 | |||
| Full name | Baffins Milton Rovers Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2011 | ||
| Ground | Kendall Stadium,Portsmouth | ||
| Chairman | Steve Cripps | ||
| Manager | Pete Stiles and Matt Powell | ||
| League | Wessex League Premier Division | ||
| 2024–25 | Wessex League Premier Division, 6th of 20 | ||
| Website | bmrfc.co.uk | ||
Baffins Milton Rovers Football Club is afootball club based inPortsmouth, Hampshire, England. They are currently members of theWessex League Premier Division and play at the Kendall Stadium.
The club was formed in 2011 following the amalgamation of two successfulSunday league clubs Baffins Milton and Milton Rovers. Both clubs had won several league and cup titles in the Portsmouth Dockyard and Meon Valley leagues. The new club joined the Premier Division of the Portsmouth Saturday League and were champions in their first season.[1] After finishing as Premier Division runners-up the following season,[2] they moved up to the Senior Division of theHampshire Premier League.[3]
Baffins Milton Rovers were Hampshire Premier League champions in their first season in the league.[3] They also won the League Cup with a 4–0 win overColden Common in the final,[4] and thePortsmouth Senior Cup, beatingMoneyfields 4–0 in the final atFratton Park.[5] After finishing as Senior Division runners-up in 2014–15, the club were champions again in 2015–16,[3] as well as winning the Portsmouth Senior Cup for a second time after beating Havant & Waterlooville's Southdowns College Team 3–1 in the final.[6]
As Hampshire Premier League champions and having moved to their new Kendall Stadium, Baffins were promoted to Division One of theWessex League for the2016–17 season. They went on to finish as runners-up in the division, earning promotion to the Premier Division,[3] as well as reaching the Wessex League Cup final, eventually losing 2–1 to Premier DivisionSholing. Thefollowing season saw them win the League Cup, beatingPortland United 1–0 in the final. They won the League Cup again in2022–23 with a 4–2 win overPetersfield Town. The2023–24 season saw them finish fifth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. They went on to lose 2–1 toAFC Stoneham in the semi-finals.
The club initially played on the southern pitch at the Langstone Harbour Sports Ground. In 2015 they obtained a 50-year lease fromPortsmouth City Council for the northern section of the sports ground and started to develop it in preparation for promotion. They moved to the new ground in time for the 2015–16 season, and it was named the Kendall Stadium after one of its sponsors.[7] Developments included a new 120-seater stand, changing rooms, perimeter fence and concreting, with £70,000 in grants contributing to the £100,000 costs .[7][8] Further upgrades in summer 2016 included new floodlights, dug-outs and spectator toilets. A £33,189 grant from thePremier League throughthe Football Stadia Improvement Fund part-funded the £50,000 costs.[9][10] The upgrades allowed the club to be accepted for promotion to Wessex League Division One for the 2016–17 season, having won the Hampshire Premier League for the second time in 2015–16.
The new ground was officially opened on 3 August 2016 in a pre-season friendly match withSalisbury.[9] A new clubhouse was opened during 2017–18 season,[11] with a new covered terrace also built.Portsmouth F.C. Women began sharing the ground at the start of the 2018–19 season.[12]
50°49′24″N1°2′37″W / 50.82333°N 1.04361°W /50.82333; -1.04361
