New Stand Build

Aim

The Club plans to demolish our outdated main stand and replace with a new 304 seater modern stand

Who are we?

Littlehampton Town Football Club was officially founded in 1896, but evidence suggests football was played in the town as early as 1891 and the club started in 1893. In the early years games were played at Selbourne Road but in the early 1900s sport moved to The Sportsfield where matches continue to be played today. Back then the team’s colours were dark green and the club were known as the ‘Greenbacks’. The colours were changed in 1911 to blue and then in 1931 to white. In 1928 Tottenham Hotspur played us and won 7-1. Littlehampton Town joined the Sussex County Football League in 1928 and the club stayed in Division One for 67 years. The first match in the new league was against Haywards Heath and we won 5-1. In 1949 we won the RUR Charity Cup and the Sussex Senior Cup. We changed to a gold strip in 1953 and the first reference to our nickname ‘The Marigolds’ was in the Littlehampton Gazette on 13 November 1953. Under the guidance of Terry Gill we were very successful in the late 1960s and we won the Sussex Senior Cup again in 1970. Littlehampton Town were Division One runners-up eight times until we finally won the title in 1991. That year will never be forgotten. A draw at Peacehaven & Telscombe in front of 1,400 fans meant Golds won the title on goal difference. The same year the club won through to the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. The highlight was a home match against Northampton Town, staged at The Sportsfield in front of 4,000 fans. The Golds also reached the semi-final of the FA Vase, losing to Gresley Rovers. That year the team played more cup matches than league games and won the Sussex League Challenge Cup too. Littlehampton Town dropped to Division Two in 1995 and Carl Stabler came back as manager and took them back up in 1997, where they were again runners-up. In 2003 we were relegated once again, but made a swift return with a Division Two league and cup double success. We fell out of the top flight again in 2008 and spent six years in Division Two. Mark Bennett, a former player from the 1991 season joined as manager and oversaw the Division Two title in 2013, where we only lost four league games all season and were finalists in the John O’Hara Cup. In 2015 we recaptured the Division One title - for the first time in 23 years - on the final day and the last year of the Sussex County Football League. Season 2021/22 became the greatest season in our history under the guidance of joint managers Mitchell Hand and George Gaskin. We won the Southern Combination League, Peter Bentley Cup, Sussex RUR Charity Cup. On top of the treble we became the first ever Sussex Non League side to reach the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium. The day saw over 7000 people supporting the Golds as we unfortunately fell to a 3-0 defeat. The 2022/23 has seen the Golds play in the Isthmian League at step 4 the the first ever time.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our Main Stand has sat at The Sportsfield for over 100 years. It is now however in a state of disrepair. Over the Summer of 2023 plans are in place to demolish this old wooden stand and replace with a brand new 304 seater steel structure. This will provide a far better experience for supporters who wish to sit in the stand. There will be better sightlines with no supporting poles holding the roof up, The seating will be proper seating rather than the current bench seating, There will also be seating for wheelchair users incorporated into this build giving better views of the pitch than our current disabled area.

How we’ll spend the money raised

We need to raise a total of £40,000 to ensure this project takes place. Your generous donation will go towards the demolition of the current stand, the specialist removal of the asbestos roof and the construction of the new stand. This new stand will benefit all Supporters visiting the Sportsfield. 

Community impact

As well as Littlehampton Town First Team fixtures our facility is also used by 8 other teams from midweek to Sundays. A brand new stand will see spectators of these games also enjoy watching their teams in far more comfort than the current stand offers

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

This project successfully funded on 24th June 2023