Chairman’s New Season Message

As we embark on another season here at Farnborough Old Boys Guild FC I would like to wish every team all the best of luck for the coming campaign.

After a turbulent 2025/26, culminating in relegation to Kent County League Division Two West, the Saturday Firsts have recruited strongly over the summer and the club look forward to meeting the new arrivals tomorrow at Farrow Fields. Well done Dan and PJ for all your hard work strengthening the squad.

We also welcome a new Saturday Reserves side who will be playing in the Sevenoaks and District league. Pre-season results have been favourable, and after watching them on a couple of occasions, I have no doubt they will be competing for silverware on all fronts. Many thanks to Will, Liam, Charles and Tom for your efforts in bringing back a much needed reserves outfit to the club. We wish you well.

After promotions from their respective leagues, both the Saturday Vets Firsts and Reserves will be looking to repeat similar performances in the Southern Veterans league, and it will be good to see them both back in action at Farrow Fields, or more so in the Hugh Baldock Bar! Good work over the summer on and off the field so a special mention to Ben, Bluey, Athers and Steve.

After the disappointment of the cup finals, both the Sunday teams have been relatively quiet over the summer, but having spoken to Vince and Penno, both are raring to go again, with the Sunday Firsts competing in the strong OBDSFL Senior Division and the Sunday WESFA XI in Division One of the WESFA league. Both teams will be looking to go one more this season. Good luck gents.

Both the Red Vets and Yellow Vets had good seasons in 2025/26 and numbers were strong, with the Yellow Vets narrowly missing out on silverware. Both teams again will be competing in circuit community football under the management of Deano and George respectively and we wish them them all the best.

The Junior section have not stopped over the summer and I would like to thank Neil, Jon, Chris, Jack and Joff who have given up their summer Saturday mornings thus enabling the boys to continue playing the game they love. Especially during a World Cup! All three teams (U10s/U12s/U14s) will be back competing in the Tandridge league system for yet another enjoyable campaign.

We also welcome a new U7s side to the club, playing in the new 3 v 3 FA format (don’t ask!). Seasoned player and parent Aaron McWilliams will be at the helm trying to decipher the new format. Good luck with that. I would name him as manager but I am informed that managers are now called Game Facilitators(!) With the help of Neil, Chris and Jack, open morning trials went well and we have recruited boys from all the local junior schools. Well done team. We also welcome all the new parents and we hope you enjoy your time at the club.

Off the field, there has also been a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes. As you may be aware, the summer has been a little bit hot(?), and after our record investment into the Pitch Maintenance programme, things were looking bleak. So a big thank you to groundsman Steve Viner for covering all of the early morning pitch watering duties, and local Darrick Wood graduates, Daniel and Max who covered the evenings, with the Saturday Vets putting shifts in at the weekend. And Couch with his strimmer! A special mention to Saturday Vets player Steve Bray who came up at the weekends in 30 degree heat to paint both the top pitch and bottom pitch dug outs. Steve also provided all the new red FOBG branded bins that you will see strategically placed around the ground and in the changing rooms (along with new signage). Please make use of them.

Finally a word on all our club sponsors, along with the managers and club members who have brokered deals, thus bringing in much needed revenue for kits and apparel to all teams. Along with blue chip companies, a lot of our sponsors are local firms (many in the High Street), and I will be dedicating a website news feature in the coming weeks showcasing their businesses. Please continue to support them as they do us.

Continued revenue income on a weekly basis is paramount to the survival of our historic club with costs increasing across the board. So we ask all players to contribute their £60 annual membership subs as soon as possible once football starts back up at Farrow Fields. And your £12 per game match day subs to your manager. Please don’t be a knocker. It’s not a good reputation to have. And a reminder that FA fines picked up during the game must be paid back to the club within two weeks of receiving the offence. Please don’t be asked twice.

Have a good season everyone and I look forward to seeing you all over the coming weeks.

Up the Boro!

       Danny S.

Saturday Round-up: 22 August

The First XI started their league season with a 3-0 home defeat by Kent County League new boys Northumberland Heath. The game was even going into the last five minutes but the visitors went ahead and confirmed their victory in double quick time.

Both the Reserves and Saturday Vets registered resounding wins in friendlies on neutral territory, 7-0 vs. Resolve and 9-0 vs. CYMCA Vets respectively.

Good luck to the Firsts!

Good luck to the First XI as they kick off our competitive season on Saturday (21st August, kick off 2.45pm) at home in the league to Northumberland Heath, whom we welcome to Farrow Fields for the very first time.

The Firsts have another home league game on Tuesday (25th) when Agenda will be the visitors. Kick off for this game is at 6.15pm.

Because of the Bank Holiday next weekend, it will be a full two weeks before any of our other sides are in league action.

Match photos from the First XI's trip to Crockenhill

Action photos from the First XI's pre-sason friendly win at Crockenhill on Wednesday evening have been uploaded to the club gallery by club photographer Colin Brazier (CobraImages). You can view these HERE.

Quiz and Auction Evening

Apologies for the short notice but we are running a quiz/auction fundraiser on Saturday 22nd August, in the Social Club (not the football club).

We’d like to give a mention and say thank you to the following local businesses and organisations that have very kindly donated auction prizes so far:

• The Orpington
• The Chelsfield
• Crystal Palace Football Club
• Skills Academy
• Ann’s Beauty Salon
• Rapidity Printing

Please email fundraising@fobgfc.org to enter a team or for any queries.

FOBG FC AGM - Thursday 27 August

PROPOSED TEAM MANAGERS 2026-27:

Saturday First XI:  Dan Debenham and Paul Southall
Saturday Reserves:  Will Magee-Brown and Liam Farmer
Saturday Vets First XI:  Nick Blue and Ben Tomkins
Saturday Vets Reserves:  Paul Atherton
Sunday First XI:  Vince Wray
Sunday WESFA Reserves:  Dan Penn 
Red Vets:  Dean Young
Yellow Vets:  George Kleanthous
Under 14s Mustangs:  Neil Pearce and Jon Gasson
Under 11s Stallions:  Chris Allchorne
Under 10s Foals: Jack Kehoe and Jonathan Excell
Under 7s Broncos: Aaron McWilliams

Dan Debenham walking 50km for Evelina

First XI manager Dan Debenham is raising money for Evelina London Children's Charity as part of a team walking 50km (35 miles) on 10 October. Evelina are raising money to equip their new children's cancer centre.

You can support this very worthy cause at their JustGiving page which has the whole story.

Seniors presentation evening

Our seniors presentation ceremony was again a very enjoyable evening.

For a full list of winners, go to our awards page HERE. 

Got an injury or niggle?

Don't forget, we are subscribed to Jon W Sports Injury for all our sports injury needs.

Jon W Sports Injury is a leading sports injury clinic who work with many clubs in the area offering expert injury assessment, treatment and football-based rehabilitation programs for the effective recovery of all sports injuries.

Their therapists have worked and at professional and semi-professional football level. All Guild players receive £5 off every treatment session with them. More information can be seen on their website www.jonwsportsinjury.co.uk but please feel free to contact them to discuss any needs.

They have an app which can help you schedule appointments quickly, view your existing appointments, see your rehabilitation programmes and see all of their videos to help you with pain. All in one FREE app. Click here to download it. They also have an online chat facility on their website, promising to reply to any queries within an hour.

Jon W Sports Injury has clinics in Orpington and Bromley (Hayes). They also provide virtual clinics and have a wealth of information on their website. They operate flexible working hours to allow for after school/work appointments. They can be contacted at jonwsportsinjury@hotmail.co.uk or on 07825 835305.

Farnborough Social Club - Parking

Please note that Farnborough Social Club (NOT FOBG!) now have their car park controlled by an ANPR system. If you park there and are not registered, you could receive a fine of £150. It may be possible to buy a day permit from their bar.

Our Social Media

As well as our website, we have an official presence on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.  In addition, most of our nine teams have their own Twitter accounts.