opposition history

Littlehampton Town Football Club was officially founded in 1896, but evidence suggests football was played in the town as early as 1891 and the club started in 1893. In the early years games were played at Selborne Road but in the early 1900s sport moved to The Sportsfield on St Flora’s Road where matches continue to be played today.

Back then the team’s colours were dark green and the club were known as the ‘Greenbacks.’ The colours were changed in 1911 to blue and then in 1931 to white. In 1923 Tottenham Hotspur came to town for a friendly and won 7-1.

Littlehampton Town joined the Sussex County Football League in 1928 and the club stayed in Division 1 for 67 years. The first match in the new league was against Haywards Heath and the team won 5-1. In 1949 they won the Royal Ulster Rifles (RUR) Charity Cup and the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup. 

The team changed to a gold strip in 1953 and the first reference to their nickname ‘The Marigolds’ was in the Littlehampton Gazette on 13th November 1953. 

Under the guidance of Terry Gill the team were successful in the late 1960s and they won the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup again in 1970. Littlehampton Town were Division 1 runners-up eight times until they finally won the title in 1991. That year will never be forgotten. 

A draw at Peacehaven & Telscombe in front of 1,400 fans meant Golds won the title on goal difference. The same year the club won through to the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. The highlight was a home match against Northampton Town, staged at The Sportsfield in front of 4,000 fans. 

The Golds also reached the semi final of the FA Vase, losing to Gresley Rovers over two legs. That year the team played more cup matches than league games and won the Sussex League Challenge Cup and reached the final of the Sussex Senior Cup too. 

Littlehampton Town dropped to Division 2 in 1995 and Carl Stabler came back as manager and took them back up in 1997, where they were again runners-up in the division.

In 2003 they were relegated once more, but made a swift return with a Division 2 league and cup double success. They fell out of the top flight again in 2008 and spent six years in Division 2. 

Mark Bennett, a former player from the 1991 season joined as manager and oversaw the Division 2 title in 2013, where they only lost four league games all season and were finalists in the John O’Hara Cup. In 2015 they recaptured the Division 1 title - for the first time in 23 years - on the final day and the last year of the Sussex County Football League. 

With Mark Bennett’s departure, player George Gaskin took over management of the club and guided the team to a mid-table finish. A year later the team dropped out of the top flight and into Division 1. In 2018, Littlehampton Town welcomed back both Mark Bennett as manager and George Gaskin as striker to help rebuild the club and return them to former glories.

The next two seasons were unfortunately curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, the Marigolds were unbeaten in the league, but no promotion was allowed. After a repeat performance in 2021, we did secure promotion on points-per-game. With George Gaskin joined at the managerial helm by Mitchell Hand, the first year back in the Southern Combination Football League Premier Division was arguably the best in the team’s 126-year history to date. The Marigolds won the title, again on the final day of the season in front of 1,000 fans.

But it was also in the cups that brought them so much glory. As winners of both the League Cup and the RUR Charity Cup, a historic treble was nearly a quadruple as the team reached Wembley to play in the FA Vase final. As the first non-league team from Sussex to reach Wembley, it was an extraordinary achievement.

And despite losing 3-0 in the end to Newport Pagnell Town, the amazing home crowds in the quarter and semi finals — of over 3,000 — ensured the entire town was behind the team in an incredible season. The club finished a respectable 12th in their first-ever season at Step 4 in the Pitching In Isthmian Football League South East Division last year.