Southall Football Club
A Brief History

The Early Days
Southall Football Club was founded in 1871, the first recorded game being a 1-0 defeat against local neighbours Uxbridge played at Southall Park on October 21^st 1871.

The F.A Cup was first entered in the third year of the competition in the 1873-74 season. It was not a debut to treasure as Southall were drawn away to  the mighty Wanderers who had won the competition in the first two years. The reason is not known but Southall scratched from the competition . The  first victory in the F.A. Cup came  the following season when they beat Leyton 5-0 after a 0-0 draw at Southall Park.

The next 20 years were spent playing friendly matches against teams in London and the Home Counties together with one season in the West London League in 1892-1893. The first piece of silverware was won in 1887 when Southall won the West Middlesex Cup overcoming Uxbridge Crescents 1-0 in the final.
Life in the Southern League
Southall were accepted into the Southern League for the 1896-97 season and remained there for nine seasons. The club achieved little success but at this time competed on equal terms with the likes of Watford, Fulham, Brighton and Thames Ironworks, now known as West Ham.

The club turned professional for their final season in the Southern League and this venture cost the club dear. Faced with mounting debts Southall withdrew from all competition for the following season. The club was re-organised on an amateur basis then merged with Southall Athletic and moved into a new ground at Western Road.
The Great Western Suburban League was entered in September 1907 and the Club remained there until the outbreak of the First World War. During this period the league title was won in the 1912-13 season and both the Middlesex Senior and Charity Cups were won for the first time.

The Athenian Years and Cup Exploits
Southall were then elected into the Athenian League in September 1919 and the next ten years was the most successful period in the history of the Club. The Athenian League championship was won in the 1926-27 season, the Middlesex Senior Cup was won four times and the Middlesex Charity Cup three times. On a national level Southall reached the final of the Amateur Cup in the 1924-25 season only to be defeated 2-1 by Clapton in front of 25230 spectators at the ground of Millwall FC. Two seasons later Southall reached the semi final of the same competition but were beaten in a replay by Leyton.  The first round proper of the F.A. Cup was reached three times with no success.

The 1935-36 season was an extraordinary one in the history of the Club. Progress in cup matches was so extensive that by the end of February Southall had played 22 consecutive cup-ties. Southall became the first amateur side to battle all the away from the extra preliminary round of the F.A. Cup and reach the third round proper. It was a superb run that saw them defeat Division Three South side Swindon Town 3-1 in the first round and then trounce fellow non leaguers Newport (IOW) by 8-0 to earn a third round game against Watford. This time in front of a record home crowd of 19094 Southall were defeated 4-1. Southall actually won nothing that season and as a result of their cup exploits they played 23 matches in 32 days to complete the Athenian League commitments including two matches on the same day on two occasions.
It was not until the 1952-53 season that Southall again hit the headlines. The team battled past Saltash, Bishop Auckland, Wealdstone and Romford to reach the semi final of the Amateur Cup. Here Southall met the renown Universities side Pegasus. The game took place at Highbury and the game ended in a hard fought 1-1 draw in front of 29982 spectators. Southall lost the replay 2-1 the following week at Craven Cottage.

The Isthmian League and Wembley Stadium

The 1960’s was a quiet period in the history of the Club and in 1973 Southall were elected into the newly formed second division of the Isthmian League. In their second season in that competition current Southall achieved promotion for the first  time in their history when they finished as runners up to Staines Town.

Three seasons in the top flight followed, the highest position achieved being 14^th in 1976-77. It was this same season that future England midfielder Alan Devonshire joined West Ham United for £5000 then a record for a player leaving an Isthmian League club.

Consecutive relegations followed into the bottom tier of the Isthmian League and in the 1985-86 season Southall again gained national recognition when they reached the FA Vase Final. Southall, with future England international Les Ferdinand in the side, lost 3-0 to Halesowen Town.

Southall suffered a major body blow in 1992 when they were forced to vacate their Western Road ground and since that time Southall has ground shared at several venues.

The Latter Years
At the end of the 1999-2000 season the Club was relegated to the Combined Counties League and spent five full seasons in that competition with a fourth placed finish being the highest achieved. Financial problems resulted eventually in expulsion from that league and a new life  began in the Middlesex County Football League for the season 2006-2007.
In the first season in that competition the Club finished in a mid table position in the Premier Division but problems off the field resulted in the Club being demoted to Division One (C&E). Second place was achieved in that division last season with resultant promotion back to the Premier Division.