Leiston Football Club is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Leiston Leiston ( ) is a town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is close to Saxmundham and Aldeburgh, north-east of Ipswich and north-east of London. The town had a population of 5,508 at th ...

, Suffolk, England. They are currently members of the and play at Victory Road.

History

Established in 1880, the club was initially closely linked to the Richard Garrett Engineering Works. They reached the final of the

Suffolk Senior Cup The Suffolk Senior Cup is the second level football cup competition organised by the Suffolk FA after the Suffolk Premier Cup. It is currently open to Suffolk–based clubs competing in Eastern Counties League Division One and the top divisions ...

in 1892, 1897 and 1904, losing on each occasion, although the club did win the Junior Cup in 1895. In 1894 Leiston joined the North Suffolk League, which they played in until 1909. In 1900 the club also joined the Ipswich & District League (later the Suffolk & Ipswich League) and were champions in their first three seasons.Blakeman, M (2010) ''The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935–2010, Volume II'' In 1904 they transferred to the South East Anglian League, but left in 1907 before rejoining in 1911 (when it had been renamed the

East Anglian League The East Anglian League was a football league in the East Anglia region of England. History The league was established in 1903 as the South East Anglian League. The founder member clubs were Chelmsford City, Colchester Crown, Colchester Town, ...

). Between 1912 and 1914 the club also played in the Ipswich & District League. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the club was reformed as Leiston Works Athletic and rejoined the Ipswich & District League and the East Anglian League. In 1920 they left the EAL and joined the Essex & Suffolk Border League. At the end of the 1920–21 season the club left both the IDL and ESBL to join the

Norfolk & Suffolk League The Norfolk & Suffolk League was a football league covering the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in England. History The league was established in 1897, starting with six clubs, Beccles Caxton, Great Yarmouth Town, Kirkley, Lowestoft Town, Lynn ...

before rejoining the IDL in 1926. After finishing bottom of the table in 1934–35 they were reformed as Leiston and dropped into Division 2B. The club won all seventeen league matches in 1937–38 and were promoted to Division One after defeating Division 2A winners Manningtree Rovers in a play-off. In 1948 Leiston rejoined the Norfolk & Suffolk League, but transferred back to the Ipswich & District League in 1953. Despite finishing bottom of the Senior Division in 1979–80, the club avoided being relegated as the division was expanded.Suffolk & Ipswich League 1979–1999 + 2000–2004
Non-League Matters However, after finishing bottom again in 1981–82 they were relegated. They were promoted back to the Senior Division at the first attempt, also winning the Suffolk Junior Cup, which they retained in 1983–84. Leiston then spent several years as a

yo yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...

as they were relegated in 1988–89, promoted back in 1989–90, relegated again in 1991–92 and returned to the Senior Division in 1996–96. After finishing third in 2000–01 the club stepped up to Division One of the Eastern Counties League. The 2003–04 season saw Leiston finish third in Division One, earning promotion to the Premier Division. The club reached the final of the

Suffolk Premier Cup The Suffolk Premier Cup is the top level football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ...

three times in succession between 2006 and 2008, but lost on each occasion; 3–2 after extra time against Lowestoft Town in 2006, 8–0 to Ipswich Town reserves in 2007, and on penalties to

Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...

in 2008. In the same season they beat Brentwood Town on penalties to win the East Anglian Cup. In the

2008–09 FA Cup The 2008–09 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 128th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. A record 762 clubs were accepted for the competition; one club, South N ...

the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time; drawn at home to

Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...

club Fleetwood Town, they drew 0–0 in front of a record crowd of 1,250, before losing the replay 2–0. MargateLeiston

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Leiston won the Eastern Counties League Premier Division, earning promotion to Division One North of the

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

. In 2011–12 they won Division One North, achieving back-to-back promotions and moving up to the Isthmian League Premier Division. They finished fifth in the Premier Division in 2017–18, going on to lose 1–0 in the play-off semi-finals to

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. The ...

. The club were transferred to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League at the end of the 2017–18 season as part of the restructuring of the non-League pyramid.

Ground

Leiston initially played at the old Recreation Ground, today known as Park Hill, with players changing in the White Horse Hotel or at the Works Hall. In 1921 they moved to their current ground on Victory Road, then known as the Leiston Works Athletic Association, after Garretts bought the ground. It was later renamed the Leiston Town Athletic Association.

Current squad

''The

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

does not use a squad numbering system.''

Management and coaching staff

Boardroom

Current staff

Managerial history

Honours

*Isthmian League **Division One North champions 2011–12 *Eastern Counties League **Premier Division champions 2010–11 **Division One Cup winners 2001–02 *Suffolk & Ipswich League **Champions 1900–01, 1901–02, 1902–03 **Division 2B champions 1937–38 *East Anglian Cup **Winners 2007–08 *Suffolk Premier Cup **Winners 2017–18, 2018–19 *Suffolk Junior Cup **Winners 1894–95, 1982–83, 1983–84

Records

*Best

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

performance: First round, 2008–09 *Best

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...

performance: Fourth round, 2022–23 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...

performance: Quarter-finals, 2010–11 *Record attendance: 1,250 v Fleetwood Town,

first round, 8 November 2008 *Most league goals: Lee McGlone 60Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p561 *Most league appearances: Gareth Heath, 201

References

External links

* {{coord, 52, 12, 15.84, N, 1, 34, 17.13, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in Suffolk Association football clubs established in 1880 1880 establishments in England Leiston Suffolk and Ipswich Football League East Anglian League Norfolk & Suffolk League Essex and Suffolk Border Football League Eastern Counties Football League Isthmian League clubs Southern Football League clubs