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History

History


AFC Keynsham was formed as a phoenix from of the flames of the defunct Charles Saunders FC. The club runs two sides, Saturday's play in the Bristol and Suburban Leagues Division 4, while Sunday's compete in the Bristol Regional Sunday League Division 3.

THE SAUNDERS YEARS

The original side was formed in the late 90's and was named Charles Saunders FC after the St Ann's based frozen fish company that were the original sponsors. Playing in yellow and blue Saunders enjoyed many successful seasons playing out of The Grange in Kingswood. The original club played Sunday mornings in the Bristol Regional League.

DARK DAYS

Saunders found life tough during the middle of the following decade and were relegated to the bottom division in 2006, during this period The Fishermen were forced to play many a game with 8,9,10 or the bare 11 players, rarely able to find a sub. The vast majority of the squad would be out until the small hours of the night before and arrive in all sorts of states (if at all). Though the wins were hard to come by it was generally considered that victory was a 100 times more glorious when achieved with 9 men. This is probably as close as the team came to dissolving.

THE NEW BREED

After Charles Saunders Ltd refused to fund the team for a second consecutive season in 2008 the decision was taken to rename the club, perfectly coinciding with a move of pitch to the Manor Road Ground after the Grange was converted in to a National Center of Excellence for Netball.

A new Pink and Black kit was purchased with funding put in place by the generosity of Stanic Parts Ltd, the Keynsham Town Council accepted our application to move to their pitch, and AFC Keynsham were registered with the GFA, and a new club was born.

The change of location saw plenty of new players made available and an instant improvement in team spirit and attendance.

Though the first season was not been the most spectacular the club could now retain 15 plus players and regularly turns out with a full bench. A battling 2-1 victory against old rivals Bristol Athletic and pride taken from the 1-1 draw with promotion hopefuls Portishead were highlight of the AFC's first season. 2008/09

PROMOTION??

With a host of new teams joining the Bristol Regional League AFC Keynsham were bizarrely promoted in to Division 3 despite finishing second bottom of Division 4 the previous season, and 2009/10 didn't bode much better for the Mighty K's. Keynsham finished second bottom again, though there were signs of improvement with more wins and draws than defeats K's were only a result or two off of a mid table finish.

The club was able to purchase a new yellow strip to add to the pink.

The highlight of the season was achieving a period of genuine stability, with recruitment and interest at an all time high the clubs coffers were healthier than ever.

AFC Keynsham also finished 09/10 on high by beating rivals Spartans FC 3-0 in the first annual Manor Road Jug final to pick up a first piece of "silverware".

DOUBLE BUBBLE

AFC Keynsham capitalized on its growing support by launching a Saturday team to play alongside the Sundays. 2010/11 saw AFCK's debut in the Bristol and Suburban League Division 4, the club were allowed to bypass division 5 after a complementary word from Bristol Regional Sunday Officials.

After doubling the size of the club and player base the club invested in a new and more professional looking Blue kit, the first to bare the AFC Keynsham badge.

DISGRACE

AFC Keynsham Sundays qualified for the Quarter final of the GFA Cup for the first time but were expelled after an accusation of fielding an ineligible player surfaced. The K's followed league advice to not appeal after the threat of future sanctions.

BOYS ON TOUR

The K's took a group of lads out on the razz in Weymouth at the end of 2011/12 and 2012/13. The end of season weekend at Dorothy's will hopefully become a regular tradition.

SATURDAYS FOLD

After 2 successful seasons AFC Keynsham found themselves spread so thin that the decision was taken to resign from the Bristol Suburban League due to a lack of interest.

SUNDAYS SWITCH

After spending our entire history playing in the Bristol Regional Sunday League the K's took the decision to move to the Bristol Premier Sunday League after we were promoted to Division One despite a finishing 4th in a season of struggle.

THE FUTURE

The K's will start 2014/15 in the Bristol Sunday Premier League Division 3, and can look forward to league dates with rivals The Spartans for the first time since 2011.