Full name | Dunston UTS Football Club |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Fed |
Founded | 1975 |
Ground | Wellington Road, Gateshead |
Capacity | 2,500 (150 seated) |
Chairman | Malcolm James |
Manager | William Irwin |
League | Northern League Division One |
2015–16 | Northern League Division One, 11th |
Dunston UTS Football Club is a football club based in the Dunston area of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. They are currently members of the Northern League Division One and play at the UTS Stadium.
The club was established as a works team by John Thompson and other HMSO employees in 1975 and were originally known as Whickham Sports. They initially played in the Newcastle City Amateur League, before moving up to the Northern Amateur League, where they won the league and League Cup double in 1977–78. In 1980 they joined the Northern Combination and in 1982 the club was renamed Dunston Mechanics. They went on to win the League Cup in 1983–84 and the league and League Cup double in 1986–87. At the end of the season they were renamed Dunston Federation Brewery and moved up to the Wearside League.
Dunston won back-to-back Wearside League titles in 1988–89 and 1989–90. After finishing as runners-up and winning the League Cup in 1990–91, the club were promoted to Division Two of the Northern League. In the club's second season in Division Two, they won the title, earning promotion to Division One. After winning three successive League Cups in 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, the club finished as Division One runners-up in 2000–01. They went on to win back-to-back doubles of the Division One title and the League Cup in 2003–04 and 2004–05. In 2007 the club was renamed Dunston Federation after the brewery withdrew its sponsorship, before becoming Dunston UTS in 2009 as part of a sponsorship deal. In 2011–12 the club reached the final of the FA Vase, beating West Auckland Town 2–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.
After success in the Newcastle City Amateur League, the club leased land from Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, which was to become the Wellington Road ground. It was renamed the UTS Stadium as part of the sponsorship deal that saw the club renamed in 2009. The ground currently has a capacity of 2,500, of which 150 is seated and 400 covered.