs established in 1892 Southern Football League clubs London League (football) Kent Football League (1894–1959) Spartan League Isthmian League Athenian League National League (English football) clubs