Harborough Town F.C.

Harborough Town
Full nameHarborough Town Football Club
NicknameThe Bees
Founded1975
GroundBowden Park, Market Harborough
ChairmanPete Dougan
ManagerMitch Austin
LeagueNational League North
2025–26Southern League Premier Division Central, 1st of 22 (promoted)
Websiteharboroughtownfc.org
Bowden Park
Clubhouse end and clubhouse
Main stand side

Harborough Town Football Club is a football club based in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. They are currently members of the National League North and play at Bowden Park.

History

The club was established in 1975 as a youth team under the name Harborough Town Juniors,[1] with the modern club formed by a merger with adult team Spencer United in 2008.[2] Spencer United joined Division Five of the Leicester & District Mutual League in 1976.[3] They were Division Five champions in 1977–78 and were promoted to Division Two.[3] A third-place finish the following season saw them promoted to Division One. Although the club were relegated back to Division Two three seasons later, they were Division Two runners-up in 1987–88 and promoted to the Premier Division.[3] In 1996 they joined Division One of the Northamptonshire Combination.[3]

Spencer United were Northamptonshire Combination Division One champions in 1997–98,[4] earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2002 the club were renamed Harborough Spencer United.[3] They were relegated back to Division One after finishing bottom of the Premier Division in 2004–05, and were subsequently renamed Harborough Town Spencers in 2006.[3] During the 2007–08 season, the club were amalgamated into Harborough Town, adopting their name. They ended the season as Division One runners-up, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[5]

In 2009–10 Harborough were Premier Division champions,[5] earning promotion to Division One of the United Counties League.[6] Although they finished bottom of Division One in their first season in the league, the club were Division One runners-up in 2011–12 and were promoted to the Premier Division.[6] In 2021–22 they were Premier Division South champions, earning promotion to Division One Midlands of the Northern Premier League. The 2023–24 season saw the club finish third in Division One Midlands, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Hinckley Leicester Road on penalties in the semi-finals, they defeated Anstey Nomads 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division Central of the Southern League.

In 2024–25 Harborough qualified for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time.[7] After defeating Tonbridge Angels 4–1 in the first round,[8] they were beaten 5–3 by Reading after extra time in the second round.[9] They went on to finish fifth in the Premier Division Central, before losing to Kettering Town on penalties in the play-off semi-finals. The following season saw them win the Premier Division Central title, earning promotion to the National League North.

Ground

The club play at Bowden Park. In 2024 the club was granted planning permission to expand the ground, including a new 154-seater stand.[10]

Current squad

As of 3 August 2026[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  ENG Elliott Taylor
2 DF  ENG George Carline
3 DF  ENG Eliot Putman
4 MF  ENG Josh Walsh
5 DF  ENG Rory McAuley
6 DF  ENG Alex Morris
7 MF  ENG Devon Kelly-Evans
8 MF  ENG Connor Kennedy
9 FW  ENG Riley O'Sullivan
10 MF  ENG Sam Osborne
11 FW  ENG Dempsey Arlott-John
13 GK  ENG Mitchell Kahan
14 DF  BER Jutorre Burgess
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 DF  ENG Paul Malone
17 FW  ENG Terell Pennant
18 FW  ENG Danny Newton
19 DF  ENG Liam Dolman
20 DF  ENG Silvio Bello
22 FW  ENG Lovell Edwards
23 MF  ENG Rob Morgan
24 MF  ENG Archie O'Donnell
27 FW  COD Britt Assombalonga
28 MF  ITA Prince Mancinelli
30 FW  ENG Callum Powell
31 GK  ENG Jake Laban
33 GK  ENG Alex Fisher

Honours

  • Southern League
    • Premier Division Central champions 2025–26
  • United Counties League
    • Premier Division South champions 2021–22
  • Northamptonshire Combination
    • Premier Division champions 2009–10
  • Leicester & District Mutual League
    • Division Five champions 1977–78

Records

See also

References

  1. ↑ About Us Harborough Town F.C.
  2. ↑ Harborough Town United Counties League
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harborough Town Spencer Leics Football
  4. ↑ Season 1997-1998 Northamptonshire Combination
  5. 1 2 Northamptonshire Combination 2003–2012 Non-League Matters
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Harborough Town at the Football Club History Database
  7. ↑ "Harborough reach FA Cup first round for first time - qualifying round-up". BBC Sport. 12 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Tonbridge Angels 1-4 Harborough Town: FA Cup". BBC Sport. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Reading 5–3 Harborough Town". BBC Sport. 1 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "FA Cup heroes given green light for stadium revamp". BBC News. 16 October 2024.
  11. ↑ @HarbTownFC (2 August 2026). "Presenting your 2026/27 Bees Squad Numbers. 🐝" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 August 2026 – via X (formerly Twitter).

52°27′55″N 0°55′05″W / 52.4654°N 0.9180°W / 52.4654; -0.9180

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