Club History

Willingdon Athletic Football Club was formed in 1918, with the sports club playing on a piece of land owned by Farmer Vine, a local man who wanted to help out the village. 

When the local Recreation Ground was left in Trust to the village, the club relocated to its current Huggetts Lane Ground in 1934. 

After the Second World War, The Dons competed in the Eastbourne and District League but began to struggle for players in the 1968/69 season. A group of very keen, local 16 year old boys took over the club and played friendly matches throughout the 1969/70 season. Two successive campaigns of title wins, enabled them to gain promotion to the top division of the Eastbourne and Hastings League. 

Willingdon then lost its best Youngsters to Senior football but consolidated their place in the top division nevertheless. At this time, Den Shimmons, a retired Wing Commander, was Chairman of the club. Shimmons was a real stickler for rules, hated his players swearing and any behaviour he deemed unacceptable would not be tolerated! The Dons added a second XI in 1972. 

 
Throughout the 90s, the club benefitted from the youth players brought in by the hard work of Adrian Spencer, Brian Kensett and Steve Mintrim, with a third team formed in 1997.The past decade had seen a lack of Youth or Feeder teams for the Club which caused a problem, effectively cutting off what had been a profitable supply line. 

In 2018 Gary Norwood and partner Laura Dempster, re-established the Youth section with a strong U14 team entering the Mid Sussex Youth league. The Team’s success, coupled with hard work from the Committee in establishing a reputable Youth Section encouraged 4 other teams to join Willingdon at the start of the 2019/20 season with another 5 having started throughout 2020 and a waiting list for other teams to join once further facilities are found. 

Most importantly perhaps for the Club is the link between the Youth and Senior sections with the promise of players moving up for following Seasons.  The Youth Section has also started an annual Summer Fiesta with teams from East and West Sussex and Kent competing for a place in the Competition.   

Off the pitch, Willingdon has always tried to give back to the community, and the club has completed 30 Boxing Day swims in Eastbourne's glorious sea! Over the years, the teams have raised around £30,000 for charity.