The History of Kingfisher Junior Football Club
The Foundations
KINGFISHER JUNIOR FC was founded in 1974. A group of dads whose sons were playing cubs' football decided to form their own club as they wished their sons to play in a higher standard.A meeting was held at the Station Hotel (Recently named INFERNO'S, now closed down) in Welling and the first item on the agenda was to name the new club. After much deliberation the suggested name was Halcyon Sports but this was changed to Kingfisher by the end of the meeting.The first AGM was held on May 13, 1975, and the team round-up was for the U13s and USDs playing to a good standard in the Independent League.
Twenty years on Kingfisher JFC had about 180 boys playing in the Bexley League from U10 to U17. They were also preparing three other age groups to go into the league - U7s, U8s and U9s.The decision was taken in 1993 to form a senior side that plays under the Kingfisher name in the London and Kent Border League.On October 1, 1995 Kingfisher celebrated its 20th anniversary and were successful in contacting and inviting the majority of its founder members. Also invited were past and present managers, who brought along trophies of competitions they had won. The collection of cups, shields, pendants and memorabilia was overwhelming and the reminiscing was enjoyed by all.
Success on The Pitch (archive from 1991)
Success on the field has included many league and cup champions in the Bexley and Greenwich Minor leagues.Most noticeable in the past has been Les Gregory's U15s and U16s, who were successful in winning the Princes' Cup in 1990 and l991.Last year Stuart Gleeson's U9s won the league and cup double in the Greenwich Minor League.Teams of all ages have also played in tournaments abroad, with the first Kingfisher JFC representatives in 1981 followed by three consecutive trips to Europe from 1991 to 1993.
Turning Professional
Kingfisher JFC have also had individual successes with boys who played for professional teams:In the past:Gordon Watson (Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton, Southampton, Bradford City, Bournemouth and Harlepool), Damien Matthews (Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Northampton Town. Currently a Development Coach @ Charlton), Scott Minto (Charlton, Chelsea, West Ham, Rotherham Utd and Benfica - Portugal) and Mark Tivey, (Charlton) who is the manager of a second division club in Sweden.More recently: Ashley Probets who was at Arsenal until he was about 19-20 he was released and went on to play in the conference south and Ryman's league with Fisher, Peter Sweeney (Millwall, Stoke City, Leeds, Grimsby and Currently @ Bury) played for Millwall FC in their 2004 FA Cup final team.
A Family Club
Kingfisher JFC has always been and will remain a family orientated club run by parents for the enjoyment of their sons.The club's main long-term objective is to have its own ground, but this is subject, as always, to sponsorship.Sponsors in the past have included Royal Mail Stamps, Whitehouse Garages, Mechanical & Building Services and Welling Builders.
n.b. For The Record (from a newspaper article from the nineties)
Since joining the Bexley League in 1978/79, Kingfisher have entered 75 teams. Their teams have played 1300 games, won 557, drawn 192 and lost 563, to give them a total of 1,296 points, which is the 15th highest total in the league (out of a total of 250 clubs) up to the end of the 1993/94 season. They scored 3136 goals and conceded 3231 in these games. Their record against other clubs since 1983/84 is shown here.Biggest league win: 25-0 against Long Lane (U13s, 1987/88). Biggest league defeat: 20-0 against Chelsfield (U16s, 1993-94)
n.b.This information was taken from a collection of articles and letters from the early nineties kindly supplied by Terry and Trisha Harman (former Chairperson and current fixture secretary)
