The junior club was formed in 1995 by John Ponting (now lifetime Club President) with around 15 players and was based upon the Downs in Bristol, meeting on a Saturday morning near Rockleaze. The objective of the club’s founders was to develop the skills of the children via regular training and by playing informal friendly fixtures against other clubs.

The popularity of the club increased every year, with more and more coaching groups being formed. By 2003, the club had more than 120 members. However, issues of child safety and pitch provision led the club to look for more suitable facilities. In January 2004, the club obtained a base at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex in Westbury-on-Trym and introduced dedicated girls coaching groups.

The club gained FA Charter Development Club Status in August 2007 and was awarded Development Club of the Season for the South West region (from Cornwall to Wiltshire) by the FA for season 2007-08.

In June 2008, the girls section of the club (approx 100 girls) was transferred to a new club, Bristol Ladies Union (BLU) FC. This new club was formed via an amalgamation of girls/ladies from Rockleaze, Shire Colts and Bristol University. Although it is envisaged that strong links between Rockleaze and BLU will be maintained, Rockleaze now became a boys club.

In June 2009, the club undertook a partial merger with Bristol and West Avonside, a senior club also based at Coombe Dingle, playing in the Glos County League and Bristol Suburban League. In June 2010, the 2 sections fully merged under the name Rockleaze Rangers FC to form a club with a senior and junior section comprising of approx 500 players.

In the summer of 2021, Chris Bradbeer was appointed to succeed John Ponting, with Graham Burley appointed as Vice-Chair.

Chris joined the junior section of Rockleaze Rangers in 2001 when his son Jonny joined the U8 section. Prior to this his long association with the club actually started in 1979 when he played for the senior section from 1979 until 1993 and when the club was known as NatWest Court! He supported lead coach Damon Stubbs and together they took the group up to U11s and then introduced the club to Sunday football in the Avon Youth League. Promotion as U12 division 4 runners up in the first season was followed by three seasons of consolidation before culminating with winning the 3rd division title at U16s.

Chris took the lead in introducing and developing the annual Rockleaze Rangers Summer Tournament from 2004, which started at Stoke Lodge Playing Fields, moved to Coombe Dingle Sports Complex, had one season at Clifton Rugby Club before now being staged at UWE Hillside Gardens.

Chris assisted other groups with their coaching when his son’s group finished in 2010. He was invited to become the junior section’s Vice Chair and worked closely with John Ponting before agreeing to take over the role of Chairman when John became life President in 2021. He has been a member of the Avon Youth League Management Committee since 2007 and is also a member of the GFAs Referees Committee.

In November 2024, Graham Burley was appointed the Chair with Frazer Richardson appointed Vice-Chair.

Senior Club

Rockleaze Avonside Football Club was established in 1976 as a Sunday team under the name of Nat West Court FC. After a couple of seasons, the club expanded into Saturday football and joined the Bristol and Suburban League in 1979.

Thereafter followed a number of years during which the club progressed through the divisions, with the highlight being GFA Minor Cup winners in 1986. The club were now known as Avonside Court and this progression culminated in being crowned Premier 2 Division Champions in 1989.

After finishing the following season in 4th place in Prem 1 the early 90’s marked a transitional period for the club, establishing closer ties with Bristol and West and as by then the club had moved grounds to play at the Bristol and West Sports Club then on the Portway.

Under the management of Geoff Bryant and latterly Paul Smith, the club attracted a core of young players, many of whom are still with the club today. During this period the club enjoyed its most consistent performance, finishing in the top 6 in 4 consecutive seasons and narrowly missing out on the Prem 1 Championship in 1999 season, having to settle for Runners-up spot.

Another difficult period for the Club followed, with the club now known as B+W Avonside having to find a new home at the University Ground at Coombe Dingle, following the closure of the Bristol and West Sports Ground, and losing a number of key players to Gloucestershire and Somerset County League Clubs. This resulted in relegation back to Suburban Prem 2 in 2004, however, this was a turning point in the club’s fortunes, with the appointment of Andy Myland as 1st Team Manager, many of our past players returned coupled with the recruitment of a number of new faces and the team immediately returned to Prem 1 in 2005 as Prem 2 runners up.

Cup semi-final appearances in the GFA senior Amateur in 2006 and the Suburban League Cup in 2007 ended in disappointment and despite 2 seasons of mid table finishes the decision was taken to strengthen the management team still further.

The appointment of Carmelo Micciche as Manager assisted by both Roger Coke and previous manager Myland saw season 2007-08 start with much optimism. This optimism was not unfounded and the 1st team ended as GFA Senior Amateur Cup Champions, runners up in the Suburban Prem 1 and promotion to the Gloucestershire County League for the first time in the club’s history.

The club’s first season in the Gloucestershire County League was played once again under the leadership of Carmello Micciche and saw the team finish in a creditable tenth position after being in the top 6 for a long period of time.

During the summer of 2009 B+W Avonside amalgamated with a junior football club known as Rockleaze Rangers also based at the University Ground in Coombe Dingle to form a new ‘all through’ FA Charter Club known as Rockleaze Avonside FC. The junior section runs teams from Under 6’s through to Under 16’s with a membership exceeding 280.

Season 2009-10 ended with the 1st team finishing in a respectable 9th in the league a slight improvement on the previous season. With the success of the amalgamation and with under 16 players plus a few older ex Rockleaze juniors starting to filter in to the various teams, during the summer of 2010 the decision was made to augment the merger further by playing under a single banner, that being Rockleaze Ranger’s F.C.

Due to retirements and players moving on 2010-11 started poorly for Micciche’s team with the 1st team losing 10 of our first 11 matches and being firmly rooted to the foot of the table for over 6 months. The arrival of Carl Hart from Hanham, bringing with him 8 others turned the season around and with closer ties being formed with the University of Bristol FC a competitive team was put together and an upturn in fortunes culminated in the team finishing in a credible 12th position. Despite the 1st teams early season problems the clubs remaining teams all had a successful season, the Reserve team had their highest ever finish in Suburban League Div 1, the A team were promoted from Suburban League Div 5 allowing the club to expand to 4 Saturday teams and the Sunday Veterans were promoted for the second season in a row.

In the summer of 2024 the senior section officially merged with Henbury FC to form a brand new club Henbury & Rockleaze FC, playing their home games at their stadium on Lorain Walk.

Rockleaze Rangers FC and Henbury & Rockleaze FC continue to maintain a close relationship as players transition from youth to adult football.

Inclusive Group

Rockleaze Junior 'Inclusive' group was established in 2019 to provide football opportunities to children from 8 to 18 years old with physical, sensory or learning disabilities that mean they would struggle to fit into our regular age-specific training groups. Initially we worked with Bristol Bears Community Sport to set up the group and we are now an established part of the club.

The key drivers behind the group are participation and enjoyment - helping the children socially is more important than developing their football ability. We aim to provide a safe and happy environment for the children who join our group at Rockleaze Rangers. The group is led by Ian Louden and Ade Dale, both FA qualified coaches who have a vast wealth of experience coaching our children at Rockleaze, plus there is plenty of interaction and help from the parents in the group. Our fantastic inclusive group children are keen, appreciative and very considerate of each other and the parental support is brilliant.

We have established community links with a number of different organisations including Gloucestershire FA, Bristol Bears Community Sport, Pegasus SGS School, Warmley Park School, Oasis Brislington School, Longwell Green Junior FC and Bristol Rovers Community Sport.