Chichester City F.C.
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| Full name | Chichester City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Lillywhites | ||
| Founded | 1873 | ||
| Ground | Oaklands Park, Chichester | ||
| Capacity | 2,000[1] | ||
| Chairman | Andrew Bell | ||
| Manager | Miles Rutherford | ||
| League | Isthmian League Premier Division | ||
| 2023–24 | Isthmian League South East Division, 5th of 20 (promoted via play-offs) | ||
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Chichester City Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Chichester, West Sussex, England. Affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association, they are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division and play at Oaklands Park.
History
[edit]The first Chichester City club was founded in 1873, with the 'City' title being added to it's name in 1948.[2] In the year 2000, Chichester City and Portfield merged, after this the club was called Chichester City United.[3] Both clubs were in Division One of the Sussex County League, with the new club taking their place in the division, with the new club losing their first league match 5–1 at home to Saltdean United.[4] They were Division One champions in 2003–04. The following season saw them finish sixteenth,[3] although they won the Brighton Charity Cup, beating Horsham on penalties in the final.[4] They retained it in 2005–06, defeating Ringmer 2–1 in the final.[4]
In 2006–07 Chichester won the Sussex RUR Cup with a 2–1 win over Whitehawk in the final.[4] In 2009 the club was renamed Chichester City.[5] The league was renamed the Southern Combination in 2015, with Division One becoming the Premier Division. In 2018–19 the club were Premier Division champions, earning promotion to the South East Division of the Isthmian League. In 2019–20 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, and were then given a bye to the second round due to Bury having been removed from the competition.[6] In the second round they lost 5–1 to League One side Tranmere Rovers.[7] In 2023–24 the club finished fifth in the Isthmian League South East Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Ramsgate 1–0 in the semi-finals, they defeated Three Bridges 5–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division.
Ground
[edit]The club originally played at Priory Park until it was relocated to the Oaklands Park, which is their current ground, in the early fifties. After the clubs merged, Portfield's Church Road became the new ground and an agreement was made that Chichester District Council would sell the ground for housing and use the funds to redevelop Chichester City's Oaklands Park ground.[8] They moved to Oaklands Park in 2008 after a 100-seat stand was installed; the final match at Church Road was a 5–4 win against Three Bridges on 19 April.[4] A new clubhouse and changing rooms were completed in 2010, with hardstanding installed on all four sides of the pitch.[8] An artificial pitch was installed in 2023–24.[9] A new stand was added the 2024-2025 on the south side of the stadium.[10]
Honours
[edit]- Southern Combination
- Champions 2003–04, 2018–19
- Sussex RUR Cup
- Winners 2006–07
- Brighton Charity Cup
- Winners 2004–05, 2005–06
Records
[edit]- Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 2019–20[5]
- Best FA Trophy performance: Second round, 2024–25[5]
- Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 2017–18[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p775 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
- ^ "Club History". Chichester City FC website.
- ^ a b Chichester City United at the Football Club History Database
- ^ a b c d e Season by season history (since 2000) Chichester City F.C.
- ^ a b c d Chichester City at the Football Club History Database
- ^ FA Cup first-round draw: Eighth-tier Chichester City receive a bye to second round BBC Sport, 21 October 2019
- ^ Tranmere Rovers 5–1 Chichester City BBC Sport, 1 December 2019
- ^ a b History 1 Chichester City F.C.
- ^ "New 3G pitch at Chichester City". Sussex County FA. 2 February 2024.
- ^ "New stand at Oaklands Park". X(Formerly Twitter). 28 March 2025.