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| Full name | Leamington Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Brakes | ||
| Founded | 1933 | ||
| Ground | New Windmill Ground,Leamington Spa | ||
| Chairman | Jim Scott | ||
| Manager | Chris Knott (caretaker) | ||
| League | National League North | ||
| 2024–25 | National League North, 16th of 24 | ||
| Website | leamingtonfc.co.uk | ||
Leamington Football Club is afootball club based inLeamington Spa,Warwickshire, England. They are currently members of theNational League North and play at the New Windmill Ground nearBishop's Tachbrook.
The club was established in 1933 as theworks team ofLockheed Borg & Beck,[1] gaining the nickname "the Brakes" as a result of the products manufactured by the company.[2][3] They initially played in the Warwick & District League, before joining theCoventry Works League for the 1934–35 season.[1] In 1940 the club transferred to the Leamington & District League, but returned to the Coventry Works League two years later.[1] In 1944 they changed leagues again, becoming members of the Coventry & District League.[1] In 1947 the club was renamed Lockheed Leamington when they joined theCentral Amateur League.[2][3] After two third-place finishes the club joined theBirmingham Combination in 1949.[3] In 1954 the league was disbanded and like most other clubs, Leamington joined theBirmingham & District League. Placed in the Southern Division for a transitional season, they were the division's runners-up, earning a place in Division One the following season.[4] In 1960 the league was reduced to a single division and the club were champions in 1961–62.[5]
The Birmingham & District League was renamed theWest Midlands (Regional) League in 1962 and Leamington retained their league title in 1962–63 and then joined theMidland League. After finishing third in their first season, they won the Midland League title in 1964–65.[5] The club remained in the league until 1971 when they moved up to Division One North of theSouthern League. When Lockheed was renamedAutomotive Products in 1973, the football club was renamed AP Leamington.[2] In their first season under the new name the club won the Southern League's League Cup.[6] In1974–75 they reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, losing 2–1 at home toSouthend United.[7] Another first round appearance thefollowing season ended with a 3–2 defeat at home toStafford Rangers in front of a record crowd of 3,200.[8] They went on to finish the season as Division One North runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[7]
In the1977–78 FA Cup, AP Leamington reached the second round; after beatingEnderby Town 6–1 in the first round, they were drawn against Southend in the second.[7] The first game at the Windmill Ground was drawn 0–0 and the club lost 4–0 in the replay atRoots Hall. They reached the second round again thenext season, eventually losing 1–0 at home toTorquay United. However, a seventh-place finish in the league was enough to secure membership of the newAlliance Premier League, the national non-League division.[7] The club struggled in the new league, finishing in the bottom five in both of their first two seasons, before finishing bottom of the league in1981–82, which resulted in relegation back to the Southern League Premier Division. Although they won the Premier Division thefollowing season, the club were denied promotion due to the Windmill Ground failing to meet the ground grading criteria.[2]
The1983–84 season saw Leamington reach the first round of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 toGillingham, and they also won the League Cup and the Champions Cup.[6] However, the club finished bottom of the Premier Division in1984–85 and were relegated to the Midland Division, at which point the "AP" part of the name was dropped.[9] In both of the next two seasons they finished in the bottom two of the Midland Division, and at the end ofthe second the club dropped into theMidland Combination Premier Division.[9] After losing their Windmill Ground, they went into abeyance at the end of the 1987–88 season.[2]
In 2000 the club was reactivated, joining Division Two of the Midland Combination. They won Division Two at the first attempt, and were Division One runners-up the following season, earning promotion to the Premier Division. Following a third-place finish in 2002–03, the club were Premier Division runners-up in 2003–04 and won the league title the following season, securing promotion to theMidland Alliance.[9] In2005–06 they entered the FA Cup for the first time since reforming and went on to reach the first round, eventually losing 9–1 atColchester United.[9] The club were Midland Alliance champions thefollowing season, also winning the League Cup,[6] and were promoted to Division One Midlands of the Southern League. Theirfirst season in the Southern League saw them finish as runners-up, qualifying for the promotion play-offs; after beatingRushall Olympic 1–0 in the semi-final, the club lost 2–1 toStourbridge in the final. However, they went on to win Division One Midlands in2008–09 and were promoted to the Premier Division.[9]
Leamington finished fifth in the Premier Division in2010–11, but lost 3–1 toHednesford Town in the play-off semi-finals.Two seasons later they were Southern League champions, earning promotion to theConference North. After finishing thirteenth in theirfirst season in the division, the club ended the2014–15 season in the relegation zone and were relegated back to the Southern League. They finished fifth in2015–16 and reached the play-off final after beatingRedditch United 3–1 on penalties; however, they lost the final 2–1 toHungerford Town.[9] Thefollowing season saw them finish as Premier Division runners-up, and after beatingSlough Town 1–0 in the play-off semi-finals, they defeatedHitchin Town 2–1 in the final to secure promotion back to the renamedNational League North. In2022–23 the club finished third-from-bottom of the National League North and were relegated to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League. Thefollowing season saw the club finish third in the Premier Division Central. In the promotion play-offs, the club beatRedditch United 1–0 (after extra time) in the semi-finals before defeatingAFC Telford United 1–0 in the final to secure an immediate return to the National League North.
The club initially played at Tachbrook Road, which was later renamed the Windmill Ground after the adjacent Windmill pub.[2][10] The ground had previously been used by Leamington Town, but had been sold toCoventry City for £1,739 6s 8d when the club folded in 1937,[8] with Coventry using it as the home ground of their 'A' team.[2] However, the ground was bought by Lockheed afterWorld War II and covered terracing was built to complement the existing seated stand.[2][10] Floodlights were installed in 1965, having previously been used atMaine Road.[8] Capacity was gradually expanded to 5,000, of which 1,600 was under cover and 440 seated.[8]
During the 1983–84 season the ground was sold to the AC Lloyd property development company despite the club trying to buy the site. Plans to build a new ground were unsuccessful, as were efforts to move to the Edmonscote Athletics Stadium.[2] As a result, the club went into abeyance, with the last match at the Windmill Ground being played on 16 April 1988, a 2–2 draw withWalsall Wood in front of 500 spectators.[8] Despite the club's status, a group of supporters purchased land on Harbury Lane in nearby Whitnash,[10] which was turned into football pitches from 1993. After being officially opened in 1999 as the New Windmill Ground, the club started playing again in 2000.[2] Floodlights, seats and the PA system were taken fromOxford United'sManor Ground,[10] which closed in 2001. In July 2021 a new 198-seat stand was opened, named after life president and former chairman Mick Brady.[11]
The club were to move to a new 5,000-capacity stadium at Europa Way at the start of the 2022–23 season. Land was purchased in January 2019 and construction was expected to begin in autumn 2020, however it has since been delayed and as of September 2025 the ground is still bare. The £6 million ground will include an artificial pitch, conference and hospitality facilities and a gym.[12]
Thesupporters' trust run by the fans is named The Brakes Trust, and was founded in 2010 following a public meeting in December 2009.[13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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