The roots of Faversham Town's youth section began in 1997 when dads Ted Dowdall and John Bayford started Luddenham School Football Club with just half a dozen pupils. Training took place on the school fields each Saturday mornings. Ray Turner - later to become Faversham Town's first team manager - then began running formal coaching sessions assisted by Gary Langley. As the numbers grew the following season, another parent, John Griffiths, began helping out. No league matches were taking place at this time due to the small numbers and young age of many of the children. As the ranks swelled further, the boys began playing a few friendly matches against local sides including Doddington, Whitstable and Hernhill.

In 1999, with the number of children growing the club changed its name to Faversham Town Juniors and started training at Abbey School, entering the Faversham and District Friendly League at the same time. As the new Millennium dawned, Ray Turner and club stalwart Ernie Brennan shared head coaching duties, with around ten teams competing in both the East Kent Youth League and Faversham and District Friendly Series. As the club made a name for itself, it began hosting tournaments and the annual presentation evenings began, first at the Alexander Centre and later at Abbey School. Parents became helpers and dads became coaches, and the club blossomed.

The following year, after a series of meetings with Faversham Town FC's hierarchy the club moved to Salters Lane, revamping dated facilities to form a safe and playable pitch and changing area for over 100 boys and girls.

As the number of young players grew further to over 200 in 2003, Faversham Town Juniors moved back to Abbey School, where more pitches were available to cope with the expansion. In 2003-2004, the club's importance in developing youngsters was marked when John Griffiths was presented with an FA recognition award for his contribution to grassroots football.

The club's first badge - two yellow lions against a blue background - was adopted in the 2007-8 season after a design competition run among its children. It drew more than 30 entries and was won by Amelia Angus, who played in a mixed Under 12s team. Her distinctive design featuring the club name across the lions then became the youth football club's emblem, adorning club stationery and embroidered onto team shirts across all age groups. It remained in place until the start of the 2014/15 season.

In 2010, Paul Higgins took over as Chairman of Faversham Town Juniors/Youth FC, ushering in an era of stability as the club sought to consolidate its expansion. The same year, the club took another step forward when all teams began playing in the same distinctive navy blue and yellow kit. Until this time, coaches kitted their sides out individually (often in the colours of their favourite league team!), but the smart new look gave the club a uniform identity for the first time. Swathes of blue and yellow could be seen across the Abbey School playing fields each Saturday and Sunday as teams aged from six to 16 competed in club colours.

An exciting new era of change began with the election of Keith Chilvers as Chairman in 2013. The club - now with the number of players swollen to 290 aged from four to 18 - voted to combine with Faversham Town FC to become a single force in the town offering football for all ages, and a route through from juniors to high level senior semi-pro football for those with ambition and ability. Along with this step forward - with the boys officially becoming Faversham Town's youth section, playing at both Abbey School and Salters Lane - the newly-merged club achieved the landmark of FA Charter Standard Community Club status, adopting a five year FA-backed development plan committed to raising the standard of coaching and football available to boys in the area still further. This not only marked how far the club had come since its early days but also opened up access to further funds to improve facilities for the children.

It also meant that for the first time, at the start of the 2014/15 season children from the youngest age groups upwards were competing in the famous Faversham Town white kit with the unique privilege of taking to the field with the Three Lions badge on their chest - the only club other than England that the FA allows to do so.

With a sea of white and black Lilywhite kits now across youth pitches competing in local leagues in the area, this finally brought to fruition a vision that Ray Turner - once a coach at the fledgling junior section - had of creating a Faversham Town youth development programme offering football to children of all ages, providing quality coaching that enables the club to compete at all age groups, and feeding young talent into the senior squads.

Despite the changes as the club has prospered, its ethic has remained consistent from its conception to the present day. We are committed to providing football for children of all ages and levels of ability in a safe, positive environment. The club also nurtures close links with the community it plays in - we have entered floats in Faversham Carnival and raised thousands of pounds for charities including Kent Air Ambulance and Demelza. Our children have often visited Kent Air Ambulance to hand over a cheque, see the helicopter close-up at its hangar and meet the crew. The club remains committed to celebrating its ties with the community and ensuring the youngsters play their part in representing the town proudly and with dignity not only on the pitch - but also off it.

Brian Flynn succeeded Keith Chilvers as chairman in 2019, with an aim of bringing the senior and junior clubs ever closer together. This project continues...