Saturday 7 August 2010

Warlingham FC (England)

Warlingham are a Combined Counties League team based the tiny Surrey village of the same name right on the South-Eastern border with London. They were formed in 1896 and for years were based in the village, but more recently have taken part in ground-sharing agreements with first Merstham FC and latterly Whyteleafe FC as their original ground in the village didn't come up to scratch for the tenth level in the English game. Which was a shame as they are a club who were intrinsically linked to their place of birth.

The village itself is planted bang in the middle of The South Downs, at an elevation of 650 feet above sea level. As such it is one of the few places that snow will settle in the South of England, and a constant annoyance for the club over the years when their home games were cancelled when the rest of the league got to play theirs, leading to constant fixture pile ups at the end of many a season. Thank heavens for then them that it's a bit warmer these days, then.

They gained promotion to the Cherry Red sponsored league after a fabulous win in the Surrey South Eastern Combination, and have every intention of both moving their way up the tables and returning to their spiritual home once they've got their own Warlingham Sports Club facility up to scratch with those pesky league rules.

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