A.F.C. Portchester is a football club based in Portchester, a suburb of the town of Fareham, Hampshire, England. They are currently members of the Wessex League Premier Division and play at the Wicor Recreation Ground.
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| Full name | Association Football Club Portchester | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Portchy, Royals | ||
| Founded | 1971 | ||
| Ground | Wicor Recreation Ground, Portchester | ||
| Chairman | Paul Kelly | ||
| Manager | Gav Spurway | ||
| League | Wessex League Premier Division | ||
| 2023–24 | Wessex League Premier Division, 4th of 20 | ||
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History
edit
The club was established in 1971 as Loyds Sports.[1][2] They joined Division Six of the City of Portsmouth Sunday League. After amalgamating with Colourvision Rangers in 1973 they gained a place in Division Two.[2][1] In 1976 the club became Wicor Mill, after which they joined the Portsmouth & District League.[1] The club were runners-up in the Portsmouth & District League in 1997–98 and were promoted to Division Three of the Hampshire League;[3] the following year they adopted their current name.[4] Division Three was also renamed Division Two,[5] and the club were runners-up in 1999–2000, earning promotion to Division One.[6]
Portchester were Division One champions in 2001–02, but were unable to take promotion to the Wessex League due to a lack of floodlights.[3] However, in 2004 they became founder members of the new Division Three of the Wessex League when the Hampshire League merged into it. Division Three was renamed Division Two in 2006, and the club were promoted to Division One after finishing fourth in 2006–07.[6] In 2011–12 they were Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[6] In 2014–15 they won the Wessex League's League Cup.[3] In 2023–24 the club finished fourth in the Premier Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 1–0 to Shaftesbury in the semi-finals. The season also saw them win the Hampshire Senior Cup for the first time, beating AFC Totton on penalties in the final.[7]
Honours
edit- Wessex League
- League Cup winners 2014–15, 2017–18
- Hampshire League
- Division One champions 2001–02
- Russell Cotes Cup
- Winners 2013–14, 2016-17[3]
- Hampshire Senior Cup
- Winners 2023–24
Records
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2016) Non-League Club Directory 2017, Tony Williams Publications, p548 ISBN 978-1869833695
- ^ a b History A.F.C. Portchester
- ^ a b c d Honours A.F.C. Portchester
- ^ Wicor Mill at the Football Club History Database
- ^ Hampshire League 1992–2004 Non-League Matters
- ^ a b c d e AFC Portchester at the Football Club History Database
- ^ "AFC Portchester defeat AFC Totton to win Hampshire Senior Cup for first time in their history". The News. 11 May 2024.
- ^ "Former Portsmouth star Brett Pitman brings up seasonal half-century of goals – but he's not the first Hampshire non-league striker to reach that milestone!". The News. 17 April 2023.