Margate Football Club is an English association football club based in the seaside resort of Margate, Kent. The club was founded in 1896 and played only friendlies and cup matches until 1909, when the team joined the Thanet and District League.[1] Two years later Margate joined the Kent League, initially also playing in the Thanet League due to the county league's small fixture list, before stepping up to the Southern League in 1933.[1] After four seasons at this level, however, the club was forced to resign on financial grounds and return to the Kent League.[1] Margate returned to the Southern League in 1959 and remained there until 2001 when they gained promotion to the Football Conference, the highest level of English non-League football.[2][3] During their stay at this level they were forced to groundshare with other clubs due to drawn-out and problematic redevelopment work at their Hartsdown Park ground.[1] This led to the club being expelled from the Conference National in 2004 for failing to meet the division's stadium requirements.[1] After one season in the Conference South the club was relegated to the Isthmian League.[2]
The team, nicknamed "The Gate", have to date reached the third round proper of England's premier cup competition, the FA Cup, on two occasions. The club's best performance in the FA Trophy, the main cup competition specifically for non-League clubs, was a run to the quarter-final stage in 2001–02.[2][3]
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
Histwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Margate". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
- ^ a b "Thanet United". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2007.