 | |||
| Full name | Falmouth Town Association Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Town | ||
| Founded | 1949 | ||
| Ground | Bickland Park,Falmouth | ||
| Capacity | 3,572[1] | ||
| Chairman | Graham Medlin | ||
| Manager | Andrew Westgarth | ||
| League | Southern League Division One South | ||
| 2024–25 | Southern League Division One South, 9th of 22 | ||
Falmouth Town Association Football Club is afootball club based inFalmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom. They are currently members of theSouthern League Division One South and play at Bickland Park. The club were the first Cornish team to reach the first round proper of theFA Cup,[2] which they have done on three occasions; 1962–63, 1967–68 and 1969–70.
The club was established in 1949 and joined the Cornwall Senior League for the 1950–51 season.[3][4] In 1951 they were founder members of theSouth Western League.[5] They finished bottom of the league in 1952–53 and again in 1954–55, but won their first trophy in 1957–58, beatingNewquay 1–0 in the League Cup final.[4] They were league runners-up the following season, also retaining the League Cup with a 6–3 win overTruro City in the final.[4] In 1961–62 they won the league for the first time, also winning the League Cup and theCornwall Senior Cup, thrashingSt Blazey 7–1 in the Senior Cup final.[4] Thefollowing season saw them become the first club from Cornwall to reach the first round of theFA Cup, winning through four qualifying rounds before eventually losing 2–1 at home toFourth DivisionOxford United in front of a record crowd of 8,000.[6][2] In 1964–65 the club missed out on a second league title by one point after being deducted two points.[6] However, they won the league the following season.
In1967–68 Falmouth reached the first round of the FA Cup for a second time, this time losing 5–2 atThird DivisionPeterborough United.[6] The season also saw them win the South Western League title for a third time.[5] Another appearance in the first round in1969–70 resulted in another defeat to Peterborough, this time losing 4–1 at home. The club went on to win the four consecutive South Western League titles between 1970–71 and 1973–74, also winning the League Cup and Cornwall Senior Cup in 1970–71, a season in which they remained unbeaten in all three competitions;[7][4] over the next three seasons they only lost five league matches.[6] Their dominance in local football led the club to move up to theWestern League in 1974. The club'sfirst season in the league saw them win the league and League Cup double without losing a game.[7][4] They then won the league for the next three seasons, marking eight consecutive league titles.[6] This included a 58-match unbeaten stretch in the league that saw them go unbeaten in the Western League until January 1976.[4]
In1978–79 Falmouth finished eighth in the Western League and the following season saw them finish in the bottom half.[6] In 1983 the club withdrew from the league due to increased travelling costs. However, an application to rejoin the South Western League was rejected and they dropped into theCornwall Combination. After winning the Combination at the first attempt, they were allowed to rejoin the South Western League.[4] The club went on to win back-to-back league titles in 1985–86 and 1986–87 and again in 1988–89 and 1989–90. Further league titles followed in 1991–92, 1996–97 and 1999–2000.[6] When the South Western League merged with theDevon County League to form theSouth West Peninsula League in 2007, the club were placed in the Premier Division of the new league.[6] In2017–18 they won the League Cup, beatingTavistock 4–2 after extra time in the final.[8] At the start of the following season the club won the league's Charity Bowl with a 2–1 win overPlymouth Parkway.[9]
Following league reorganisation at the end of the2018–19 season, Falmouth were placed in the Premier Division West. In2021–22 they won the Cornwall Senior Cup and were Premier Division West champions. This earned promotion to the Premier Division of the Western League after a forty-year absence.[10] In2023–24 they won the Cornwall Senior Cup again, and were Premier Division runners-up toHelston Athletic, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beatingBarnstaple Town 3–1 in the semi-finals, Falmouth defeatedClevedon Town 2–0 in the final to secure promotion to Division One South of theSouthern League for the first time in their history.[11]
The club initially played at the Recreation Ground, before moving to Union Corner when they joined the South Western League.[4] Over 1,200 spectators attended the club's first South Western League match on 18 August 1951, the game ending in a 3–3 draw.[4] The ground was a farmer's field with players initially having to change in a nearbyYMCA and then travel to the ground by bus.[12] Shortly afterwards the club bought two fields at Ashfield, where a new ground was built. However, this was soon sold toShell-Mex & BP for £20,000,[4] with the club moving back to Union Corner for a season in 1956.[4] The money allowed them to build a new ground at Bickland Park, which opened in August 1957 withNewquay the first visitors.[4] In the early 1960s the club played a home game at Falmouth Docks' Mongleath/Boslowick as Bickland Park was being used for a Cornwall FA match.[4]
Bickland Park has covered stands on all four sides of the ground, with the main stand on one side of the pitch set into banking.[2] The other three sides of the ground have covered standing areas.[2] Floodlights were installed in 1973, although their first use was on 10 April 1974 for a match againstPorthleven.[2]
50°09′21.76″N5°05′54.95″W / 50.1560444°N 5.0985972°W /50.1560444; -5.0985972
