hastings-greenwichb311216

Greenwich Borough History
Greenwich Borough FC was formed as Woolwich
Borough Council Athletic Club in 1928 and
played most of their home games at Danson
Park, Welling. The club joined the Woolwich
and District League and were champions at the
first attempt. They also reached the final of the
Woolwich and District League Cup but lost 0–3
to Fibrent Athletic at Bexleyheath Town's
ground. Owing to their success, "Borough" was
awarded Senior status and joined the Kent Amateur
League Division 1, where they failed to
build upon a bright start over a number of
years. The club moved a ground at Harrow
Meadow, Eltham (now built over for housing) in
1933 and briefly disbanded during World War
II.
In 1948 they relinquished their Senior status to
join the South London Alliance League Division
2. In 1955, Woolwich Borough Council won the
South London Alliance League Division 2 title
and also came runners-up in the Elizabeth
Jacques Cup. The following season they won
the Division 1 title and were promoted to the
South London Alliance Premier Division. The
club then enjoyed their most successful period
ever when they won the Premier Division title
for six years running from 1961 to 1966 inclusive.
During this time the club was twice winners
(1965, 1966) and once runners-up (1964)
of the Queen Mary Cup.
In 1965 the club changed their name to London
Borough of Greenwich FC following a change
of London Borough boundaries. The change of
name was inauspicious and the club endured a
trophy less drought until winning their seventh
South London Alliance Premier Division title in
1974.
In 1976, the club transferred to the London
Spartan League and managed to finish runners
-up in the Queen Mary Cup. The club regained
its Senior status the following year. In 1978,
Borough celebrated its 50th anniversary by inaugurating
their floodlights at Harrow Meadow
with a game against Charlton Athletic in front of
over 2,000 spectators. The club continued to
enjoy periodic success in the 1980s, including
winning the London Spartan League Senior Division
title in 1980 and the London Spartan
League Senior Cup in 1983.
For the 1984–85 season, the club changed to
its current name of ""Greenwich Borough FC""
upon joining the Kent Football League. The
club finished sixth in the league but also managed
to win both the Kent League Cup and the
Kent Senior Trophy. In this season, a promising
Sunday League player called Ian Wright made
his non-league debut for the club, later going
on to play for Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West
Ham United and the England National Team.
In 1987, Greenwich Borough won both the Kent
League and the Kent League Cup double, scoring
113 goals along the way. In 1988, Borough
again won the League and hoped to progress
to the Southern Football League by way of significant
planned improvements to their Harrow
Meadow ground which were eventually blocked
by Greenwich Council.
In the 1989–90 season Greenwich Borough
reached the 4th round of the FA Vase before
losing 4–5 in a replay against Harefield United.
The club re-entered the FA Cup in 1993 and
managed to progress to the 3rd Qualifying
Round before being soundly beaten 0–4 at
home to Molesey.
The 1997–98 season saw a restructuring of the
Kent League (known since 2013 as the Southern
Counties East Football League) and Greenwich
Borough being placed in the newly formed
Premier Division. The Borough finished in 5th –
their highest position for 9 years – and also
won both the Kent League Cup and the Kent
Senior Trophy.
In 2001, Borough finished as runners-up in the
Kent League Cup, losing to Ramsgate in the
final.
In the 2007–08 season the Borough set a new
club record in the FA Vase by beating Horley
Town, Thamesmead Town, Chichester City
United, Wembley and Harefield United to reach
the 5th round, before finally bowing out to Hungerford
Town 1–2 in a tightly contested replay.
The club also achieved a 3rd-place finish in the
league.
In the 2013–14 season, the club reached the
fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup before
being knocked out to Worcester City of the
Conference North division.
Promotion was gained to the Ryman league
division 1 South at the end of season 2015/16.
In 2016, the club announced a new long-term
return to Eltham through a ground sharing arrangement
with Cray Valley (PM) for the Badgers
Sports Ground on Middle Park Avenue.