A new king in town: Kingston’s only football club is ready to make its mark

Non-League side Kingstonian F.C. had been the footballing hub of the South West London town for over 70 years, leaving an everlasting footprint, with their two FA Trophy successes among their grandest achievements. Earlier this year, the club moved home for a fourth time in less than a decade, settling in Ashford, around eight miles away in Middlesex.

“It's a hell of a journey to get to,” Jon Tolley, owner of local independent record store Banquet Records and lifelong Kingstonian fan, told DAZN News. “It's a 40-minute drive from the middle of Kingston; it's a lot further than that on public transport, and it just feels too far away.”

One King moves, another rises

Simultaneously with Kingstonian's move, Kingston FC was born, and while from the outside it may have appeared like a deliberate ploy by founder Adam Smith to replace the club, his intentions were pure.

“In January this year, literally over a weekend, I just sat in front of my laptop, contacted the FA, Surrey FA, looked at how I could get a club up and running,” explained Adam.

“But the moment I put stuff out on social media, the response was incredible. There were a few ‘who do you think you are?’ sort of things from Kingstonian fans. I knew nothing about them. I never followed them, so I didn't know the issues they were having or that they were having to move out of Kingston.

“But the positive side of things was people seemed to be really invested in my idea and the ethos behind what it is I want to do. Soon after, I quickly put together a committee of 12 or 13 people, which included our now sponsors, Banquet Records, who, without them, I couldn't have got this off the ground.”

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Meet the man who will be leading by example

Of course, there can be no team without players and trials were held at the YMCA Hawker Centre on the outskirts of the town to assemble Kingston FC’s first squad and, unsurprisingly, a vast number of hopefuls turned up to impress Adam and his coaching staff.

“I'd seen that Adam wanted to create a community-based team in Kingston,” said Jack Lumb, now club captain. “I turned 30 this year, and felt if I didn't get back into football now, I probably never would. So I went along to the trials, spoke to Ad, Colin and Matt, and really liked what they were trying to build.”

The club kick off their season against Woodmansterne Hyde on Saturday, September 5, on home soil at the Hawker Centre. The Saxons will be playing in the Surrey South Eastern Combination Intermediate Division 2, two divisions below Step 7 of the football pyramid.

After a pre-season of building his fitness with multiple friendlies against local teams, Jack will wear the armband and lead his side out for what will be the most historic day of the club’s budding history.

“Going into trials with 70-odd other people, being picked for the squad was a great feeling,” Jack continued. “ But to then be given the captain's armband and the opportunity to lead the lads out is a real honour.”

Banquet Records and Kingston FC the perfect match

At the time of writing, the Saxons have over 900 followers on Instagram and have caught the eye of the local community, hosting a fundraiser at the Fighting Cocks, an iconic music venue in the town centre.

Perhaps the biggest sign of the club’s stamp on the local area is its association with Banquet Records, their front-of-shirt sponsor. Jon is partly responsible for transforming the business into what it is today, with The Who, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran among the artists to have performed at venues in the town through the record store. Anyone who lives and breathes Kingston knows Banquet, hence why their association with the football club makes perfect sense.

“Do you know what it is?” said Jon. “I just saw a Facebook post. That was it.

"A Facebook post from Adam on a Kingston neighbourhood Facebook saying, 'I want to start a football club; who's interested?'. And yeah, I'm interested.

“Had Kingstonian not moved away, I probably wouldn't have been so motivated to do something, but they have, and it's an obvious thing for Banquet to be involved with, sponsorship-wise. It's very hyper-local, which Banquet is too. I like the idea of Non-League football, and I want to help out something that I want to exist.”

The joint message from Adam, Jon and Jack is clear: this is a football club for the people of Kingston. Whether it is a chance to have a pint with a friend, an opportunity for kids to watch local sport, or just a chance to connect, the purpose is more than a football club. However, there is always a vision.

“People on a Saturday afternoon, they're out shopping, and they fancy coming with us to the Hawker Centre, 10 minutes down the road,” said Adam. “We'd love to become, at some point, a professional football club. Maybe many years away when I'm long and gone, and my picture's up in the boardroom as the founder. But our initial goal is just to establish the team and get us known for supporting the community, building those relationships.

"This season we're aiming for promotion.”

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