WOODFORD TOWN FOOTBALL CLUB

The official home of ‘The Woods’

WOODFORD TOWN FC HISTORY

Story of 'The Woods' since 1937

Est.1937

Woodford Local News

The Early Years

Woodford Town Football Club was established in 1937, and were founder members of the Delphian League. In 1950 we lost 7-1 to Colchester Utd in the 4th Qualifying round of the FA Cup in front of a ground record of 7000 at Snakes Lane. The superbly named Johnny Bee stung our illustrious opponents into action with a sensational 9th minute strike before all hopes of a famous giant killing were cruelly swatted in the second half. 

Amongst noticeable players to grace the white Woods shirt was a certain Johnny Haynes soon to leave an indelible mark on the game at Fulham and England and later given legendary status as Football’s first £100 a week player at a time when wages regularly failed to reach the minimum wage of the time.


In 1961 we switched to the Metropolitan League, before joining Division One of the Greater London League in 1967. We left the Greater London League at the end of the 1968–69 season and rejoined the Metropolitan League in 1970.

THE 1970's

At the end of the 1970–71 season we joined Division One South of the Southern League but left after a single season in which we finished bottom of the table. We joined the Essex Senior League in 1976, before switching to the Athenian League in 1979.

THE 1980's

We rejoined the Southern Division of Southern League in 1982 where illustrious Tottenham Hotspur International duo Jimmy Greaves & Joe Kinnear were among a number of eye catching signings, albeit in the twilight of their careers.

Amazingly we played in the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1986 losing 4–0 to Piacenza in the semi-final and then 3–2 to Merthyr Tydfil in the 3rd Place play-off, the former game featured on Italian TV.


After finishing third in 1986–87 and reaching the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, we dropped back into the Essex Senior League at the end of the season.

Despite the disappointment Woodford had put themselves firmly on the football map succumbing only to a very late Colin Foster goal against Leyton Orient in the aforementioned match in front of another bumper gate at Snakes Lane, a game after which star striker Paul Williams was transferred to Charlton Athletic for an undisclosed sum after an eye catching display on a bumpy surface very much of the day.

THE 1990's

In 1993 we lost our Snakes Lane ground, and transferred to Division One of the Spartan League, which merged into the Spartan South Midlands League in 1997, with Woodford placed in the Premier Division South. 

However, we left the league in 1998 and dropped into the London Intermediate League, before returning to the Essex Senior League in 1999. We remained in the league until being voted out in 2003 after finishing bottom of the league for three seasons in a row.

THE 2000's

In 2017 we returned to the Essex Senior League reverting back to our original name – Woodford Town Football Club. 

Despite nomadic spells at Broxbourne Borough and Harlow Town ‘The Woods’ began to attract interest for their attacking, youth based playing style which saw Teenagers Ryley Scott and Jaden Brissett picked up by Ipswich Town and Brentford respectively and their unique fan base establishing itself amongst the loyalest and noisiest in Non League Football.

The link with football history didn’t stop there either as Woodford Town won a thrilling FA Cup tie v London Colney in front of 375 fans at the Harlow Arena on 31st August 2020. The singular Friday night fixture goes into the record books as the only time The FACup has ended and started in the same month, a slice of football trivia unlikely to be repeated.

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