Boreham Wood F.C.
Boreham Wood Football Club is a professional football club based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently members of the, the fifth tier of English football, and play at Meadow Park. Established in 1948, they are known as "the Wood".
History
The club was established in 1948 as a merger of Boreham Wood Rovers and Royal Retournez, and began playing in the Mid-Herts League. In 1951 they joined the Parthenon League, and finished as runners-up in 1953β54 and 1954β55 before winning the title in 1955β56. After finishing as runners-up again in 1956β57, they joined the Spartan League. They finished as runners-up in 1963β64 and again in 1965β66, after which they switched to Division Two of the Athenian League.The 1968β69 season saw Boreham Wood win Division Two, earning promotion to Division One. The following season they finished as runners-up in Division One and were promoted to the Premier Division. After the division was disbanded in 1973, the club were placed in Division One for the 1973β74 season, in which they were league champions and reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, eventually losing 3β0 at Southend United. At the end of the season the club joined Division Two of the Isthmian League. They won the division in 1976β77 and were promoted to the renamed Premier Division. The following season saw them reach the first round of the FA Cup again, losing 2β0 in a replay to Swindon Town after a 0β0 draw at home.
The club remained in the Premier Division until being relegated to Division One at the end of the 1981β82 season, in which they finished bottom of the table. In 1994β95 they were Division One champions, and were promoted back to the Premier Division. The 1996β97 season saw them reach the second round of the FA Cup for the first time after they beat Rushden & Diamonds 3β2 in a first round replay. In the second round they lost 2β1 at Luton Town. In the same season they also won the Isthmian League Cup. They repeated their FA Cup feat the following season, beating Hayes in the first round before losing 2β0 to Cheltenham Town in a replay. In 1998β99 they reached the first round again, losing 3β2 at home to Luton.
After being relegated in 1999β2000 they won Division One at the first attempt to make an immediate return to the Premier Division. However, they were relegated again at the end of the 2002β03 season, although the season did see them reach the FA Cup first round again, where they lost 5β0 at Torquay United. After one season in Division One North, they were transferred to Division One East of the Southern League.
After winning Division One East in 2005β06, a season in which they also reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, losing 3β0 on aggregate to Woking, the club were promoted to the Premier Division of the Isthmian League. A fourth-place finish in 2009β10 saw them qualify for the promotion play-offs, and after beating Aveley 1β0 in the semi-finals, a 2β0 win over Kingstonian in the final resulted in promotion to the Conference South. The 2012β13 and 2013β14 seasons saw the club reach the FA Cup first round again, losing at home to Brentford and away at Carlisle United in a replay. In 2014β15 Boreham Wood finished as runners-up in the Conference South. In the subsequent play-offs, they beat Havant & Waterlooville 4β2 on aggregate before defeating Whitehawk 2β1 in the final to earn promotion to the renamed National League. Their first season in the National League saw a tenth FA Cup first round appearance, ending with a 2β1 defeat at home to Northwich Victoria.
In the 2017β18 FA Cup Boreham Wood beat Football League opposition for the first time, defeating Blackpool 2β1 at home in the first round. In the second round they lost 3β0 at Coventry City. The club went on to finish fourth in the National League at the end of the season, qualifying for the play-offs. After defeating AFC Fylde 2β1 and Sutton United 3β2, they lost 2β1 to Tranmere Rovers in the Wembley final. In 2019β20 the club finished fifth and again qualified for the play-offs. After defeating Halifax Town 2β1 in the quarter-finals, they lost 1β0 to Harrogate Town in the semi-finals. The club reached the first round of the 2020β21 FA Cup, in which they defeated League Two club Southend United 4β3 on penalties after a 3β3 draw. They went on to beat Canvey Island 3β0 in the second round, earning a third round tie with Millwall, which they lost 2β0. In the 2021β22 FA Cup, the club reached the fifth round for the first time after beating League One club AFC Wimbledon in the third round and Championship club AFC Bournemouth in the fourth. They lost 2β0 to Premier League club Everton in the fifth round.
In the 2022β23 season Boreham Wood finished sixth in the National League; in the subsequent promotion play-offs, they defeated Barnet 2β1 in the quarter-finals, before losing 3β2 after extra time to Notts County in the semi-finals. The following season they finished fourth-from-bottom of the National League and were relegated to the National League South. However, in 2024β25 they secured an immediate return to the National League, finishing fifth in the league before going on to defeat Maidstone United 1β0 in the play-off final.
Ground
The club initially played at Eldon Avenue until moving to Meadow Park in 1963.Honours
- Isthmian League
- *Division One champions 1976β77, 1994β95, 2000β01
- *League Cup winners 1996β97
- Southern League
- *Division One East champions 2005β06
- Athenian League
- *Division One champions 1973β74
- *Division Two champions 1968β69
- Parthenon League
- *Champions 1955β56
- Herts Senior Cup
- *Winners 1971β72, 1998β99, 2001β02, 2007β08, 2013β14, 2017β18, 2018β19
- Herts Charity Cup
- *Winners 1980β81, 1983β84, 1985β86, 1988β89, 1989β90
- London Challenge Cup
- *Winners 1997β98
Records
- Best league performance: 4th in the National League, 2017β18
- Best FA Cup performance: Fifth round, 2021β22
- Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Third round, 1970β71
- Best FA Trophy performance: Semi-finals, 2005β06
- Record attendance: 4,101 vs St Albans City, FA Cup second round, 6 December 2021
- Most appearances: David Hatchett, 714
- Most goals: Mickey Jackson
- Record transfer fee paid: Β£18,000 to Dagenham & Redbridge for Morgan Ferrier