Forest Green Rovers and their rise through the football hierarchy has been something of a fairytale and one that serves as inspiration for any football club. To put their success into perspective they were playing in the Gloucestershire County Football League (tier 11) as recently as the 1974-5 season!
A Quick Forest Green Rovers History Lesson
The club was founded way back in 1889, however, their climb towards Football League status began in earnest when they won the Hellenic League in 1981–82 which saw them move into the Southern League (Midland Division).
Two consecutive promotions (both as Champions) in 1997 & 1998 saw them rise into the 5th tier and in the 1998-99 season, they finished a credible 12th in the Conference. They also went on to become the first club to reach both the FA Vase & FA Trophy Finals. Sadly they couldn’t repeat their success of the Vase Final in 1982, losing 1-0 to Kingstonian.
They struggled for a few seasons and only escaped relegation in 2004-05 thanks to the misfortunes of Northwich Victoria. They escaped relegation again in 2010 at the expense of a demoted Salisbury City, however, this was the low water point for them and after a shaky 2011-12 things began to improve.
In 2014-15 they reached the playoff semi-finals for the first time and lost in the final the following season. Fortunately, they made it third time lucky in 2016-17 when they beat Tranmere Rovers 3-1 at Wembley Stadium to finally clinch a Football League Place.
They made the League Two play-off semi-finals in 2018-19, however ironically Tranmere ended their hopes with a narrow 2-1 win, before going on to gain promotion themselves.
Forest Green Rovers In The FA Cup
As the Rovers began to climb the leagues, their FA Cup fortunes also began to slowly improve. In 1999-2000 they reached the 1st round proper and proceeded to annihilate Guiseley FC 6-0 before going down 3-0 at home to Torquay in Round Two. This was the start of a nice run where they reached the 1st round three times in four years
Forest Green List of Honours
Football League
EFL League Two Playoff Semi-Finalists 2018-19
Southern League
Premier Division Champions: 1997–98
Southern Division Champions: 1996–97
Hellenic League
Champions: 1981–82
Gloucestershire Northern Senior League
Champions: 1937–38, 1949–50, 1950–51
Division Two Champions: 1955–56
Stroud Premier League
Champions: 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37
North Gloucestershire League
Champions: 1920–21, 1921–22
Stroud & District League
Champions: 1911–12, 1920–21
Dursley & District League
Champions: 1902–03
Forest Green Rovers In Cup Competitions:
FA Trophy
Finalists 1998-99, 2000-01
FA Vase
Winners: 1981–82
Northern Junior Cup
Winners: 1920–21, 1921–22
Club Details
Below is some information you will find useful if you are planning to watch a game or just want to keep abreast of their performances.
Forest Green Rovers Ltd
The Innocent New Lawn
Another Way
Nailsworth
Gloucestershire
GL6 0FG
Phone 0333 123 1889
Forest Green Rovers On Social Media
So there you have it our quick guide to the worlds Greenest Football Club Forest Green Rovers. If you fancy taking in a game and want to see what Nailsworth has to offer besides football check out our Nailsworth town guide.
