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| Full name | Worthing Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Rebels, The Mackerel Men | ||
| Founded | February 1886 | ||
| Ground | Woodside Road,Worthing | ||
| Capacity | 4,200[1] | ||
| Owner | George Dowell | ||
| Chairman | Barry Hunter | ||
| Manager | Chris Agutter | ||
| League | National League South | ||
| 2023–24 | National League South, 3rd of 24 | ||
| Website | worthingfc.com | ||
 Current season | |||
Worthing Football Club is a semi-professionalfootball club based inWorthing, West Sussex, England. They are currently members of theNational League South and play at Woodside Road.
The club was established in 1886 as Worthing Association Football Club.[2] After playing friendlies, their first competitive game was aSussex Senior Challenge Cup match on 27 November 1886 in which they defeated Brighton Hornets 1–0 at home.[2] In 1892–93 they won the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup, beatingEastbourne 2–1 in the final.[2] The club were founder members of theWest Sussex League in 1896, and won the league in 1898–99.[2] In the 1899–1900 season the club dropped "Association" from their name,[2] and in May 1900 absorbed Worthing Athletic.[2] The club were West Sussex League champions and Sussex Senior Challenge Cup winners again in 1903–04,[3][4] also going onto win theSussex RUR Cup, a competition played between the winners of the West Sussex League andEast Sussex League, beatingHastings & St Leonards 3–2 in the final.[5] Although they left the league at the end of the season due to Worthing Rovers joining, they rejoined a year later after absorbing Rovers.[2] The club won back-to-back West Sussex League titles and RUR cups in 1906–07 and 1907–08 (also winning the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup in the latter season), and did the double again in 1909–10. They won the league title in 1912–13, and both the league and RUR Cup in 1913–14.[5]
AfterWorld War I Worthing rejoined the West Sussex League for the 1919–20 season and also entered a team into theBrighton, Hove & District League. In 1920 they were founder members of theSussex County League, and were the league'sinaugural champions.[6] The club retained the league title thefollowing season, and applied to join theAthenian League, but subsequently withdrew the application.[7] Remaining in the Sussex County League, they went on to win the league title again in1926–27,1928–29,1930–31 and1933–34. In1936–37 the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 4–3 atYeovil & Petters United.[7] The club were Sussex County League champions again in1938–39, and afterWorld War II, won the Western Division of the league in1945–46.[6]
In 1948 Worthing joined theCorinthian League. The higher level proved more challenging than the county league and they finished bottom of the Corinthian League in1956–57,1957–58 and1958–59. When the league folded in 1963, Worthing and most other clubs joined Division One of the Athenian League. They were runners-up in theirfirst season in the division, earning promotion to the Premier Division, as well as winning theAFA Invitation Cup with a 3–1 win overHarwich & Parkeston.[7] They remained in the Premier Division until relegation at the end of the1966–67 season, and went on to be relegated from Division One to Division Two theseason after.[6] In1971–72 the club were Division Two runners-up, earning promotion back to Division One.[6]
Worthing transferred to Division Two of theIsthmian League in 1977. They were Division Two champions in1981–82, resulting in promotion to Division One. Thefollowing season the club reached the FA Cup first round again, beatingDartford 2–1 before losing 4–0 atOxford United in the second round.[6] Theleague season ended with the club winning the Division One title, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They went on to finish as runners-up in the Premier Division in both1983–84 and1984–85. However, the club were relegated back to Division One at the end of the1986–87 season, and then to Division Two after finishing bottom of Division One in1991–92. They were Division Two champions in1992–93 and were promoted back to Division One. In1994–95, another FA Cup first round appearance ended with a 3–1 defeat atAFC Bournemouth. They went on to finishthe season as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division, but were relegated back to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division thefollowing season.[6]
In1999–2000 Worthing reached the FA Cup first round again, losing 3–0 atRotherham United.[6] League reorganisation saw them placed in Division One South in 2002. They were runners-up in the division in2003–04 and were promoted to the Premier Division. However, after finishing third-from-bottom of the Premier Division in2006–07 the club were relegated back to Division One South. A fifth-place finish in2007–08 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they were defeated 2–0 byTooting & Mitcham United in the semi-finals. Another fifth-place finish thefollowing season was followed by a 1–0 play-off semi-final defeat toCray Wanderers. The club finished third in Division One South in2009–10, but again failed to advance past the play-off semi-finals, losing 2–1 toGodalming Town.[6]
In2015–16 Worthing finished third in Division One South again. After beatingHythe Town 7–0 in the play-off semi-finals, they secured promotion to the Premier Division with a 3–0 win overFaversham Town in the final.[6] The club were top of the Premier Division table when theCOVID-19 pandemic halted both the2019–20 and2020–21 seasons, but they went on to become Premier Division champions in2021–22, earning promotion to theNational League South.[6] In theirfirst season in the National League the club finished fourth in the division, qualifying for the play-offs. After beatingBraintree Town 2–1 in the quarter-finals, they lost 2–0 toOxford City in the semi-finals. The season also saw them win the Sussex Senior Cup again, beatingBognor Regis Town 8–7 on penalties after a 0–0 draw. At the start of the 2023–24 season the club won the Sussex Community Shield, defeatingBroadbridge Heath 5–4 on penalties after the match ended 3–3. They went on to reach the first round of theFA Cup for the fifth time, losing 2–0 atAlfreton Town, and finished third in the National League South, qualifying for the play-offs again. After beatingMaidstone United 2–1 in the semi-finals, the club lost 4–3 toBraintree Town in the final.
The club initially played at People's Party (now Homefield Park), before moving to Beach House Park in 1889.[2] In 1901 they relocated to the Sports Ground, which later became known as Woodside Road.[2] A sports ground had been opened on the Woodside Road site as early as 1892,[8] when the site was part of the parish ofWest Tarring (which at the time was not yet part of the borough of Worthing). Then known as the Pavilion Road Sports Ground, it occupied a 13-acre site, with aQueen Anne-style pavilion giving its name to Pavilion Road along the south of the site.[8] The land was donated by a local benefactor, Mr Brazier.[9] A record attendance of 3,100 was set for anFA Amateur Cup quarter-final replay againstDepot Battalion, RE in 1907–08.[2] A new record of 3,600 was set for an FA Cup fourth qualifying round match againstWimbledon in 1936.[7]
In 1937 the Sports Ground closed and the site's northern portion was developed into the existing Woodside Road ground. The southern portion of the Sports Ground became tennis courts and then in 1948 became home to Worthing Pavilion Bowls Club.[8] Floodlights were installed in 1977.[8] At the end of 1984–85 Woodside Road's main stand, which had been in place since the 1920s, burnt down.[9][10] A replacement was opened in 1986.[9] In 2015, former player George Dowell took over the club, after receiving compensation following an accident that ended his career.[11] That same year, an artificial pitch was installed.[12][13] This surface initially proved troublesome and had to be fully re-installed in 2021.
During the 2023–24 season a new West Stand was built with a capacity of around 750. This was followed by the construction of a 1,800-capacity North Stand, due for completion in September 2024.
The ground has also been home toHorsham (during the 2008–09 season) andBrighton & Hove Albion's reserve team after the closure of theGoldstone Ground in 1997.
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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| Dates | Name |
|---|---|
| 1981–1986[10] |  Barry Lloyd |
| 1986–1987 | Keith Rowley |
| 1987–1988 | Alan Pook |
| 1988–1989 | J.Rains |
| 1989–1991 | Keith Rowley |
| 1991–1994[10] |  Gerry Armstrong |
| 1994–1996 | John Robson |
| 1996 | Mark Falco |
| 1996–2001[10] | Brian Donnelly |
| 2001–2003 | Barry Lloyd |
| 2003–2009 | Alan Pook |
| 2009–2010 | Simon Colbran |
| 2010–2012 | Chris White |
| 2012–2013 | Lee Brace |
| 2013–2015 | Adam Hinshelwood |
| 2015–2017 | Gary Elphick |
| 2017–2024 | Adam Hinshelwood |
| 2024 | Aarran Racine |
| 2024- | Chris Agutter |
50°49′13″N0°23′6″W / 50.82028°N 0.38500°W /50.82028; -0.38500
