Banstead Athletic F.C. Explained

Clubname:Banstead Athletic
Fullname:Banstead Athletic Football Club
Nickname:The A's, The Yellows
Founded:1944
Ground:Merland Rise, Tadworth
Capacity:1,500[1]
Chairman:Gary Grabban
Manager:Keith Ward
Pattern La1:_blackshoulders
Pattern B1:_chevron_black
Pattern Ra1:_blackshoulders
Pattern Sh1:_goldsides
Leftarm1:FFD700
Body1:FFD700
Rightarm1:FFD700
Shorts1:000000
Socks1:000000
Pattern La2:_white_panel
Pattern B2:_collarwhite
Leftarm2:FF0000
Body2:FF0000
Rightarm2:FF0000
Shorts2:FF0000
Socks2:FF0000

Banstead Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Tadworth, near Epsom in Surrey, England. The club are currently members of the and play at Merland Rise. They are affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association.

History

The club was established in 1944 as Banstead Juniors, before adopting their current name during the 1946–47 season.[2] After winning the Surrey Intermediate Cup that season, the club won back-to-back league titles before moving up to the Surrey Senior League in 1949.[2] They finished as runners-up in their first season, and went on to win the league title four consecutive seasons (1950–51 - 1953–54), with Harry Clark scoring 81 goals in 26 games in 1950–51.[2] The next two seasons saw them finish as runners-up to Dorking, before they won their fifth title in 1956–57.[3] Although they finished as runners-up again for the next two seasons, the club went into decline at the start of the 1960s, and finished second-from-bottom in 1961–62.[3]

The 1964–65 season saw Banstead win their sixth Surrey Senior League title, claiming the championship on goal average from Chobham, and they moved up to the Spartan League.[3] When the league merged with the Metropolitan–London League in 1975, forming the London Spartan League, Banstead were placed in Division One.

In 1979 the club switched to the Athenian League, where they remained until it disbanded in 1984, winning the League Cup in 1980–81. When the league folded most clubs (including Banstead) joining the Isthmian League, with Banstead placed in Division Two South. The league was reorganised in 1991, with the club placed in Division Two. They remained in the division until 2002 when further league reorganisation saw them moved to Division One South. Two years later another reorganisation saw them placed in Division One.

At the end of the 2005–06 season Banstead resigned from the Isthmian League and dropped into the Combined Counties League Premier Division. After finishing bottom of the division in 2011–12 they were relegated to Division One. They were Division One champions in 2016–17, earning promotion back to the Premier Division. Following league reorganisation in 2021 the club were placed in the Premier Division South. However, after finishing second-from-bottom of the division in 2022–23 they were relegated to Division One of the Southern Combination.

Honours

Records

See also

External links

51.3035°N -0.2329°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.non-leagueclubdirectory.co.uk/index.php/clubs/banstead-athletic Banstead Athletic
  2. http://www.bansteadathleticfc.moonfruit.com/#/history/4552226935 A Brief History of Banstead Football Club
  3. http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2_SE/Surr22.html Surrey Senior League 1922-1978
  4. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p631