Wembley Football Club is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

semi-professional

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 ...

club based in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, in the

London Borough of Brent The London Borough of Brent () is a London borough in north-west London. It borders the boroughs of Harrow to the north-west, Barnet to the north-east, Camden to the east, the City of Westminster to the south-east, as well as the Royal Borou ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Founded in 1946, the club currently play in the . They play in red and white and are nicknamed "The Lions", due to the lion on the coat of arms for the old Borough of Wembley. Traditional local rivals for Wembley are

Harrow Borough Harrow Borough Football Club is an English football club based in Harrow, London. They were founded in 1933 and compete in the . Harrow Borough's home ground is Earlsmead Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,070. Harrow Borough moved into Ear ...

and Edgware Town, while

Wealdstone F.C. Wealdstone Football Club ( ) is an English semi-professional football club based in Ruislip, London Borough of Hillingdon, and affiliated to the Middlesex County Football Association. They currently play in the National League, the fifth tier o ...

are also regarded as rivals although, as Wealdstone have regularly played at a higher level, meetings between the clubs have been rare.

History

Entrance to Wembley FC ground, Vale Farm - geograph

The club was established in 1946 during the post-

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 opposi ...

football boom, as many in the area felt it an anomaly that the area which proudly boasted the English National Stadium did not have its own senior football team. It was formed from two local Junior clubs: Sudbury Rangers and Sudbury Ratepayers. As a result of their efforts, the club took the motto "A Posse Ad Esse" ("From Possibility To Reality"). Wembley became champions of the Middlesex Senior League in only their second season of existence in 1947–48. They then spent two seasons in the Spartan League Western Division, becoming Champions in the 1950–51 season. The next season saw them move from the Spartan League to become one of the founder members of the

Delphian League The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League. Vale Farm's record attendance was recorded in 1952 when 2,654 attended a derby game with local rivals

Wealdstone Wealdstone () is a district located in the centre of the London Borough of Harrow, England. It is located just north of Harrow town centre and is south of Harrow Weald, west of Belmont and Kenton, and east of Headstone. The area accommodates ...

. In the 1955–56 season, they finished as runners up in the league. That season also saw them reach the finals of both 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 ...

(losing 1–3 to Briggs Sports at Ilford) and

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 ...

(losing 1–2 to Hendon at Wealdstone). Notable players from this era was the Captain Len Berryman, prolific striker Stan Lowen and long serving defenders Tony Carroll and Arthur Percy.The team played in red and white quartered shirts. The club then joined the

Corinthian League The League of Corinth, also referred to as the Hellenic League (from Greek Ἑλληνικός ''Hellenikos'', "pertaining to Greece and Greeks"), was a confederation of Greek states created by Philip II in 338–337 BC. The League was created ...

the following season (1956–57). That competition merged with 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 1963 and became the First Division where the club remained until gaining promotion to the Premier Division in 1968.

Malcolm Allison Malcolm Alexander Allison (5 September 1927 – 14 October 2010) was an English football player and manager. Nicknamed "Big Mal", he was one of English football's most flamboyant and intriguing characters because of his panache, fedora an ...

's first job in football management was with Wembley but most of his reign unfortunately coincided with the Big Freeze of 1962–63 so his impact was minimal. 1967–68 saw Wembley's best ever FA Amateur Cup run as they reached the 2nd Round Proper. The club in the 1972–73 season finished bottom of the Premier division but were saved from relegation when a lot of clubs left the Athenian league to join the Isthmian League, with this loss the Athenian League had to restructure into Divisions One and Two, and Wembley remained in the top division. However they were elevated to the Isthmian league at the end of the 1974–75 season. Wembley remained in the second tier 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 ...

for 21 seasons, during which time they came close to promotion to the Premier Division on two occasions in the 1980s but finished third on both occasions. During this period Wembley reached the 1st Round Proper 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 one and only time in 1980–81 where they lost 0–3 to Enfield. In 1983–84 Wembley reached the semi finals of the

Cup before losing 4–1 to the eventual winners

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 ...

. Wembley were one of the most successful clubs in Middlesex throughout the 1980s appearing in eight County Cup finals – winning five, including doing the County Cup 'Double' in 1986–87 by winning both the

and the

Middlesex Senior Charity Cup The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup is a knock-out system football competition that has been running since 1901. It was presented in 1901 by C.S. Goldmann, Esq. and was first played for in the 1901–02 season, the first winners being Clapton Orie ...

. Wembley reached both finals again the following season but lost both. The Middlesex Senior Charity Cup Final, was played at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in front of almost 5,000 supporters but the Lions lost 3–0 to Hendon. They had however beaten

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 ...

side

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...

Griffin Park Griffin Park was a football ground in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow, England. It was the home ground of Brentford F.C. from its opening in September 1904 to August 2020. The ground is in a predominantly residential area and was ...

in the semi final coming from 0–1 down to win 2–1. It is the only time (thus far) in Wembley's history that they have beaten Football League opposition in a competitive match. The 1990s saw two excellent FA Cup runs, reaching the 4th Qualifying Round in 1992–93 before eventually going out to Nuneaton Borough after three replays (including one played in front of over 2,000 people) and the 3rd Qualifying Round in 1994–95 – beating Welling United – then of the

Conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

– 4–1 away from home. 1994–95 also saw The Lions win the

for the fifth time, beating Hampton 2–0 at Northwood. Hopes of promotion were high as Wembley entered their Jubilee season in 1995–96 but the loss of key players

Giuliano Grazioli Giuliano Stefano Luigi Grazioli (born 23 March 1975, in Marylebone) is an English former footballer who played as a striker from 1995 until 2009, notably for Barnet. As a footballer he also played for Wembley, Yeovil Town, Peterborough Unit ...

to Football League side

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

and Charlie Flaherty meant that The Lions struggled from the off and eventually were relegated for the first time in the club's history. In a strange coincidence this season also saw Wembley's best ever

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 com ...

, reaching the 2nd Round Proper before losing 0–2 to Conference side

Northwich Victoria {{Infobox UK place , static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg , static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church , official_name = Northwich , country ...

at Vale Farm. The club though bounced straight back up to division one in the 1996–97 campaign, and almost topped this off with another Middlesex Charity Cup win but lost 0–1 to local rivals Edgware Town. Under the management of Errol Dyer, 1998–99 saw Wembley reach the

final at Enfield's Southbury Road but they eventually lost to Hendon on penalties – the game having finished 2–2 after extra time. However that was the highlight of the season as the club was relegated back to Division two. The club then spent the next three seasons in Division two, when as part of the re-organisation for the 2002–03 campaign of the Isthmian League, all Division two clubs were elevated to the regionalised Division ones and Wembley were put in Division one North. However they could only survive one season in the higher league and were back in Division two. In the 2005–06 season, as a result of the restructuring of non-league football, Wembley were moved sideways into the

Combined Counties League The Combined Counties Football League is a regional men's football league in south-eastern England with members in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Jersey, Kent, Middlesex, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and the western half and sou ...

Premier Division. After a strong first season when The Lions remained in contention for the title for most of the season, the club have struggled at the wrong end of the table since. The club rounded off the 2010–11 season by reaching the

Premier Challenge Cup Final – their first final in 12 years – but lost 0–1 to Sandhurst Town. The final was played at Farnborough Town FC's Cherrywood Road ground. In the 2011–12 season, their FA Cup extra preliminary-round tie against Ascot United, was shown exclusively via a stream from

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...

; funded by the FA Cup's new sponsors, multinational brewing company

Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. ''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrelat ...

, it was the first broadcast of its kind anywhere in sport. Wembley won the match 2–1, with second-half goals from Chris Korten and Roy Byron, securing the win for The Lions in front of a record attendance of 1,149 at Ascot's Racecourse ground. On 15 March 2012,

announced that they would now be sponsoring Wembley FC as part of a marketing campaign to promote their involvement with clubs at all levels after taking over the sponsorship of the

The sponsorship deal included a clubhouse upgrade and provision of a team minibus. Other initiatives include the implementation of a new responsible drinking programme as well as promotion of the club in the wider Wembley community. On 28 March 2012, it was confirmed that

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

would join the club in a technical advisor capacity. On 21 June 2012 it was announced the club had recruited former internationals

Ray Parlour Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport. He was a midfielder from 1992 to 2007, and spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hul ...

, Martin Keown,

Graeme Le Saux Graeme Pierre Le Saux ( ; born 17 October 1968) is an English former professional footballer and television pundit. As a versatile left sided player he played most of his career at left back with two spells at Chelsea, Blackburn Rovers, Southamp ...

Claudio Caniggia Claudio Paul Caniggia (; born 9 January 1967) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as forward or winger. Caniggia played 50 times for the Argentina national team. He appeared in three World Cups, and was a member of both ...

and

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham and Chicago Fire. He is the fifth-highest all-time leading goalscorer for the United States national team. For m ...

to play in their FA Cup campaign that season, none of whom made a competitive appearance for the club. Tobias Piers Webb remained in the side, despite calls for him to step down due to a string of poor performances, alongside Martin Parry, Christopher Lidstone, Stephen Garner, Cliff Darby, Liam Connolly, Rob Collins, Ross Mackiewicz, Pardeep Rai, Paddy Barron and Colin O’Connor. The north London side also hired

David Seaman David Andrew Seaman (born 19 September 1963) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. In a career lasting from 1981 to 2004, he is best known for his time playing for Arsenal. He won 75 caps for England, and is the country's ...

as goalkeeping coach.

Ugo Ehiogu Ugochuku Ehiogu (; 3 November 1972 – 21 April 2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a centre back from 1989 to 2009. He was the coach of the Tottenham Hotspur U23 team until his death in April 2017. He played in the Prem ...

was drafted in later for the preliminary qualifying game against

Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...

, but could not prevent Wembley from being knocked out. At the end of the 2020–21 season the club were transferred to the Premier Division North of the

Ground

Wembley play their home games at Vale Farm, Watford Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA0 3HG. The stadium has a capacity of 2,450. The ground was used in 1966 as the training base for the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

during their successful

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

campaign. The ground was also shared by Hendon F.C. Hendon shared Vale Farm for four full seasons from the 2009-10 campaign. The ground is now shared with Cricklewood Wanderers F.C.Football Ground Map
Vale Farm, home to Wembley FC, Hendon, Cricklewood Wanderers - Football Ground Map
accessdate: 20 January 2020

Honours

League honours

** Runners-up (1): 1974–75 *

Division One ** Runners-up (1): 1967–68 *

Delphian League The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League. ** Runners-up (1): 1955–56 * Spartan League (Western Division) ** Champions (1): 1950–51 * Middlesex Senior League ** Champions (1): 1947–48

Cup honours

** Winners (2): 1983–84, 1986–87 ** Runners-up (7): 1955–56, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1998–99 *

** Winners (5): 1967–68 (joint), 1980–81 (joint), 1982–83, 1986–87, 1994–95 ** Runners-up (2): 1996–97, 2013–14 *

** Runners-up (1): 1955–56 * Spartan League Dunkels Cup ** Winners (1): 1950–51 (joint) * North West Middlesex Invitation Cup ** Winners (1): 1956–57 * Middlesex League Cup ** Winners (1): 1946–47 * Suburban League Cup ** Winners (1): 1984–85 *

Premier Challenge Cup ** Runners-up (1): 2010–11

Wembley versus Football League opposition

*1956–57:

London Challenge Cup The London Challenge Cup was a football tournament formerly organised by the London FA. It was first contested in 1908, and other than during the World Wars, was contested every season until 1974, when the tournament was disbanded. After a 16- ...

– Arsenal (a) L 1–5 *1959–60:

–

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

(a) L 0–16 (Wembley's record defeat) *1966–67:

–

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

(a) L 0–5 *1987–88:

Semi Final – Brentford (a) W 2–1 *1989–90:

Semi Final –

(h) L 0–2 *1990–91:

–

L 2–3 *1991–92:

– Brentford L 0–1 *1995–96:

– Brentford L 0–1

Former players

# Players that have played/managed in the football league or any foreign equivalent to this level (i.e. fully professional league). # Players with full international caps. * Danny Bailey * Richard Cadette *

Keith Cassells Keith Barrington Cassells (born 10 July 1957) is an English retired professional football forward, best remembered for his four seasons in the Football League with Mansfield Town. He also played league football for Watford, Oxford United, B ...

Ken Coote Kenneth Alexander Coote (19 May 1928 – 2 August 2003) was an English footballer. He is best remembered for his 14 years as a full back and utility player with Brentford, for whom he tops the all-time appearances list with 559 and was also ...

* Bartłomiej Fogler *

* Karamoko Kéïta * Martin Keown *

* Howard Newton * Steve Parsons * Tony Readings * Gary Roberts * Gary Seward *

(Played one match in the FA Cup for the club)

References

External links

Official website
* {{coord, 51, 33, 27.40, N, 0, 18, 57.10, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Association football clubs established in 1946 Football clubs in England Football clubs in London Sport in the London Borough of Brent Spartan South Midlands Football League Combined Counties Football League Isthmian League Delphian League Corinthian League (football) Athenian League 1946 establishments in England Wembley