Metropolitan Police 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

East Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retail ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, England. Originally made up of players from the

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 ...

, the rule requiring players to be employees of the service was removed when the Commissioner refused to sanction time off for playing. However, the club is still part-funded by a police staff lottery. They are currently members of the and play at Imber Court, the base of the Met Police Sports and Social Club.

History

The club was established in 1919 as a team for officers and civilian staff of the Metropolitan Police.History
Metropolitan Police F.C.The club with 'no fans' aiming to topple Welsh team in the FA Cup this weekend
Wales Online, 9 November 2018 After playing friendlies for nine years and winning the

Middlesex Senior Cup The Middlesex Senior Cup is the most prestigious football cup competition in the historic county of Middlesex, England. The competition is run mainly for non-League clubs in the region, although league clubs have been known to enter the compe ...

in 1927–28, they joined Division One East 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 ...

in 1928, with the reserves joining Division Two East.Spartan League 1907–1934
Non-League Matters Both teams won their division in their first season in the league. The reserves then left the league, with the first team placed in the Premier Division amidst league reorganisation, going on to win the title in the 1929–30 season. In 1931–32 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 ...

but lost 9–0 at

Northampton Town Northampton Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Northampton, England. The team plays in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1897, the club competed in the Midland ...

. The following season saw them win the

Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...

, beating

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

2–1 in the final. The club were

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 ...

semi-finalists in 1933–34, losing 2–0 to Dulwich Hamlet. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in the Premier Division.Spartan League 1934–1955
Non-League Matters Metropolitan Police were Spartan League champions again in 1936–37 and 1938–39. When the league restarted after

World War II 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 ...

, they were placed in the Central Division for the 1945–46 season, winning the title without losing a match. Placed in the Premier Division the following season, the club won the league title in 1946–47 and were runners-up in 1947–48. They won back-to-back titles in 1953–54 and 1954–55. In 1960 the club transferred to the

Metropolitan League The Metropolitan League was a football league in the south-east of England between 1949 and 1971.Southern League, where they remained until moving to 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 tea ...

in 1977. They were Division Two runners-up in 1977–78, earning promotion to Division One. In 1984–85 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing 3–0 at home to

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

. At the end of the 1984–85 season Metropolitan Police were relegated to Division Two South. Although they were promoted back to Division One after finishing as runners-up in the division in 1987–88, the club were relegated to Division Two at the end of the 1990–91 season. Another FA Cup first round appearance in 1993–94 ended in a 2–0 defeat at home to

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

. Amidst league reorganisation, the club were moved into Division One South in 2002, before being placed in Division One in 2004. A fifth-placed finish in 2004–05 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, but they lost 4–3 on penalties to

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, char ...

in the semi-finals after a 1–1 draw. The club finished fourth in the division the following season, but lost in the play-off semi-finals again, defeated 1–0 by

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

. More league reorganisation saw Metropolitan Police placed in Division One South in 2006. They finished fourth in 2007–08, losing 2–0 to

Cray Wanderers Cray Wanderers Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in Sidcup, London. Based on later reports, the club has a claim to have been established some time in 1860 in the twin villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cr ...

in the play-off semi-finals. Another fourth-placed finish in 2008–09 was followed by a 1–0 win against Fleet Town in the play-off semi-finals before a 1–0 loss to Cray Wanderers in the final. They won the

London Senior Cup The London Senior Cup is the County Senior Cup of the London FA. The London Senior Cup was first won by Upton Park in 1882. Although the leading professional sides in London no longer compete, the Cup has been won in the past by the likes of Ar ...

in 2009–10, beating

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

in the final on penalties. In

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. I ...

the club won Division One South, earning promotion to the Premier Division. A fourth FA Cup first round appearance in

2012–13 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. I ...

saw the club drawn at home to Crawley Town again, this time losing 2–1. In 2014–15 they finished fifth, going on to lose 2–1 to

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

in the play-off semi-finals. The club also won the Surrey Senior Cup, beating

Merstham Merstham is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It lies 25 miles south of Charing Cross and 2 miles south of the Greater London border. Part of the North Downs Way runs along the northern boundary of the town. Mers ...

2–0 in the final. At the end of the 2017–18 season Metropolitan Police were transferred to the Premier South division of the Southern League as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid. The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2–0 to Newport County. They also won the Surrey Senior Cup, and finished third in the Premier Division South. In the play-offs they defeated

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

3–2 in the semi-finals, and went on to win the final against Poole Town 1–0, qualifying for the super play-off final against

Tonbridge Angels Tonbridge Angels Football Club is a professional football club based in Tonbridge, Kent, England. The club was founded as Tonbridge Football Club in 1947 and became known as "The Angels" in 1949 when they started playing at the Angel Ground. S ...

, which they lost 3-2 after extra time.

Ground

The club have played at Imber Court since their establishment. The site was purchased by the Metropolitan Police Service in 1919, with a clubhouse opened in 1920.Metropolitan Police
Pyramid Passion A grandstand was opened in 1923 and doubled in size to accommodate 672 spectators in 1934. Floodlights were erected in 1971 and the ground was enclosed in 1973. Terracing was installed on three sides of the pitch in 1984, with a cover added to the Mounted Branch End in 1988. In 1994 the original stand was demolished and replaced with a 300-seat stand, which was opened with a commemorative match against the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. When playing at home, the players come out to the tune of " I Fought the Law" by

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

.Which FA Cup team will run out to I Fought the Law? Met Police, of course
The Guardian, 9 November 2018

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division One South champions 2010–11 *Metropolitan League **League Cup winners 1968–69 *Spartan League **Premier Division champions 1929–30, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1946–47, 1953–54, 1954–55 **Central Division champions 1945–46 **Division One East champions, 1928–29 *London Senior Cup **Winners 2009–10 *Surrey Senior Cup **Winners 1932–33, 2014–15, 2018–19 *Middlesex Senior Cup **Winners 1927–28

Records

*Best

performance: First round, 1931–32, 1984–85, 1993–94, 2012–13, 2018–19 *Best

performance: Semi-finals, 1933–34 *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: Second round, 1989–90 *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: Quarter-finals, 1994–95 *Record attendance: 4,500 vs

Kingstonian Kingstonian Football Club is an English semi-professional football club based in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London which currently plays in the Isthmian League Premier Division. The club was founded in 1885 by YMC ...

, FA Cup, 1934Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) ''Non-League Club Directory 2017'', Tony Williams Publications, p346 *Biggest win: 10–1 vs

Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a 16th century fort and an ancie ...

, Isthmian League Division Two, 6 May 1995 *Heaviest defeat: 11–1 vs

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

, 1956 *Most appearances: Pat Robert *Most goals: Mario Russo

References

External links