 | |||
| Nickname | The Rocks | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1883; 142 years ago (1883) (as Bognor F.C.) | ||
| Ground | Nyewood Lane,Bognor Regis | ||
| Capacity | 4,500 (367 seated) | ||
| Chairman | Dominic Reynolds | ||
| Manager | Jamie Howell | ||
| League | Isthmian League South Central Division | ||
| 2024–25 | Isthmian League Premier Division, 21st of 22 (relegated) | ||
| Website | http://www.bognorregistownfc.co.uk | ||
Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an Englishfootball club based inBognor Regis,West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to theSussex County Football Association.[1] They currently compete in theIsthmian League South Central Division, after being relegated from the Premier Division in the 2024–25 season.
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Bognor Regis Town F.C. was founded in 1883 and the club became founding members of theWest Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Senior Division.[2] They won the championship of this league for five successive years in the early 1920s, after which they joined theBrighton, Hove & District Football League in 1926. Just one year later, however, they joined theSussex County League where they were to remain until 1972. The club became Bognor Regis F.C. in 1929 afterKing George V added the suffix 'Regis' to the seaside resort.
The club won the Sussex County Division One championship in the 1948–49 season. At the end of that season, they added "Town" to their name so as not to be confused with the local rugby club.
At the end of the 1969–70 season they were relegated, but won Division Two at the first attempt. The club won the Division One championship title the following season and were promoted to Division One South of theSouthern League. In1972–73 they reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, losing 6–0 atColchester United. In 1976 Jack Pearce became manager at the age of just 26, and went on to hold the position until 2007.
In 1981 the club were transferred to Division One of theIsthmian League, and were promoted at the end of the 1981–82 season after finishing second. In1984–85 they reached the first round of theFA Cup again, defeatingSwansea City 3–1 in a replay after a 1–1 draw at theVetch Field. In the second round they lost 6–2 atReading. They reached the second round again thefollowing season, beatingEnfield in the first round, before losing 6–1 atGillingham. They reached the first round again in1986–87 (losing 1–0 in a replay toSlough Town) and1987–88 (losing 3–0 at home toTorquay United). In1988–89 they beatFootball League opposition again, defeatingExeter City 2–1, before losing toCambridge United.
In 1991–92 Bognor finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved afterDagenham andRedbridge Forest merged. However, the following season they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. In1995–96 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a fourth time, before losing 4–0 atPeterborough United.
In 2002–03 they finished second in Division One South, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. After finishing tenth the following year, the club were placed in the newly establishedConference South. They were relegated back to the Isthmian League Premier Division at the end of the2008–09 season, and were relegated again thefollowing season.
Season 2010–11 saw the club compete in theIsthmian League Division One South and they missed out on promotion back to the Premier Division by the tightest of margins. Having finished with a club record total of 96 points, they lost out in the title race toMetropolitan Police on goal difference by just one goal, having led the table by two points, going in to the last fixture. As a result, they found themselves having to participate in the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost at home toDulwich Hamlet who had finished 31 points behind.
In 2011–12 they again finished second in Division One South. They won the end-of-season play-offs, defeatingGodalming Town in a thrilling semi-final, before beatingDulwich Hamlet 1–0 in the final, and thus gaining promotion to thePremier Division. The 2013–14 season started slowly, with just one point from the opening four matches. However they soon rose up the table, eventually finishing in third place and qualified for the end of season play-offs, although this ended in defeat in the semi-final at home to Lowestoft Town.
The 2015–16 season saw the club miss out on the Premier Division title by one point and then lose in the play-offs to Dulwich Hamlet. They did, however, also enjoy their best ever run in theFA Trophy by reaching the semi-finals. They beat a number of teams from higher divisions along the way, includingBath City,Maidstone United,Altrincham,Sutton United andTorquay United. But hopes of an appearance atWembley Stadium were dashed when they were defeated in the semi-final byGrimsby Town, losing 1–0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2–1 at Blundell Park (3–1 on aggregate).
Season 2016–17 saw the club finish in second place for the second season running, but this time they triumphed in the play-offs, defeatingWingate & Finchley F.C. in the semi-final, before victory over Dulwich Hamlet in the final, to win promotion to theNational League South for season 2017–18. However, despite a promising start to life in theVanarama National League South in 2017–18, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 2018–19 season.
The club spent much of the 2018–19 season in play-off contention but a dip in form in the last couple of months saw them eventually finish in 14th place. However, they won theSussex Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years, defeatingBurgess Hill Town 2–1 after extra time in the final played atFalmer Stadium, Brighton.[3]
The club play at Nyewood Lane. The ground has a capacity of 4,500, most of which has covered accommodation. The clubhouse end of the ground saw the addition of an unusual 'beach brolly' style terrace cover in 2018, although this was severely damaged and as a result, pulled down due to Storm Ciara in 2020. The summer of 2020 saw the construction of a new 367 seated stand, with the roof at the clubhouse end replaced in October 2020.The ground's first set of floodlights was bought from Wembley Stadium and fitted onto telegraph poles. In the 1970s the current floodlight pylons were added, with four along each touchline, before two of these were removed on each side in the early 1990s.[citation needed]
On 15 August 2008 a fire destroyed the clubhouse, and was suspected to be arson.[4] Work on a new social club, named 'Seasons', commenced during the summer of 2009 and opened in November the same year.
A new 3G playing surface was scheduled to be installed at their Nyewood Lane home in the summer of 2025, along with upgrades to the floodlights, pitch perimeter and dressing rooms.[citation needed]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Dominic Reynolds |
| Vice Chairman | Jack Pearce |
| Commercial Director | Russ Chandler |
| Match Secretary | Peter Helsby |
| Women Secretary | Lucy Jane Martin |
| Head Groundsman | James Askew |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | |
| Jamie Howell | |
| Assistant Manager | Paul Hinshelwood |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | David Birmingham |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Wes Hallett |
| Physiotherapist | Hannah Meaden |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Matt Trinidad |
| Assistant Manager | Billy Bromley |
All positions are published on the club website.[5][6][7]
As of 15 April 25. Statistics below are League matches only (Sussex County/Southern/Isthmian/Conference South).
| Name | Nationality | Period | G | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Birmingham & Jamie Howell (joint) |  | December 2024 – Present | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 23.8% |
| David Birmingham (interim) | | November 2024 – December 2024 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Robbie Blake | | March 2022 – November 2024 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60% |
| Jack Pearce | | May 2017–March 2022 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamie Howell | | June 2009–May 2017 | 124 | 64 | 33 | 27 | 51.61% |
| Mick Jenkins | | June 2008 – January 2009 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 14 | 8.70% |
| Michael Birmingham | | October 2007 – May 2008 | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 30% |
| Jack Pearce | | June 1994 – October 2007 | 566 | 227 | 144 | 195 | 40.10% |
| Mick Pullen | | June 1992 – May 1994 | 84 | 20 | 24 | 40 | 23.81% |
| Jack Pearce | | March 1976 – May 1992 | 672 | 254 | 163 | 255 | 37.78% |
| Derek Edwards | | June 1970 – March 1976 | 208 | 86 | 50 | 72 | 41.35% |
(Post-2004) Ninth in theConference South, 2004–05
The club's home strip consists of green and white, of which in the past, combinations have varied including green and white striped shirts, green and white halved shirts, green and white quartered shirts and plain green shirts with white shorts. Following King George V's decision to add the suffix 'Regis' to the town's name in 1929, the club wore a blue and gold strip for a period in the 1930s, before reverting to green and white some time later that decade. Since the mid-1970s, the strip has mostly consisted of white shirts, green shorts and white socks, as is the case today. Away colours have varied over the years, although blue shirts (various shades) were worn from 1998 to 2016. From 2016 to 2023, the club wore a maroon and white strip for away fixtures. A new orange and black away strip was introduced for the 2023–24 season.[citation needed]
| Season | Kit Manufacturer | Main Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 1979–1980 | Adidas | Hago Plastics |
| 1980–1981 | Umbro | |
| 1981–1983 | No Shirt Sponsor | |
| 1983–1985 | Hamilton Lines | |
| 1985–1987 | New Olympic | West Sussex Contractors |
| 1987–1989 | Puma | Butlins (FA Cup ties only) |
| 1989–1991 | New Olympic | Adcocks Suzuki |
| 1991–1992 | Hall Signs | |
| 1992–1993 | Bukta | Spindlers Lamps & Lights |
| 1993–1994 | Diadora | Reynolds Furniture Store |
| 1994–1995 | ||
| 1995–1996 | ICIS | |
| 1996–1997 | Esprit Accountants | |
| 1997–1998 | Butlins Bognor Regis | |
| 1998–1999 | Vandanel | Competitive Cleaning |
| 1999–2000 | Reynolds Furniture Store | |
| 2000–2001 | Spall | Finest Windows |
| 2001–2002 | Express Printing | |
| 2002–2003 | Wayne Windows | |
| 2003–2005 | GX | Aldersmead |
| 2005–2006 | homes2buy.co.uk | |
| 2006–2007 | KFC | |
| 2007–2008 | VRV Autos | |
| 2008–2009 | Apogee Corporation | |
| 2009–2010 | Erreà | |
| 2010–2011 | Keith Jay Carpets | |
| 2011–2012 | Chestnut Tree House | |
| 2012–2013 | Havant Motor Factors | |
| 2013–2014 | Viessmann | |
| 2014–2015 | FRH Machinery | |
| 2015–2016 | Gilbert & Cleveland | |
| 2016–2017 | Concise Surfacing Ltd | |
| 2017–2018 | Buildbase | |
| 2018-2019 | Woods Travel | |
| 2019-2020 | Reynolds Furniture Store | |
| 2020-2022 | Apuldram Centre | |
| 2022-2023 | Specsavers | |
| 2023-2024 | Barfoots | |
| 2024-2025 | Kevin Welling Plumbing & Heating | |
| 2025-2026 | K.Fellowes Roofing |
Category:Bognor Regis Town F.C. players
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
50°47′13.16″N0°41′24.84″W / 50.7869889°N 0.6902333°W /50.7869889; -0.6902333
