Harborough Town Football Club is a football club based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Premier Division Central and plays at Bowden Park.
| Full name | Harborough Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bees | ||
| Founded | 1975 | ||
| Ground | Bowden Park, Market Harborough | ||
| Chairman | Peter Dougan & Greg Tickner | ||
| Manager | Mitch Austin | ||
| League | Southern League Premier Division Central | ||
| 2023–24 | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, 3rd of 20 (promoted via play-offs) | ||
| Website | http://www.harboroughtownfc.org | ||
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History
editThe club was established in 1975 as a youth team under the name Harborough Town Juniors,[1] with the modern club formed by a merger with adult team Spencer United in 2008.[2] Spencer United joined Division Five of the Leicester & District Mutual League in 1976.[3] They were Division Five champions in 1977–78 and were promoted to Division Two.[3] A third-place finish the following season saw them promoted to Division One. Although the club were relegated back to Division Two three seasons later, they were Division Two runners-up in 1987–88 and promoted to the Premier Division.[3] In 1996 they joined Division One of the Northamptonshire Combination.[3]
Spencer United were Northamptonshire Combination Division One champions in 1997–98,[4] earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2002 the club were renamed Harborough Spencer United.[3] They were relegated back to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2004–05, and were subsequently renamed Harborough Town Spencers in 2006.[3] During the 2007–08 season, the club were amalgamated into Harborough Town, adopting their name. They ended the season as Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[5]
In 2009–10 Harborough were Premier Division champions,[5] earning promotion to Division One of the United Counties League.[6] Although they finished bottom of Division One in their first season in the league, the club were Division One runners-up in 2011–12 and were promoted to the Premier Division.[6] In 2021–22 they were Premier Division South champions, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League. The 2023–24 season saw the club finish third in Division One Midlands, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Hinckley Leicester Road on penalties in the semi-finals, they defeated Anstey Nomads 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League.
In 2024–25 Harborough qualified for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time,[7] and went on to beat Tonbridge Angels 4–1 to reach the second round. The club gained further media attention when, on 5 November 2024, they announced the signing of former Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Brazil midfielder Sandro.[8]
Ground
editThe club play at Bowden Park. In 2024 the club was granted planning permission to expand the ground, including a new 154-seater stand.[9]
Honours
edit- United Counties League
- Premier Division South champions 2021–22
- Northamptonshire Combination
- Premier Division champions 2009–10
- Leicester & District Mutual League
- Division Five champions 1977–78
Records
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ About Us Archived 22 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Harborough Town F.C.
- ^ Harborough Town United Counties League
- ^ a b c d e f Harborough Town Spencer Leics Football
- ^ Season 1997-1998 Archived 26 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Northamptonshire Combination
- ^ a b Northamptonshire Combination 2003–2012 Non-League Matters
- ^ a b c d e Harborough Town at the Football Club History Database
- ^ "Harborough reach FA Cup first round for first time - qualifying round-up". BBC Sport. 12 October 2024.
- ^ "SANDRO SIGNS FOR HARBOROUGH TOWN FC!! | Harborough Town Football Club". Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ "FA Cup heroes given green light for stadium revamp". BBC News. 16 October 2024.
- ^ "Harborough Town Secure Historic FA Cup Win". Harborough FM. 12 October 2024.
- ^ "👏 Thank you to 1️⃣,6️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ fans today for the support seeing #UpTheBees triumph with a penalty converted by Ben Stephens". Harborough Town via Twitter.