For a more comprehensive history of the club visit the History section.
Longhope Football Club's first major success was in 1950 when they won promotion to the second
division. In 1960, Longhope beat Wilton Rovers by five goals to three in the final of the George
Sandoe Cup and simultaneously coming top of division two. Longhope were promoted again when they
finished second in division one in 1991. The club went through a bad patch in the early nineties
as they stuggled in the premier division and soon found themselves relegated and again and again
until they reached the fourth division. Perhaps one of Longhope's most memorable occasions of
recent times was the battle for promotion and indeed their victory in the FJ Pope Cup in 2000. On
the 5th. May 2000 Longhope beat Whitecroft by two goals to nil in a game that had all of us there
on the edge of our seats for the entire match. For pictures of this event, click
here. Match reports from the Geo Sandoe Cup final from 2002 are
also available that were written by our resident football fanatic at the time but has since moved
on to bigger and better things. Click here for the cup
final and here for the replay.
I realise that some of the pictures on this page are hopelessly out of date (dating back some
24
years or so) but hope this doesn't detract from your viewing pleasure.
The Ground
The pitch is situated in the centre of the village
bounded by Church Road, the Post Office and Hope Brook C of E School. When it's not being used
for football games, the ground also hosts other entertaining activities such as the Fete and
school sports day. The ground (known as the Recreation Ground or Rec for short) is open to the
public all year round and so anyone is quite welcome to come down and kick a ball around or
play on the swings.
The Supporters
Longhope has many loyal supporters. In May 2000, when the club was battling for promotion
and for a place in the final of the FJ Pope Cup against Newent, a record turnout of 43
supporters was counted. Although seats are a rarity and are allocated on a first come first
served basis, many people prefer to stand and watch from the sideline.
Longhope's number one supporter hasn't missed a home game for over 40 years, and can
be seen in the picture on the right.