Dunston Football Club is a football club based in the Dunston area of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. They are currently members of the and play at the UTS Stadium.
The club was established as a works team by John Thompson and other HMSO employees in 1975 and were originally known as Whickham Sports. They initially played in the Newcastle City Amateur League, before moving up to the Northern Amateur League, where they won the league and League Cup double in 1977âÂÂ78. In 1980 they joined the Northern Combination and in 1982 the club was renamed Dunston Mechanics. They went on to win the League Cup in 1983âÂÂ84 and the league and League Cup double in 1986âÂÂ87. At the end of the season they were renamed Dunston Federation Brewery and moved up to the Wearside League.
Dunston won back-to-back Wearside League titles in 1988âÂÂ89 and 1989âÂÂ90. After finishing as runners-up and winning the League Cup in 1990âÂÂ91, the club were promoted to Division Two of the Northern League. In the club's second season in Division Two, they won the title, earning promotion to Division One. After winning three successive League Cups in 1997âÂÂ98, 1998âÂÂ99 and 1999âÂÂ2000, the club finished as Division One runners-up in 2000âÂÂ01. They went on to win back-to-back doubles of the Division One title and the League Cup in 2003âÂÂ04 and 2004âÂÂ05. In 2007 the club was renamed Dunston Federation after the brewery withdrew its sponsorship, before becoming Dunston UTS in 2009 as part of a sponsorship deal with UTS Engineering. In 2011âÂÂ12 the club reached the final of the FA Vase, beating West Auckland Town 2âÂÂ0 in the final at Wembley Stadium. They won the League Cup in 2017âÂÂ18 with a 1âÂÂ0 win against Bishop Auckland in the final.
In 2018âÂÂ19 Dunston were Division One champions for a third time, earning promotion to Division One North West of the Northern Premier League, at which point they were renamed Dunston Football Club. League reorganisation saw them placed in Division One East for the 2021âÂÂ22 season. They finished third in the division in 2023âÂÂ24, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Pontefract Collieries 2âÂÂ0 in the semifinals, they lost the final against Stockton Town on penalties. The following season saw them finish as runners-up in Division One East. In the subsequent play-offs they defeated Emley 1âÂÂ0 in the semi-finals before losing the final against Stocksbridge Park Steels on penalties.
After success in the Newcastle City Amateur League, the club leased land from Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, which was to become the Wellington Road ground. It was renamed the UTS Stadium as part of the sponsorship deal that saw the club renamed in 2009. The ground currently has a capacity of 2,500, of which 150 is seated and 400 covered.