Ebbsfleet United F.C.

History

1946–2007: Gravesend & Northfleet

Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946 by a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890). The new club retained the red and white home colours and the Stonebridge Road stadium of Northfleet United.

The club were elected to the Southern League for the 1946–47 season and, in the inaugural season, reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, losing to fellow Southern League club Gillingham. The club reached the first round of the FA cup again in 1949–50, before being defeated by Torquay United of the Football League Third Division South. For eight seasons, the club recorded mid-table finishes in the single division Southern League (a highest of fifth in 1947 and a lowest of twenty-first in 1952) until finishing bottom of the division over the 1954–55 season. During that period, "The Fleet" twice won the Kent Senior Cup: in 1949 they defeated Gillingham 2–0 in a twice-replayed final and, in 1953, were victors 2–1 over Dartford.

Following the dismal record over the previous season, in the summer of 1955 the club appointed ex-Arsenal and England player Lionel Smith as manager, their seventh manager in ten seasons. He remained in charge for five seasons until resigning in 1960. Three seasons into Smith's tenure, Gravesend & Northfleet were the 1957–58 Southern League Champions. During the following season, the league operated two parallel regional divisions and, by achieving a second-placed finish in the South-East Division, the club earned a position in the league's newly formed Premier Division for the 1959–60 season.

For three seasons, the club recorded lowly finishing positions in the division before being relegated to the Southern League Division One after the 1962–63 season. In 1961 and 1962, whilst still members of the Premier Division, the club applied for election to the Football League Fourth Division but failed to receive a single vote on each occasion. In the relegation season, "The Fleet" achieved their longest-ever FA Cup run in the 1962–63 season competition: after beating League Division Four strugglers Exeter City, and then mid-table Isthmian League club Wycombe Wanderers at Stonebridge Road in the first two rounds, in the third round the club won away at Carlisle United of the Football League Third Division before they were knocked out in a fourth round replay at leading Football League Second Division club Sunderland – that was the first of a sequence of four seasons of appearing in the proper rounds of the FA cup. The subsequent three were: in 1963–64 losing in the second round to Brentford of the Third Division, in the following season losing in the first round to another Third Division club Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and then beaten in the first round by Wimbledon of the Southern League.

2007–present: Ebbsfleet United

Shortly after the name change to Ebbsfleet United, on 13 November 2007 website community MyFootballClub (MyFC) agreed to take control of Ebbsfleet United. MyFC had 28,250 members (each paying a subscription of £35) and paid £625,000 to purchase a 75% stake in the club with each member owning an equal share in the club on which no profit nor dividend was earned. Between 16 and 23 January 2008, a majority of MyFC members voted to both proceed with the takeover (95.89% voting "Yes") and to allow Liam Daish to continue with his plans for the January transfer window (95.86% voting "Yes"). The deal was ratified at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club's board on 19 February 2008. Members had a vote on all major club decisions including transfers and player selection. Because of the nature of MyFC, Liam Daish, who had been titled manager since 2005, became instead the first team head coach – his backroom staff remained at the club.

Success quickly followed. On 10 May 2008 Ebbsfleet United won the FA Trophy, defeating now non-league Torquay United 1–0 in the final, a match watched by 40,000 spectators on the club's first trip to Wembley – becoming the first Kentish team to win this trophy. A couple of months later 'the Fleet' added further silverware when, in a delayed final played on 26 July 2008, they won the 2007–08 Kent Senior Cup with a 4–0 victory over Cray Wanderers. During the following 2008–09 FA Cup competition the club featured once again in the first round, losing 1–0 away at EFL League One club Crewe Alexandra.

After the first year of MyFC ownership, a majority of its members failed to renew their annual subscription and membership dropped from a peak of 32,000 at the time of the takeover to just over 9,000 on deadline day 2009; the club had previously stated that 15,000 members was the minimum needed. As a result of budget cuts, in June 2009, the club parted company after four years with assistant manager Alan Kimble. Due to its reduced playing strength, the club finished the 2009–10 Football Conference in penultimate position in the table and were relegated into the Conference South.

MyFC membership continued to decline. In September 2010, two and a half years after the takeover, there were around 3,500 members. In an October 2010 vote among MyFC members the previous decision to allow the team manager autonomy in transfer dealings was rescinded, by a majority of 35 on a total vote of 132 in favour of the membership having a 48-hour period to ratify any proposed player signing or sale; both the manager and the club secretary opposed the change. Manager Daish rebuilt the squad following the previous season's relegation and on 15 May 2011, after one season in the Conference South, Ebbsfleet United won the 2010–11 season play-off final, beating Farnborough 4–2 and were thus promoted back to the Conference Premier. During the season, in the first round of the FA Cup, the club were defeated 3–2 in a home replay by Conference Premier promotion contenders AFC Wimbledon (the spiritual heirs of the club that had beaten them twice previously in the proper rounds of the competition).

Club colours

Ebbsfleet's traditional home colours (adopted from forerunner club Northfleet United) are red shirt with white detailing, white shorts and red socks. Away colours have varied, with blue and white stripes favoured in the late eighties before colour combinations such as white/black and yellow/navy or black were used. MyFC members chose white with red detailing as the away colour in 2008–09, but a clash with the home colours of Woking and other clubs was not spotted until after the kit had been supplied, so a third shirt with green body and white sleeves was used with the white shorts and socks; for the 2010–11 season the members made the unusual choice of purple for the away kit.

The club used specially designed 75th anniversary kits for the 2021–22 season: the home shirt was red and the away shirt green both with the Gravesend & Northfleet badge and lettering included on the shirts which additionally featured subtle design cues that paid homage to forerunner clubs Northfleet United and Gravesend United respectively

Stadium

Since the club's inception, it has played its home matches at Stonebridge Road, which had been the home stadium of forerunner club Northfleet United since 1905. In 1953, it was the first football stadium in Kent to have floodlights installed.

In July 2012, the Stonebridge Road terrace was named the Liam Daish Stand in recognition of the then manager. The stand was demolished in 2016 and replaced with a new main stand in 2017.

In October 2017, Stonebridge Road became known as Kuflink Stadium as part of a five-year sponsorship deal.

In April 2024, plans were approved locally for a new 8,000-seat stadium in Northfleet as part of a wider £1.3 billion regeneration of the area. Work was scheduled to begin in September 2024, with completion aimed for August 2026. The proposed redevelopment would see the demolition of Stonebridge Road. However, the proposal was called in by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in February 2025 and, in August 2026, following a public enquiry, planning permission for the development was refused over fears it might expose residents to "highly toxic lead poisoning".

Club personnel

Club officials

Source: Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Management team

Source: Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Club staff

Source

Players

Current squad

As of 18 August 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Records

Gravesend United F.C.

Best FA Cup performance: Fifth qualifying round, 1898–99 (replay)

Northfleet United F.C.

Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 1926–27, 1929–30

Gravesend & Northfleet F.C.

Best FA Cup performance: Fourth round, 1962–63

Best FA Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2004–05 (replay), 2006–07

Ebbsfleet United F.C.

Best FA Cup performance: Second round, 2022–23

Best FA Trophy performance: Winners, 2007–08

Honours

Source:

League

Southern League

Champions: 1957–58

Southern League, Southern Division

Champions: 1974–75, 1993–94

Conference South / National League South (level 6)

Champions: 2022–23

Play-off winners: 2011, 2017

Isthmian League (level 6)

Champions: 2001–02

Cup

FA Trophy

Winners: 2007–08

Southern League Cup

Winners: 1977–78

Southern League Championship Cup

Winners: 1978–79

Kent Senior Cup

Winners (8): 1948–49, 1952–53, 1980–81, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2013–14

Kent Floodlight Cup

Winners: 1969–70