Belper United Football Club is a football club based in Belper, Derbyshire, England. They are currently members of the United Counties League Premier Division North and play at Coronation Park, the home of Eastwood.
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| Full name | Belper United Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 | |
| Ground | Coronation Park, Eastwood | |
| Chairman | Ian Sinclair | |
| Manager | Alex Steadman | |
| League | United Counties League Premier Division North | |
| 2023–24 | United Counties League Premier Division North, 13th of 18 | |
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History
editA Belper United was established in the 1921. By the late 1970s the club was playing in the East Midlands Regional League. They were Division One champions in 1979–80, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[1][2] In 1984–85 the club were the league's last Premier Division champions,[3] with the league merging with the Central Alliance to form the Midlands Regional Alliance at the end of the season. Belper were placed in the Premier Division of the new league and became its inaugural champions in 1985–86.[4] They won the league's Challenge Cup in 1992–93, before securing a second Premier Division title in 1994–95 and another Challenge Cup the following season.[4][5] They were later relegated to Division One, which they won in the 2004–05 season to earn promotion back to the Premier Division.[6][7]
Despite finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2008–09, Belper were not relegated to Division One.[7] In 2010 they switched to the South Division of the Central Midlands League.[8] In 2014–15 they won the Central Midlands League Floodlight Cup, beating Clay Cross Town 3–2 in the final.[9] After finishing as runners-up in the South Division in 2015–16, the club were promoted to the East Midlands Counties League. They remained members of the league until it was disbanded at the end of the 2020–21 season, at which point they were transferred to Division One of the United Counties League. In their first season in the league they finished third, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After defeating Radford in the semi-finals, they beat Hinckley 1–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division North.
Ground
editThe first team plays at Eastwood's Coronation Park. They played at Belper Town's Christchurch Meadow from the 2013–14 season,[10] but later relocated to Asterdale Bowl, the home ground of Borrowash Victoria. The club returned to Christchurch Meadow at the start of the 2018–19 season. They moved on again to Coronation Park before the 2023–24 season
Honours
edit- Central Midlands League
- Floodlit Cup winners 2014–15
- East Midlands Regional League
- Premier Division champions 1984–85
- Division One champions 1979–80
- Midlands Regional Alliance
- Premier Division champions 1985–86, 1994–95
- Division One champions 2004–05
- Challenge Cup winners 1992–93, 1995–96
Records
editReferences
edit- ^ Bob Barton (1986) Non League
- ^ East Midlands Regional League 1967-1984 Non-League Matters
- ^ "Football Post". Nottingham Evening Post. 11 May 1985.
- ^ a b MRA Roll of Honours: Premier Division Midlands Regional Alliance
- ^ MRA Roll of Honours: Challenge Cup Midlands Regional Alliance
- ^ MRA Roll of Honour: Division One Midlands Regional Alliance
- ^ a b Midlands Regional Alliance 2005-2013 Non-League Matters
- ^ a b c Belper United at the Football Club History Database
- ^ 2014-15 Central Midlands League Football Club History Database
- ^ United make Christchurch Meadow debut Belper Town F.C.