Frome Town Football Club is an English football club based in Frome, a town in the county of Somerset. They play in the Southern League Division One South. The club's nickname is the Robins and they play in a predominantly red kit.[1]
History
The club was founded in 1904, and started playing in the Wiltshire Premier League at their home ground of Badgers Hill[2][3] A few seasons later the club experienced success when they won the Somerset Senior League Championship in the 1906–07 season, followed by two more in 1908–09 and 1910–11 as well as winning the Wiltshire League Championship in the 1909–10 season.[4][5] After the league successes the club made its debut in the FA Cup in the 1911–12 season, reaching the fifth qualifying round before losing 4–1 to Southport Central.[6]
The club then joined the Western league in the 1919–20 season starting in Division two, where they won the division at their first attempt.[4] However they did not gain promotion and stayed in the league for a further two seasons before leaving, only to return to Division two for another three seasons at the beginning of the 1924–25 season.[6] The club returned to the Western league in the 1931–32 season and stayed there for eight seasons, never leaving Division two.[6] During this time the club had success in the Somerset Senior FA Cup, winning it in the 1932–22 and 1933–34 seasons.[4]
After the Second World War the club again joined the Western League again for the beginning of the 1946–47 season starting in Division One, but being relegated back to Division Two at the end of the season. The club also played its first FA Cup game for 35 years in the same season. The 1954–55 season saw the club reach the first round of the FA Cup, where they were defeated by Football League side Leyton Orient in front of a record crowd of 8,000.[4] The same season also saw the club gain promotion to Division one, when they finished as Runners-up in Division two. The club however was relegated back to Division two four seasons later and left the Western league, at the end of their first season back in Division two to join the Wiltshire League.[4][6]
The club once again joined the Western league in the 1963–64 season and joined the top division. The club spent the next 32 seasons in the top division during which time they went on to become champions once during the 1978–79 season.[7] The club also experienced cup success during their time in the Western Premier Division, winning the Somerset Premier Cup three times in the 1966–67, 1968–69 and 1982–83 seasons, as well as winning the Western League Cup twice and the Western counties floodlit cup once.[4] At the end of the 1995–96 season the club was relegated to Division One.[6]
At the end of the 1999–00 season the club finished bottom of Division one but were spared relegation as the league was restructured that season. Two seasons later at the end of the 2001–02 campaign the club were Division One champions, and promoted back to the Premier Division. In the 2003–04 campaign the club gained media attention when they asked local white witch Titania Hardie, to help improve their home form as they struggled at Badgers Hill.[8] The witch blamed the Decor of the changing rooms, and once the club changed them the team won eight of their nine remaining home games.[3]
At the end of the 2008–09 season the club finished as runners-up in the Premier Division and this was enough to secure promotion to the Southern Football League in Division One South & West, as champions Bitton did not apply for promotion as their ground would not have passed the Southern League ground grading committee's standards.[9] The club also achieved cup success that season when they beat Paulton Rovers 3–1 to win the Somerset Premier Cup.[10] In their second season in Division One South and West the club gained promotion to the Premier Division when they beat Sholing 1–0 in the play-off final, under the management of Darren Perrin.[11] The club has since remained in the Premier Division of the Southern Football League.
In 2019, When reviewing the current club crest, Frome Town FC agreed that the design was too detailed and didn't display well on colour and image backgrounds with digital files no longer accessible, and changed logo.
In the 2023-24 season they reached the 3rd round of the FA Trophy the furthest they have gone in the competition after beating Worthing 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw at Badgers Hill
Players
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Frome Town play their games at The Robins’ Nest, Berkley Road, Frome, BA11 2EH.
Formerly named Badgers Hill, the stadium was renamed by a Frome Town F.C youth player who won a competition to do so in 2020.
In 2012 the club added a new 250 seater stand to the stadium, so that their ground would meet the requirements set out for the Southern Football League Premier Division.[12][13]
