Bamber Bridge FC is a football club from Bamber Bridge, which is a small village close to Preston in Lancashire. They currently play their football in the top division of the Northern Premier League. At the time of writing they were being managed by Jamie Milligan, who is a former professional footballer who made four league appearances for Everton. If you would like to find out more about this English football club, then please keep on reading.
The History of Bamber Bridge F.C.
Bamber Bridge were playing at the end of the 19th century, but they did not officially become a club until 1952. The first league that they joined was the Preston and District League, and they soon progressed to the Senior Division. In 1974 they collaborated with Walton-le-Dale and continued to play in the Preston and District League. In the 1978-70 season, they won the Guildhall Cup. In 1980-81 they won the league as well as the Guildhall Cup. During the 1981-82 season they won the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield and then another Guildhall Cup in 1984-85. The following two seasons they won the league and picked up a cup double.
In 1990, they were playing in Division Two of the North West Counties League, and they were promoted to Division One the following season after they won the league. They were soon promoted to the First Division of the Northern Premier League and then to the Premier Division. In the 1996-97 season they won the league, which should have seen them promoted to the Football Conference - however, their stadium was not deemed good enough for the fifth tier of English football, so they had to stay in the Northern Premier League.
In 2000, they reached the FA Cup first round for the very first time in their history. They stayed in the Premier Division until 2002 when they were relegated after finishing at the bottom of the table. They were quickly playing in the Premier Division again due to some restructuring, but they were relegated again in 2005. In 2007, the league added a new division, so they found themselves playing in Division One North. In 2018, they were promoted back to the Premier Division via play-offs and they have been there for the last two seasons.
Their Stadium
When they merged with Walton-le-Dale in 1974, they were playing their football at King George’s Playing Field. They stayed here until 1983, which is when they bought a bit of land to build their own stadium, which they called Irongate (a name taken from the local area). The stadium was completed in 1987 and the first game was played there the same year. In 2014, the stadium changed its name to the Sir Tom Finney Stadium after his death. He was a local lad from Preston who is considered by many to be one of the best footballers than England has ever produced. He was also very loyal to Preston and played well over 500 games for them. The stadium has a 3,000 capacity, with the record attendance being 2,300. This was achieved when Bamber Bridge played a friendly against the Czech national team before Euro 96. The Czechs went on to win the game 9-1, but the score does not reflect how well Bamber Bridge played. In fact, their solitary goal was actually the best goal of the match.
Club Honours
Below we have listed the different club honours that Bamber Bridge have picked up during their history. This is extremely useful if you ever decide to do some football betting on Bamber Bridge during their games.
Northern Premier League
- Premier Division 1995-96
- Challenge Cup 1994
- President's Cup 2004-05
North West Counties League
- Division Two 1991-92
Preston & District League
- Premier Division 1980-81, 1985-86, 1986-87, and 1989-90
- Guildhall Cup 1978-79, 1980-81, 1984-85, and 1989-90
Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy
- Champions 1994-95
Lancastrian Brigade Cup
- Champions 1976-77, 1989-90, and 1990-91