Andover Football Club















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A History of Andover Football Club

Andover Football Club was formed in 1883 and our first game was on the 27th October 1883. During the next thirty years the club won the Salisbury League seven times, the North Hants May League five times and reached the Hampshire Junior Cup final twice. The era between 1919 and 1945 brought two Hampshire League Championships and three Russell Cotes Cup wins.

After the Second World War, Andover carried on playing in the Hampshire League, winning the championship in 1949, 1951 and 1962, The Hampshire Senior Cup 1949,1951 and 1956, The Russell Cotes Cup in 1953, 1959, 1961, 1962 and the Pickford Cup in 1951.

After winning the Hampshire League in 1962, the club moved up into the Western League, reaching the F.A. Cup 1st round proper against Gillingham from the fourth division, losing 0-1 at the Walled Meadow.

Andover won the Hampshire Senior Cup in 1965, and finished in the runners up spot in the Western League in 1969/70 and 1970.71. Andover were promoted into Southern League in 1971 and during the next twenty-one-years struggled to compete, their best seasons being 1987/88 and 1991/92.

In 1989 the club moved to a new £850,000 stadium at The Portway, and in the 1999/92 season had a new owner. The club gave notice to withdraw from the Southern League and apply to rejoin the Wessex League for the 1993/94 season. The Lions reach their eighth Hampshire Senior Cup final in the 1999/00 season, losing to Aldershot Town.

The golden spell of 1951 was repeated in 2000/01 & 2001/02 with a hat trick of trophies in each season, claiming the Wessex League Championship twice, Hampshire Senior Cup, Russell Cotes Cup, Wessex League Cup and the North Hants Senior Cup.

After a summer of turmoil and change of ownership the season 2002/03 with a very young team saw us do well, by finishing seventh in the league and winning the North Hants Senior Cup.

During the summer of 2003 the club was close going out of existence, and twelve supporters of the club, who are professional people joined ranks and secured the future of this historic club. The 2003/04 season brought success in the F.A. Vase competition, reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in our history. We finished 6th in the league and won the North Hants Senior Cup for the 5th time.

2004-2005 season saw an improvement in the league finishing 5th and winning the North Hants Senior Cup for the 6th time,and the reserves finished runners up in the Wessex Combination East division.