Gillingham Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Gillingham, Kent, playing in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system, as of the 2024âÂÂ25 season. The club was formed in 1893 as New Brompton F.C., a name which was retained until 1913, and has played home matches at Priestfield Stadium throughout its history. The club joined the Football League in 1920, was voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937âÂÂ38 season, but returned to the league 12 years later after it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs. Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham played in the second tier of the English league for the only time in the club's history, achieving a highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002âÂÂ03.
The record for most games played for the club is held by Ron Hillyard, who made 655 appearances between 1974 and 1991. Brian Yeo is the club's record goalscorer, scoring 149 goals during his Gillingham career. Andrew Crofts holds the record for the most international caps gained as a Gillingham player, having made 12 appearances for Wales. The highest transfer fee ever paid by the club is the ã600,000 paid to Reading for Carl Asaba in 1998, and the highest fee received is the ã1,500,000 paid by Manchester City for Robert Taylor in 1999. The highest attendance recorded at Priestfield was 23,002 for the visit of Queens Park Rangers in 1948.
All figures are correct as of April 2025.
Gillingham have won two major honours in English football; first the Football League Fourth Division title in the 1963âÂÂ64 season and then the Football League Two title in the 2012âÂÂ13 season. The club has also achieved promotion on four other occasions, most recently in the 2008âÂÂ09 season, when a 1âÂÂ0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the 2009 Football League Two play-off final at Wembley Stadium secured a return to League One following relegation the previous season.
Gillingham's only previous victory at Wembley (at the original Wembley Stadium) came in the 1999âÂÂ2000 season, when a 3âÂÂ2 victory over Wigan Athletic in the Second Division play-off final clinched promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in Gillingham's history. Between 1938 and 1950, when the club played outside the Football League, Gillingham won the Southern Football League championship on two occasions and the Kent League once.
All competitive peacetime first team matches are included. Statistics correct as of 5 April 2025. Appearances as substitute are in brackets. Players who played for the club prior to 1920 or between 1938 and 1950, when the club played in the Southern League and Kent League rather than the Football League, have appearances in those competitions included in their totals.
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All competitive first team matches are included. Appearances, including those as substitute, are in brackets. Players who played for the club prior to 1920 or between 1938 and 1950, when the club played in the Southern League and Kent League rather than the Football League, have goals in those competitions included in their totals.
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Some media sources claimed that the transfer fee paid by Southampton for Paulo Gazzaniga in 2012 was higher than that paid for Taylor, but the fee was not officially disclosed by either club.
<div style="font-size: 90%;"> A. Promoted via the play-off system after finishing in third place
B. Promoted automatically by finishing in second place on both occasions
C. Promoted via the play-off system after finishing in fifth place
D. Cascarino is placed higher than Gibbs, and Morgan higher than Westwood, as they reached their goals totals in fewer matches.
E. The club has in the past claimed that goalkeeper Freddie Fox made his one appearance for England in May 1925 while on Gillingham's books. Although he was still with Gillingham when the team selection was announced, he was transferred to Millwall days later, roughly four weeks before the match actually took place.
F. This was the first match for the club's first team, but it was preceded by the first match for the club's reserve team, which occurred earlier on the same day. </div>
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