Otterbourne F.C.


Otterbourne F.C. were a long running amateur football club based in Otterbourne, a village near Winchester in Hampshire, England. They ran for 53 years and were long standing members of the Hampshire League before their untimely demise.

History

Originally based in Eastleigh, the club was founded in 1962 as North End Old Boys. They joined the Southampton League and rapidly climbed up through the junior ranks to reach the Senior section in 1969. Further progress was made and by 1975 had reached the Premier Division, where they soon consolidated.
In 1986, they became known as Otterbourne F.C. after relocating to Oakwood Park in that village. This ambitious move soon paid dividends as they won the title and made a successful application to join the Hampshire League. The 'Otters' remained in Division 2 for thirteen successive seasons and enjoyed several good cup runs – most notably in 1996 when they won both the Hampshire League and Southampton Senior Cups.
Otterbourne joined the expanded Wessex League in 2004 when they were placed in the competition's controversial and short lived third tier, but when the division was axed in 2007, they became founder members of the Hampshire Premier League, where they finished runners-up in the inaugural season.
After a spell of mediocrity, their fortunes dramatically took off in 2014 when Richard Luffman was appointed manager. With an influx of vastly experienced players, he transformed them from mid-table also-rans to serious title contenders.
In 2016 they finished-runners-up and won both the Hampshire Intermediate and Andover Open Cups, but were ineligible for promotion after Otterbourne Parish Council had unsurprisingly rejected their application to install floodlights. The ambitious management and players were understandably frustrated by this, so accepted an exciting opportunity to join Alresford Town en masse.
This was the end for Otterbourne, who then suddenly decided to finish on a high note and disband. The farewell match was played on 7th May 2016, an emotional Past v Present fixture, which ironically, attracted a record crowd of over 200.

Honours

1st team

Hampshire Football Association

Second Team

Hampshire Premier League
  • * Combination Cup Winners 2009/10Southampton League
  • * Senior Division 2 Champions 1988/89

Third Team

Southampton League
  • * Junior Division 2 Champions 2001/02
  • * Junior Division 8 Champions 1980/81

Ground

Otterbourne F.C. played at Oakwood Park Recreation Ground, Oakwood Avenue, Otterbourne, SO21 2ED.
The venue has a modern pavilion with a licensed bar. The pitch has a permanent fixed barrier along the near side and is still used today – ironically by fierce rivals Colden Common since 2019.

Notable players

During their existence, Otterbourne had many fine players – most notably future Sholing boss Dave Diaper and the ex-Southampton defender Kevin Moore, who played for the club after retiring from the professional game.

Local rivalries

Due to their location between Eastleigh and Winchester, Otterbourne had a number of local rivals; the nearest being Compton, Twyford and most notably Colden Common with whom many an battle was fought over the years.