Wikipedia - Great Wakering Rovers F.C.
Great Wakering Rovers Football Club is a football club located in Great Wakering, near Southend on Sea in Essex, England. The club are members of the Essex Senior League and play at Burroughs Park.
History
The club was formed in 1919 by soldiers demobbed after World War I and finding employment in the local brickfields. They joined the Southend & District League, dominating it during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1982 they switched to the newly-formed Southend & District Alliance Football League, but this league folded in 1989. At this point the club decided to make the step up to intermediate level and were founder members of the new Division Three of Essex Intermediate League.
In 1990–91 Great Wakering were Division Three champions, earning promotion to Division Two. After winning Division Two the following season, the club successfully applied to join the Essex Senior League. They went on to win the league in 1994–95 and finished as runners-up three times in the next two seasons. They were as runners-up again in 1998–99, but as champions Saffron Walden Town failed to meet the ground grading requirements for a place in Division Three of the Isthmian League, Great Wakering were promoted in their place.
The 1999–2000 season saw Great Wakering finish as runners-up in Division Three, earning promotion to Division Two. League restructuring resulted in them being moved to Division One North in 2002, and in 2004 they were transferred to the Eastern Division of the Southern League, where they remained for two seasons before being transferred back to Division One North of the Isthmian League. In 2011–12 the club finished bottom of the division, and were relegated back to the Essex Senior League. In 2013–14 the club were Essex Senior League champions and were promoted back to the Isthmian League. After finishing bottom of the division in 2016–17, the club were relegated to the Essex Senior League. However, they went on to win the league at the first attempt, earning promotion back to the renamed North Division of the Isthmian League.
In 2022–23 Great Wakering finished third-from-bottom of the North Division, resulting in them facing an inter-step play-off with a club from the division below. After being beaten 5–0 by Quorn they were relegated to the Essex Senior League. In 2023–24 the club reached the final of the FA Vase.
O Great Wakering Rovers é conhecido por suas conquistas na FA Cup, a competição de futebol mais antiga do mundo. O clube chegou à quinta rodada da FA Cup na temporada 1937-38, derrotando vários clubes profissionais ao longo do caminho. Essa conquista é considerada uma das maiores surpresas da história da FA Cup.
O Great Wakering Rovers também teve sucesso em outras competições. O clube venceu a Essex Senior Cup sete vezes, sendo a última vez em 2013. O clube também venceu a Isthmian League Cup cinco vezes, sendo a última vez em 2014.
O Great Wakering Rovers é um clube com uma história rica e é considerado um dos clubes mais tradicionais do futebol inglês. O clube tem uma base de fãs leais e é conhecido por sua atmosfera calorosa e acolhedora nos jogos em casa.