 | |||
| Full name | Fleet Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Blues | ||
| Founded | 1890 | ||
| Ground | Calthorpe Park,Fleet | ||
| Capacity | 2,000 (250 seated)[1] | ||
| Chairman | Caroline Bone | ||
| Manager | Darryl Evans | ||
| League | Combined Counties League Premier Division South | ||
| 2024–25 | Combined Counties League Premier Division South, 5th of 20 | ||
Fleet Town Football Club is a semi-professionalfootball club based inFleet,Hampshire,England. The club are currently members of theCombined Counties League Premier Division South and play at Calthorpe Park.
The club was established in 1890 under the name Fleet Football Club.[2] With two Saturday teams, they played in both theAldershot Senior League and theBasingstoke & District League.[2] A youngClement Attlee, futurePrime Minister of the United Kingdom, played for the club in the early 20th century.[3] In 1961 the club joined Division Three of theHampshire League.[4] Although they won the division in their first season in the league, earning promotion to Division Two, the following season saw them relegated back to Division Three.[4] In 1963 the club adopted its current name,[2] and a third-place finish in 1963–64 saw the club promoted back to Division Two at the first attempt.[4]
In 1965–66 Fleet were Division Two champions, earning promotion to Division One.[2] The following season saw the club make its debut in theFA Cup, reaching the second qualifying round, before losing 3–0 toHorsham.[5] They were Division One runners-up in 1972–73, but after finishing bottom of Division One in 1975–76, they were relegated to Division Two.[6] The club were Division Two runners-up in 1977–78,[6] after which they joined theAthenian League.[5] However, due to difficulties meeting the ground grading regulations, the club dropped into theCombined Counties League in 1984.[2][5] After finishing bottom of the league for two consecutive seasons,[5] they dropped into theSurrey Premier League for the 1986–87 season, which also saw them finish bottom of the table.[7]
Fleet then joined the Premier Division of theChiltonian League in 1987.[8] After two seasons in the Chiltonian League, they moved up to theWessex League.[5] The club won the league in 1994–95 and were promoted to the Southern Division of theSouthern League. They won the Russell Cotes Cup in 1997–98.[9] After being transferred to the Eastern Division in 1999, they finished bottom of the division in1999–2000 and were relegated back to the Wessex League.[5] In2000–01 the club were Wessex League runners-up and were promoted back to the Eastern Division of the Southern League. The following season saw them win the Russell Cotes Cup again.[9] After finishing bottom of the Eastern Division in2003–04, they were saved from relegation due to restructuring of the non-League pyramid and were transferred to Division One of theIsthmian League.[2][5] League restructuring in 2006 saw them placed in Division One South.
In 2006–07 Fleet finished fifth in the division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. However, they were beaten 2–1 byTooting & Mitcham United in the semi-finals.[10] The season also saw them win the Russell Cotes Cup for a third time, a trophy they retained in the two following seasons.[9] They were transferred to Division One South & West of the Southern League for the2007–08 season. The club went on to finish as runners-up in the division, but lost 2–1 toUxbridge in the play-off semi-finals.[11] They were subsequently moved back to Division One South of the Isthmian League for the2008–09 season.
A third-place finish by Fleet in 2008–09 resulted in another play-off campaign, in which they lost 1–0 toMetropolitan Police in the semi-finals.[12] The season also saw them win theHampshire Senior Cup with a 1–0 win overVT in the final.[9] In 2011 the club were transferred to Division One Central of the Southern League. In2011–12 they finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved afterBedfont Town resigned from the league.[13] In 2013 they were moved to Division One South & West, and finished in the relegation zone in2013–14, receiving another reprieve from relegation. The club were transferred back to Division One Central in 2015.[5] At the end of the2017–18 season they were transferred to Division One South. The club finished bottom of the division in2018–19 and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Wessex League. Following the2020–21 season they were transferred to the Premier Division South of the Combined Counties League.
In2024–25 Fleet finished fifth in the Premier Division South, before losing on penalties toJersey Bulls in the play-off semi-finals.
The club initially played at the Views (now Campbells Close), before moving to Watsons Meadow.[2] In 1923 the club were granted the use of a site on Crookham Road byLord Calthorpe,[2] with the ground becoming known as Calthorpe Park. The first match at the new ground was played on 3 March 1923.[2] Floodlights were installed in 1953.[3] The ground currently has a capacity of 2,000, of which 250 is seated and covered.[1]
51°16′35″N0°51′0″W / 51.27639°N 0.85000°W /51.27639; -0.85000
