There's a buzz about Bearsted FC as they prepare for their Emirates FA Cup bow

Friday 04 Aug 2017

Having been formed in 1895, Bearsted FC will be one of the oldest clubs involved in this season’s Emirates FA Cup.

Based in Kent, the Bears will finally make their debut in the competition on Saturday after many years of building and developing behind the scenes to bring them to this level.

Their historic first draw in the competition saw them rewarded with a trip to Eastbourne Town in the extra preliminary round.

And it’s proving to be an exciting week at the club, who maintain a firm place in the community and have high ambitions to continue developing their own local talent for the future.

Ahead of their trip to the Sussex coast, three key figures at the club explain their roles and joy at being involved.

Duncan Andrews - Chairman

Bearsted FC are one of the oldest teams in Kent and in the competition, and as chairman I am extremely proud of the hurdles we have had to clear to have earned the right to take the stage in what is the most famous football competition in the world.

Like many clubs at our level, we are very dependent on the generosity of volunteers who give up their time, resources and sponsorship for their love of the club.

We are also not unique that many of our officers, committee and helpers have been associated with the club for many years, with all providing a valuable function towards the success of the club.

The club has a great family feel and has three pairs of brothers in our squad. The manager Kevin Stevens and his wife are the core of the club, with Lesley managing the club house.

I have been involved with the club for the past 25 years and my father David is the team sponsor and was a former player and chairman, who is now aged 85.

Our club has had three very pro-active chairmen over the past 35 years with John Mace and Michael Anthony still vice presidents and always in the wings to offer support.

Our secretary Roy Benton, who is nearly 80, has been a great servant to football in general and has been invaluable to the supervision of the club’s ground improvements.

The squad is made up from a core of very loyal, local players, many of which have been involved with the club for many years.

They will be creating their own FA Cup experience on Saturday morning when they meet for breakfast together at the local pub, before travelling by coach with our supporters to Eastbourne Town.

Our more recent history, which provided us with the status and facilities to enter the Emirates FA Cup, started in 1998 when we moved from our previous home on Bearsted Green to our current ground at Honey Lane in Otham, a few miles away.

The new ground was enclosed and had enough space for three full-sized pitches but was in need of investment to provide a platform for promotion.

Although the club had self-funded a number of ground improvement projects, including a new drainage system, planning issues delayed the introduction of floodlights and a stand, which was essential to build a promotion-winning side and continue our progress up the ladder of football.

But in 2011, we were invited to join the newly formed Kent Invicta League, which was providing ambitious, well-run clubs with guidance and financial support from The FA to provide grants to achieve essential ground improvements.

This provided an invaluable momentum and we created a five-year plan to complete our ground improvements and win promotion to a Step 5 League in the 2015-16 Season.

Following the appointment of Kevin, the club were runners-up in both the league and league cup in 2015 and then won promotion as champions the following season, which provided us with the opportunity of Step 5 football in the Premier Division for the 2016-17 season.

Ground improvements have continued and we now have one of the best grass playing surfaces in the league as well as our entry into the FA Cup and FA Vase during the summer months of 2017.

Scott Andrews - Goalkeeper

There’s a real buzz around the club at the moment, especially around training and the boys can’t wait to get involved and play the club's first Emirates FA Cup game, so it will be a proud moment for the whole squad and the management staff.

I actually played for Eastbourne Town about eight or nine years ago, when I was studying at the Eastbourne campus of Brighton University and there’s still a couple of the people there from when I played, so it will be nice to catch up with them.

It’s the first time I’ve been back so I don’t know how much it’s changed, it was only a brief spell but it was a similar club to Bearsted really as it’s a family-orientated club and one for the locals to come and watch.

We’re going down there with confidence, it’s a first for the club and it’s not just the players who are looking forward to it, but the fans and the committee who have put in years of hard work. This is the result we’ve all been looking to achieve, by reaching the standard of being able to enter the Emirates FA Cup.

It’s something of a family tradition for me, being involved with Bearsted. My brother Graham plays for us too, my dad is chairman and my grandad is involved in sponsorship with the club.

Unfortunately, Graham misses the game on Saturday through suspension and he’s a big player for us so that’s a bit of a loss, but we’ve got cover.

He’s obviously disappointed to miss such a big event, but hopefully we can get through and he’ll be available for the next round.

It’s been enjoyable over the years though, I’ve played for the club right from the U8s all the way to the first team and it’s the best club I’ve played for.

I’ve played for few different clubs such as Welling United and Saturday’s opponents, but this is the one I enjoy playing for and hopefully I can continue for a few more seasons.

Colin Whitfield - Youth Development Manager

I’ve been involved with the club for 17 years now and it’s great to be in the Emirates FA Cup for the first time. We had the Buildbase FA Vase last season, which was fantastic, so we’re all looking forward to it again.

My role is with the club’s younger teams, in the local community, which is a big thing for us.

We’ve developed the youth scheme and had successful teams for both boys and girls, so we’re now trying to embed a structure and pathway in place so those who want to take it seriously can take the Kent Youth League pathway and look at progressing into the first team. And we also want to provide football for all others and develop the community side of the club and the family atmosphere that we try to create with the facilities and coaches we have.

I used to play myself with Kent Police when I was younger, but I first became involved with Bearsted when my son wanted to play football at the age of six. Having played against them, I knew they were a well-run club so I took him along to the coaching sessions and eventually got involved myself.

So I got into coaching by default really. I then did the FA coaching certificate as it was back then, got the bug even further and went to do my UEFA B and passed that one. I also did some work with West Ham and Chelsea and I now work for Charlton Athletic as part of their community trust, which is also great to be involved with.

By FA Staff

Cup buzz in Bearsted