Gillingham Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Gillingham, Kent, playing in League One, the third level of the English football league system, as of the 2019–20 season. The club was formed in 1893 as New Brompton F.C.,[1] a name which was retained until 1913,[2] and has played home matches at Priestfield Stadium throughout its history.[1] The club joined the Football League in 1920,[3] was voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season,[4] but returned to the league 12 years later after it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs.[5] Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham played in the second tier of the English league for the only time in the club's history, achieving a highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03.[6]
The record for most games played for the club is held by Ron Hillyard, who made 655 appearances between 1974 and 1991. Brian Yeo is the club's record goalscorer, scoring 149 goals during his Gillingham career. Andrew Crofts holds the record for the most international caps gained as a Gillingham player, having made 12 appearances for Wales. The highest transfer fee ever paid by the club is the £600,000 paid to Reading for Carl Asaba in 1998, and the highest fee received is the £1,500,000 paid by Manchester City for Robert Taylor in 1999. The highest attendance recorded at Priestfield was 23,002 for the visit of Queens Park Rangers in 1948. The club holds one Football League record, having conceded the fewest goals in a 46-match season, when the team conceded only 20 goals during the 1995–96 season.
All figures are correct as of 2022.