Bognor Regis Town Football Club is an English football club based in Bognor Regis, West Sussex. Nicknamed 'The RocksâÂÂ, 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 2024âÂÂ25 season.
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 1948âÂÂ49 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 1969âÂÂ70 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 1972âÂÂ73 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 6âÂÂ0 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 1981âÂÂ82 season after finishing second. In 1984âÂÂ85 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again, defeating Swansea City 3âÂÂ1 in a replay after a 1âÂÂ1 draw at the Vetch Field. In the second round they lost 6âÂÂ2 at Reading. They reached the second round again the following season, beating Enfield in the first round, before losing 6âÂÂ1 at Gillingham. They reached the first round again in 1986âÂÂ87 (losing 1âÂÂ0 in a replay to Slough Town) and 1987âÂÂ88 (losing 3âÂÂ0 at home to Torquay United). In 1988âÂÂ89 they beat Football League opposition again, defeating Exeter City 2âÂÂ1, before losing to Cambridge United.
In 1991âÂÂ92 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 1995âÂÂ96 they reached the second round of the FA Cup for a fourth time, before losing 4âÂÂ0 at Peterborough United.
In 2002âÂÂ03 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 2008âÂÂ09 season, and were relegated again the following season.
Season 2010âÂÂ11 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 2011âÂÂ12 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 1âÂÂ0 in the final, and thus gaining promotion to the Premier Division. The 2013âÂÂ14 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 2015âÂÂ16 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 1âÂÂ0 in the first leg at Nyewood Lane, before also losing the second leg 2âÂÂ1 at Blundell Park (3âÂÂ1 on aggregate).
Season 2016âÂÂ17 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 2017âÂÂ18. However, despite a promising start to life in the Vanarama National League South in 2017âÂÂ18, they eventually finished bottom of the table and, as a result, returned to the Isthmian Premier for the 2018âÂÂ19 season.
The club spent much of the 2018âÂÂ19 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 2âÂÂ1 after extra time in the final played at Falmer Stadium, Brighton.
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. 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 scheduled to be installed at their Nyewood Lane home in the summer of 2025, along with upgrades to the floodlights, pitch perimeter and dressing rooms.
All positions are published on the club website.
As of 01 March 26. Statistics below are League matches only (Sussex County/Southern/Isthmian/Conference South).
(Post-2004) Ninth in the Conference South, 2004âÂÂ05
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 2023âÂÂ24 season.