Maidstone United F.C.
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| Full name | Maidstone United Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Stones |
| Founded | 1992 as Maidstone Invicta |
| Ground | Gallagher Stadium, Maidstone |
| Capacity | 2,455 (792 seated) |
| Owners | Oliver Ash & Terry Casey |
| Chief Executive | Bill Williams |
| Manager | Jay Saunders |
| League | National League |
| 2015–16 | National League South, 3rd (promoted via play-offs) |
| Website | Club home page |
Maidstone United Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Maidstone, Kent. They currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of English football.
The current club filled the void left by the old Maidstone United, which was a member of The Football League between 1989 and 1992. That club was forced out of the league through bankruptcy but the nucleus of a new club was built around the youth squad. Maidstone Invicta were originally a youth team but made the step up to adult football in 1992 being elected to the Kent County League Fourth Division in 1993 and subsequently progressed through the non-league pyramid. They changed their name to Maidstone United in 1995. They played in the Isthmian League Premier Division from 2013 having been promoted from the Isthmian League Division One South and won the league in the 2014–15 season to gain promotion to the National League South (formerly the Conference South) for the 2015–16 season. Maidstone gained a second successive promotion to the National League in 2016, bringing fifth-tier football back to the town for the first time since the old club was promoted to the Football League in 1989.
Maidstone were without a stadium of their own from their creation until 2012 when the Gallagher Stadium, located near Maidstone town centre, was opened at the start of the 2012–13 season.
Maidstone Invicta were originally a youth club and were 'taken over' within days of the Football League side folding. However, the lack of a suitable ground meant the club was effectively relegated seven divisions to the basement of the footballing pyramid and joined the Fourth Division of the Kent County League for the 1993–94 season. The club's home games took place on the original Maidstone's reserve and training pitch, next to the original London Road Stadium. Initially Jim Thompson ran the club, but was banned from football for his part in the demise of Maidstone and Dartford and Paul Bowden-Brown took over as Chairman – a position he retained until 2010.
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