Brocton FC History
HISTORY
Brocton F.C. was founded in 1937 when Arthur Mayer the then owner of the Chetwynd Arms gave a football to the boys of Brocton and the neighbouring village of Bednall and asked them to form a football club.With Charlie Holt as the driving force the club thrived and after the war Brocton won the Rugeley & District League in 1946-47 & again in 1947-48 before progressing to the Cannock Chase League where the title was won in 1954-55,1956-57,1957-58,1960-61,1973-74 & 1977-78.
Numerous Cups have also been won over the years including the Lichfield Charity Cup, Stafford Pageant Cup, Walsall Challenge Cup, Penkridge Charity Cup, Lichfield Premier League Cup, Staffordshire Senior League Cup, Leek Cup, Staffordshire FA Vase and the Midland League Cup.
After success in the Cannock Chase League Brocton moved up to the Staffordshire County League (South) and after finishing as Division One runners up in both 1982-83 and 1983-84 moved up to the Premier Division and made an impression by finishing runners up at the higher level in 1985-86.
It soon became clear that it was time to move up again and next stop was the Staffordshire Senior League then sponsored by Sportscene and later when it had changed its name to the Midland League by Refuge Assurance and in Brocton’s later seasons in it by Springbank Vending.
Although League success proved elusive in the Staffs Senior/ Midland League Brocton continued their tradition of Cup success winning 6 out of the 8 Cup Finals reached during the Staffs Senior/ Midland League years. The highlights being the Staffs FA Vase win over Adderley Green in 1997 and lifting that trophy again when Stafford Town were defeated in the final in front of a large crowd at Marston Road in 2000.
Joining the Staffs Senior/Midland League had necessitated the 1st team moving from the Chetwynd Arms Ground to Rowley Park Stadium in Stafford in order to meet league requirements. After a successful few years at Rowley Park in 2002 the decision was made to move again to Cannock Sports Stadium as this had the benefit of floodlights and a grandstand. These facilities were vital in ensuring the clubs election to the Midland Combination Premier Division for 2003-04.
Brocton finished 14th in their first season and one more win would have lifted the Badgers to 10th place. However after a fine run of 7 successive wins that saw them pick up the April Team of the Month award they peaked with a title denying win over Leamington and slumped to defeat in their last two games.
Then in the summer of 2004 there was a shock when the failure of Cannock Chase District Council to confirm the availability of Cannock Stadium for 2004-05 season left Brocton FC without a suitable ground. However moves were swiftly made to secure a ground share arrangement with Heath Hayes FC of the West Midlands Premier League.
This meant that the first team was able to continue in the Midland Combination Premier Division and home games now take place at Newlands Road, Heath Hayes.
The Reserve side continued to play at the Chetwynd Arms Ground in Brocton and the Youth team at Staffordshire University’s Beaconside Complex.
2004-05 Season saw the Badgers improve on the previous season’s 14th place with a final position of 8th. There was success off the field too with the Brocton programme being the highest placed of the Mid Comb clubs in the 30th Annual Wirrall Programme Club Awards and the Club winning the hospitality award for the Premier Division.
In May 2005 Brocton hosted its inaugral 5 a side tournament for juniors which saw over 700 youngsters compete at Staffordshire University. This has now become an annual event
Brocton FC is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club and in autumn 2004 the Club achieved The FA Charter Standard Adult Club Award. In September 2005 Brocton were named as Adult Charter Standard Club of the year by the Staffordshire Football Association.
After finishing 12th in 2005-06 and 15th in 2006-07 Steve Kneller who had managed the Badgers since they entered the Mid Comb Premier Division decided to step down and was succeeded by Dave Berks
Brocton’s long term aim has been to have its own ground and progress in that direction was made in January 2006 when the club signed a 30 year lease on the Old Police Sports Ground in Silkmore Lane Stafford. The site had become derelict after the Staffordshire Police stopped using it and the changing rooms, pavilion and spectator accommodation all had to be demolished. Brocton FC have had to raise substantial funds to implement their plan to bring the ground up to modern day standards. Thanks to thousands of votes from the community the club won a vote on the ITV Peoples Millions for a grant of £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund. This together with a further £50,000 from the Staffordshire Environmental Fund have enabled changing facilities, physio room, and a hospitality suite to be installed and the club has after a 70year tenure now vacated the Chetwynd Arms Ground and moved to Silkmore with the exception of the first team who are still playing at Heath Hayes.
The Football Stadia Improvement Fund have agreed to provide monies towards the floodlights and the covered spectator seating and with further pieces of the jigsaw dropping into place it is hoped to play Midland Combination Premier Division football at Silkmore in the 2008-09 season.
