Farnham Town F.C. Explained

Clubname:Farnham Town
Fullname:Farnham Town Football Club
Nickname:Town
Founded:1906
Ground:The Memorial Ground, Farnham
Capacity:2500
Chairman:Paul Tanner
Manager:Paul Johnson
Pattern B1:_lightbluestripes
Pattern Ra1:_goldborder
Leftarm1:58182F
Body1:58182F
Rightarm1:58182F
Shorts1:FFFFFF
Socks1:58182F
Pattern La2:_blackborder
Pattern B2:_blackcollar
Pattern Ra2:_blackborder
Leftarm2:81d8d0
Body2:81d8d0
Rightarm2:81d8d0
Shorts2:81d8d0
Socks2:000000
Pattern Ra3:_blackborder
Leftarm3:FFFFFF
Body3:FFFFFF
Rightarm3:FFFFFF
Shorts3:FFFFFF
Socks3:FFFFFF
Pattern La3:_blackborder
Pattern Sh1:_goldbottom
Pattern B3:_blackcollar
Pattern La1:_goldborder
Pattern Sh2:_blackbottom
Pattern Sh3:_blackbottom

Farnham Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Farnham, Surrey, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Memorial Ground.

History

The club was established in 1906 as a merger of Farnham Bungs and Farnham Star.[1] They became members of the Surrey Intermediate League, and were champions in 1929–30 and 1930–31. In 1947 they joined the Surrey Senior League.[2] In 1962 they left the league, but they returned in 1963.[2] They went on to win three successive league titles in 1965–66, 1966–67 and 1967–68 and were runners-up in 1969–70 and 1970–71,[2] before joining the Spartan League in 1971. When the league merged with the Metropolitan–London League to form the London Spartan League in 1975, the club were placed in Division One, which became the Premier Division in 1977.

After finishing bottom of the London Spartan Premier Division in 1979–80, Farnham transferred to the Combined Counties League. The 1981–82 season saw them play in the Western Division as the league was temporarily split into two divisions, before reverting to a single division the following season. They were runners-up in 1986–87 and went on to win the league in 1990–91. The following season saw them retain the league title, as well as winning the Premier Challenge Cup and the Elite Cup.[3] They were subsequently promoted to Division Three of the Isthmian League but resigned from the league prior to the start of the 1992–93 season as they were unable to raise the money needed to upgrade the Memorial Ground and were too late to rejoin the Combined Counties League until the following season.[1]

Farnham won the Premier Challenge Cup for a second time in 1995–96.[3] When the Combined Counties League gained a second division in 2003, they became members of the Premier Division. However, they were relegated to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2005–06. They won Division One at the first attempt, but were not promoted due to ground grading issues,[4] and remained in the division until they finished as runners-up in 2010–11, after which they were promoted back to the Premier Division. The club won the Challenge Cup again in 2015–16.[3] In 2017–18 they finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated to Division One. In 2021 the club were promoted to the Premier Division South based on their results in the abandoned 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons. In 2022–23 they won the Southern Combination Challenge Cup, beating Balham 3–2 after extra time in the final.[5]

The 2023–24 season saw Farnham Town win the Premier Division South title,[6] earning promotion to the South Central Division of the Isthmian League.

Ground

The club plays at the Memorial Ground, which was originally home to Farnham United Breweries before being gifted to the town in 1947; it was named in memory of five Farnham United Breweries workers who were killed during World War I.[7] A new 170-seat stand was opened in 2023[8] with a new 210-capacity stand being opened the following year.[9] The ground has a capacity of 1,500.[10]

Honours

Records

External links

51.2114°N -0.8064°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.farnhamtownfc.com/a/club-history-30850.html History
  2. http://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regions_2_SE/Surr22.html Surrey Senior League 1922–1978
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20180726003750/http://www.combinedcountiesleague.co.uk/honours.php Honours
  4. http://www.farnhamherald.com/article.cfm?id=107485&headline=Football%20club%20eyes%20new%20home&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2016 Football club eyes new home
  5. https://www.haslemereherald.com/sport/football/farnham-town-win-cup-final-as-owen-dean-seals-hat-trick-with-dramatic-extra-time-winner-613357 Farnham Town win cup final as Owen Dean seals hat-trick with dramatic extra time winner
  6. Web site: Match Report: Jersey Bulls 2–2 Farnham Town. Farnham Town FC. 24 March 2024. 25 March 2024.
  7. http://www.farnhamherald.com/article.cfm?id=111562&headline=Brewery%20puts%20spoke%20in%20sports%20ground%20plan&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2016 Brewery puts spoke in sports ground plan
  8. News: News: Non-League. Groundtastic. 113. 21.
  9. Web site: Farnham Town officially open new 210-capacity stand. Farnham Herald. White. Tom. 22 March 2024. 24 March 2024.
  10. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p385
  11. https://web.archive.org/web/20131022041813/http://www.surreyfa.com/previous-winners-and-officials/saturday-junior-cup-previous-winners Saturday Junior Cup Previous Winners