Braishfield F.C.

Braishfield F.C. is an amateur football club based in Braishfield^[1] in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England.

The club has been in existence since 1907 and have played on the village recreation ground for almost as long. They run two adult sides, are affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association and are members of the Southampton League.

Braishfield Football Club were formed in 1907 and played friendly fixtures against various local opponents at first. They initially used a make-shift pitch on a field behind the village chapel for home games, where their first known match was a 4-4 draw with Ampfield in November 1907.^[2]

After World War I, the club became more organised and began using the Recreation Ground for their home games. In 1923 they became founder members of the short lived Ampfield & District League before progressing on to the larger Southampton League. After World War II, they returned in 1948, and apart from a five year sabbatical playing the Eastleigh & District League from 1955-60, they have held membership ever since.^[3]

It was not until the formation of a successful Sunday side in early 1970s that Braishfield won any silverware, but once interest in that team faded, attention switched back to Saturdays. By 1980, they had reached the Senior section for the first time and formed a reserves side. The success continued, and two further promotions saw them promoted to the Premier Division in 1985. They eventually finished runners-up, followed by a successful application to join the Hampshire League.^[4]

On limited resources, Braishfield consolidated in Division 2, which at the time was of a very high standard. In 1992, the club reached the Southampton Senior Cup final, where they lost 0-2 against Aerostructures in front over a thousand spectators at The Dell, Southampton. However, a player exodus in 1994 saw them relegated in a humiliating fashion.^[5]

Hampshire League record 1986-2000^[6]

The new millennium was a tough time for Braishfield. In 2000 they were relegated back to the Southampton League and this signalled the start of a decline. By 2006 they had dropped back into the Junior section, but thanks to the hard work of a small dedicated and loyal committee, the club survived these lean years and in 2007 celebrated their centenary.

Gradually, their efforts were rewarded as things slowly improved; the opening of an impressive new pavilion coincided with an overdue revival on the pitch and in 2014 they won the Junior Division 2 title.^[7] This resulted in a 'double promotion' up to Senior Division 1 where Braishfield enjoyed another great season.^[8] They just missed out on a second successive title, but created a massive shock when they won the Senior League Cup after defeating favourites BTC Southampton in an epic final played at Eastleigh FC.^[9]

Initially, Braishfield found life back in the top flight a struggle and were relegated in 2018, but they bounced back at the first attempt and have since become well established at this level. They have twice more reached the Senior League Cup final (both held at AFC Totton), but on each occasion were well beaten.^[10]

• Southampton Football Association
  • Senior Cup Finalists 1991/92
• Southampton Football League
  • Premier Division Runners-up 1985/86
  • Senior Division 1 Runners-up 2014/15 & 2018/19
  • Senior Division 2 Runners-up 1980/81
  • Junior Division 2 Champions 2013/14 & Runners-up 1978/79
  • Junior Division 3 Runners-up 1977/78
  • Junior Division 4 Runners-up 1976/77
  • Junior Division 5 Runners-up 1965/66
  • Junior Division 8 Runners-up 1960/61
  • Senior League Cup Winners 2014/15, Finalists 2022/23 & 2023/24
  • Supplementary Trophy Finalists 2015/16

• Southampton Football League
  • Junior Division 2 Runners-up 2018/19
  • Junior Division 8 Champions 1979/80
  • Supplementary Vase Winners 2003/04

Braishfield Football Club play at the Recreation Ground, Braishfield Road, Braishfield, SO51 0PN.^[11]

They have done so since 1922 after local resident Mrs King kindly donated the land to the village.^[12]

The record attendance is believed to have been approximately 300 in August 1983 when the club played an Ex-Southampton XI in a fundraising fixture. The 'Saints' fielded a strong side that day and won 2-3 with prolific striker Ted MacDougall scoring a hat trick.

The venue has a large car park at the top end, adjacent to the Village Hall and Pantry. The pitch is roped off for all 1st Team matches, entry is free and new supporters are always made welcome.

The pavilion is located the bottom (school) end of the field, and the new modern day version was officially opened by Lawrie MacMenemy in July 2013.^[13] The building has a covered area for spectators and a large function room including a licensed bar.

The Test Valley area has always been a footballing hotbed and Braishfield enjoy a healthy rivalry with neighbours Romsey Town, Broughton, and M & T Awbridge, who they now frequently meet in the Southampton League.^[14] There used to be many more, but sadly the recent decline at grassroots level has seen a number of long established clubs either vanish or switch to Sunday soccer.^[15]

Further afield, Braishfield is twinned with Crouay, a commune in the Calvados department of Normandy, northern France and for many years the two football clubs enjoyed a very friendly rivalry, frequently playing each other home and away.^[16]

During their long history, Braishfield have had many fine players. A number of whom hold 'legendary status' amongst supporters, and the most notable of these is undoubtedly Dave Old, who gave over 60 years devoted service, on and off the pitch.^[17]

The former Southampton skipper Peter Rodrigues briefly played for the club during the 1983/84 campaign.^[18]

• Braishfield Bees Youth website
• Pictorial History video
• New Pavilion Project pictorial video
• Football Club History Database
• Hampshire Soccer Archives
• Hampshire League Final Tables
• Village website