Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The Rocks’, the club is an FA Chartered Standard Community club affiliated to the Sussex County Football Association. They currently compete in the , after being relegated from the Premier Division in the 2024–25 season.

History

Bognor Regis Town F.C. was founded in 1883 and the club became founding members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, joining the Senior Division. They won the championship of this league for five successive years in the early 1920s, after which they joined the Brighton, Hove & District Football League in 1926. Just one year later, however, they joined the Sussex County League where they were to remain until 1972. The club became Bognor Regis F.C. in 1929 after King George V added the suffix 'Regis' to the seaside resort.

The club won the Sussex County Division One championship in the 1948–49 season. At the end of that season, they added "Town" to their name so as not to be confused with the local rugby club.

At the end of the 1969–70 season they were relegated, but won Division Two at the first attempt. The club won the Division One championship title the following season and were promoted to Division One South of the Southern League. In 1972–73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6–0 at Colchester United. In 1976 Jack Pearce became manager at the age of just 26, and went on to hold the position until 2007.

In 1981 the club were transferred to Division One of the Isthmian League, and were promoted at the end of the 1981–82 season after finishing second. In 1984–85 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, defeating Swansea City 3–1 in a replay after a 1–1 draw at the Vetch Field. In the second round they lost 6–2 at Reading. They reached the second round again the following season, beating Enfield in the first round, before losing 6–1 at Gillingham. They reached the first round again in 1986–87 (losing 1–0 in a replay to Slough Town) and 1987–88 (losing 3–0 at home to Torquay United). In 1988–89 they beat Football League opposition again, defeating Exeter City 2–1, before losing to Cambridge United.

In 1991–92 Bognor finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved after Dagenham and Redbridge Forest merged. However, the following season they finished bottom of the Premier Division, and were relegated to Division One. In 1995–96 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a fourth time, before losing 4–0 at Peterborough United.

In 2002–03 they finished second in Division One South, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. After finishing tenth the following year, the club were placed in the newly established Conference South. They were relegated back to the Isthmian League Premier Division at the end of the 2008–09 season, and were relegated again the following season.

Season 2010–11 saw the club compete in the Isthmian League Division One South and they missed out on promotion back to the Premier Division by the tightest of margins. Having finished with a club record total of 96 points, they lost out in the title race to Metropolitan Police on goal difference by just one goal, having led the table by two points, going in to the last fixture. As a result, they found themselves having to participate in the end-of-season play-offs, where they lost at home to Dulwich Hamlet who had finished 31 points behind.

In 2011–12 they again finished second in Division One South. They won the end-of-season play-offs, defeating Godalming Town in a thrilling semi-final, before beating Dulwich Hamlet 1–0 in the final, and thus gaining promotion to the Premier Division. The 2013–14 season started slowly, with just one point from the opening four matches. However they soon rose up the table, eventually finishing in third place and qualified for the end of season play-offs, although this ended in defeat in the semi-final at home to Lowestoft Town.

The 2015–16 season saw the club miss out on the Premier Division title by one point and then lose in the play-offs to Dulwich Hamlet. They did, however, also enjoy their best ever run in the FA Trophy by reaching the semi-finals. They beat a number of teams from higher divisions along the way, including Bath City, Maidstone United, Altrincham, Sutton United and Torquay United. But hopes of an appearance at Wembley Stadium were dashed when they were defeated in the semi-final by Grimsby Town, losing 1–0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2–1 at Blundell Park (3–1 on aggregate).

Season 2016–17 saw the club finish in second place for the second season running, but this time they triumphed in the play-offs, defeating Wingate & Finchley F.C. in the semi-final, before victory over Dulwich Hamlet in the final, to win promotion to the National League South for season 2017–18. However, despite a promising start to life in the Vanarama National League South in 2017–18, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 2018–19 season.

The club spent much of the 2018–19 season in play-off contention but a dip in form in the last couple of months saw them eventually finish in 14th place. However, they won the Sussex Senior Cup for the first time in 32 years, defeating Burgess Hill Town 2–1 after extra time in the final played at Falmer Stadium, Brighton.

Stadium The club play at Nyewood Lane. The ground has a capacity of 4,500, most of which has covered accommodation. The clubhouse end of the ground saw the addition of an unusual 'beach brolly' style terrace cover in 2018, although this was severely damaged and as a result, pulled down due to Storm Ciara in 2020. The summer of 2020 saw the construction of a new 367 seated stand, with the roof at the clubhouse end replaced in October 2020. The ground's first set of floodlights was bought from Wembley Stadium and fitted onto telegraph poles. In the 1970s the current floodlight pylons were added, with four along each touchline, before two of these were removed on each side in the early 1990s.

On 15 August 2008 a fire destroyed the clubhouse, and was suspected to be arson.Fire hits Bognor Regis Town Portsmouth.co.uk Work on a new social club, named 'Seasons', commenced during the summer of 2009 and opened in November the same year.

A new 3G playing surface was installed in the latter part of 2025, along with upgrades to the floodlights and dressing rooms. Home matches were played at nearby Chichester City until the work was completed in December 2025.

Current squad

Club officials

General Management Position Name ChairmanDominic ReynoldsVice ChairmanJack PearceCommercial DirectorRuss ChandlerMatch SecretaryPeter HelsbyWomen SecretaryLucy Jane MartinHead GroundsmanJames Askew

Men's First Team PositionName Manager Danny Hollands Assistant Manager Ben KnellerStrength & Conditioning CoachDavid BirminghamGoalkeeping CoachWes HallettPhysiotherapistHannah Meaden

Women's First Team PositionNameManagerCraig SeacombeAssistant Manager All positions are published on the club website.

Managers As of 25 May 26. Statistics below are League matches only (Sussex County/Southern/Isthmian/Conference South). NameNationalityPeriodGWDLWin %Danny HollandsFebruary 2026 - Present1046040%Jamie HowellApril 2025 - February 2026271121440%Michael Birmingham & Jamie Howell (joint)December 2024 – April 202521551123.8%David Birmingham (interim)November 2024 – December 202420020%Robbie BlakeMarch 2022 – November 2024530260%Jack PearceMay 2017–March 2022—————Jamie HowellJune 2009–May 201712464332751.61%Mick JenkinsJune 2008 – January 20092327148.70%Michael BirminghamOctober 2007 – May 2008309101130%Jack PearceJune 1994 – October 200756622714419540.10%Mick PullenJune 1992 – May 19948420244023.81%Jack PearceMarch 1976 – May 199267225416325537.78%Derek EdwardsJune 1970 – March 197620886507241.35%

Honours League Honours West Sussex League Winners – 1920–21, 1921–22, 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25. West Sussex League Runners-Up – 1897–98. Sussex County League Div. 1 Winners – 1948–49, 1971–72. Sussex County League Div. 2 Winners – 1970/71. Southern League Southern Division Runners-Up – 1980–81. Isthmian Premier Division Runners-Up – 2015–16 (not promoted), 2016–17 (promoted). Isthmian Division One Runners-Up – 1981–82. Isthmian Division One South Runners-Up – 2002–03 (promoted), 2010–11 (not promoted), 2011–12 (promoted)

Cup Honours FA Trophy semi-finalists – 2015–16 FA Cup second round proper – 4 times FA Cup first round proper – 3 times Sussex Senior Cup winners – 1954–55, 1955–56, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1986–87, 2018–19. The Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Charity Cup Winners (1): 1971–72 Runners-up (1): 1958–59, Isthmian League Cup winners – 1986–87

Club records Record victory 24–0 v Littlehampton, West Sussex Senior League, 1913–14 Record defeat 0–19 v Shoreham, West Sussex Senior League, 1906–07 Record attendance 3,642 v Swansea City, FA Cup first round replay, 1984–85 Appearances: Mick Pullen, 967, 1976–96 Goalscorer: Kevin Clements, 216, 1978–89 Best league performance: (Pre-2004) Second in Southern League Southern Division 1980–81 (Post-2004) Ninth in the Conference South, 2004–05 Best FA Cup performances: Second round, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1988–89, 1995–96. First round, 1972–73, 1986–87, 1987–88. Best FA Trophy performance: Semi Final, 2015–16 Most points in a season: 96 points in season 2010–2011, in the Isthmian Division One South

Team colours The club's home strip consists of green and white, of which in the past, combinations have varied including green and white striped shirts, green and white halved shirts, green and white quartered shirts and plain green shirts with white shorts. Following King George V's decision to add the suffix 'Regis' to the town's name in 1929, the club wore a blue and gold strip for a period in the 1930s, before reverting to green and white some time later that decade. Since the mid-1970s, the strip has mostly consisted of white shirts, green shorts and white socks, as is the case today. Away colours have varied over the years, although blue shirts (various shades) were worn from 1998 to 2016. From 2016 to 2023, the club wore a maroon and white strip for away fixtures. A new orange and black away strip was introduced for the 2023–24 season.

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers Season Kit ManufacturerMain Shirt Sponsor 1979–1980 Adidas Hago Plastics 1980–1981 Umbro 1981–1983 No Shirt Sponsor 1983–1985 Hamilton Lines 1985–1987 New Olympic West Sussex Contractors 1987–1989 Puma Butlins (FA Cup ties only) 1989–1991 New Olympic Adcocks Suzuki 1991–1992 Hall Signs 1992–1993 Bukta Spindlers Lamps & Lights 1993–1994 Diadora Reynolds Furniture Store 1994–1995 1995–1996 ICIS 1996–1997 Esprit Accountants 1997–1998 Butlins Bognor Regis 1998–1999 Vandanel Competitive Cleaning 1999–2000 Reynolds Furniture Store 2000–2001 Spall Finest Windows 2001–2002 Express Printing 2002–2003 Wayne Windows 2003–2005 GX Aldersmead 2005–2006 homes2buy.co.uk 2006–2007 KFC 2007–2008 VRV Autos 2008–2009 Apogee Corporation 2009–2010 Erreà 2010–2011 Keith Jay Carpets 2011–2012 Chestnut Tree House 2012–2013 Havant Motor Factors 2013–2014 Viessmann 2014–2015 FRH Machinery 2015–2016 Gilbert & Cleveland 2016–2017 Concise Surfacing Ltd 2017–2018 Buildbase 2018-2019 Woods Travel 2019-2020 Reynolds Furniture Store 2020-2022 Apuldram Centre 2022-2023 Specsavers 2023-2024 Barfoots 2024-2025 Kevin Welling Plumbing & Heating 2025-2026 K.Fellowes Roofing 2026-2027 Coastline Kitchens & Bathrooms

See also

References

External links