Ramsgate F.C.
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Ramsgate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Ramsgate Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | The Rams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Founded | 1945 (1886) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ground | Southwood Stadium Ramsgate Kent |
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Capacity | 5,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman | Richard Lawson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manager | Jim Ward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | Isthmian League Premier Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005-06 | Isthmian League First Division, 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ramsgate Football Club are a football team based in Ramsgate, Kent. Having played for many years in the Kent League, they have been promoted for two consecutive seasons and now play in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
The main local rivals of the club are Margate F.C. who are situated just 3 miles away. When the two teams meet, it is known as the Isle of Thanet derby.
[edit] History
The earliest incarnation of Ramsgate FC had played since at least 1886 but folded in 1924, with local rivals Ramsgate Glenville taking over their Southwood ground. Glenville did not reform after World War II and a new club dubbed Ramsgate Athletic took over Southwood. The club retained the Athletic name until 1972.
Athletic played in the original incarnation of the Kent League from their formation until the collapse of the league in 1959. This was the club's best period for nearly 50 years, with two consecutive league titles, several county cups, and a run to the first round of the FA Cup. With the collapse of the Kent League the Rams migrated to the Southern League, where they initially did well but were forced to resign and drop down to the re-formed Kent League in 1976.
For nearly thirty years the club performed well without seriously challenging for promotion, but their fortunes changed in 2004 with the return of former manager Jim Ward. He led the club to two consecutive championships (Kent League Premier Division and Isthmian League First Division), taking the club into the Isthmian League Premier Division for 2006/07, which will therefore offer the first derby matches for many years against Isle of Thanet rivals Margate.