Team Bath F.C.
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| Full name | Team Bath Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Crescents, The Scholars |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Dissolved | 2009 |
| Ground |
Twerton Park Bath |
| Capacity | 8,800 |
| 2008–09 | Conference South, 11th |
Team Bath was an English association football club affiliated with the University of Bath in the city of Bath, Somerset, in 1999. The club was formed to allow the players to combine professional football with higher education. Team Bath rose rapidly through the English football league system, reaching the Conference South in its ninth season, but disbanded after one season at that level following a decision by the Football Conference and The Football League that its financial structure disqualified it from further promotion.
The club competed in the Western League for the first time in 2000–01. Promotion that season, and again in 2002–03, gained the club entry into the Southern League. The club gained significant media exposure for an FA Cup run in the 2002–03 season, when it reached the first round proper of the competition, becoming the first university team to compete at that stage since 1880. After five seasons in the Southern League, Team Bath was promoted into the Conference South after winning the 2007–08 Southern League Playoff Final.
For their first four seasons, Team Bath's home matches were played at the university's sports grounds. In 2004 the club secured a deal to ground-share with Bath City at Twerton Park, capable of holding more than 8,000 supporters. Team Bath nevertheless struggled to attract fans, and generally had among the lowest average attendances in their leagues.
In 1999, TeamBath, the sports department of the University of Bath, set out to establish a football club that played within the English professional league structure, but also allowed the players to continue their education with studies at the university. In the 2000–01 season, the club entered the Western League, the tenth level of the English football league system.Paul Tisdale, a recently retired player who had appeared for Southampton and Yeovil Town was appointed as the team's head coach. The team won promotion from Division One to the Premier Division of the league in their first season. They continued to be successful in their second year, but missed out on back-to-back promotions, finishing fourth in the league in their first season in the Premier Division. They competed in the FA Vase for the first time in 2001–02, advancing to the third round of the competition before being eliminated by Arlesey Town.
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