Club History |
The Salvation Army Football Club made its first tentative steps with friendly matches against the Baptist Church Fellowship of Youth Teams around 1987 and soon the interest grew to formalise the Club and enter into a bona fide league. Submissions were made to the Suffolk and Ipswich League after some help from local football tour de force Alan Sparkes, himself a former member of the Salvation Army in his younger days, and in 1988 were voted on to the League at their Annual General Meeting.
It was soon realised the club could not compete with just lads from Stowmarket Salvation Army and those from Diss, Ipswich, Felixstowe, Norton, Lavenham and Hadleigh swelled the ranks. Friends of the players linked to the Salvation Army were also invited but before the first game at Dennington on 10th September 1988 was played the Army did not have a recognised kit and played the first game in Nortons old white faded shirts with frayed cuffs and torn necks. Very soon afterwards one of the players and subsequent Chairman, Mark Cross, donated a set of blue shirts and from that day the clubs first kit although changing in style has remained a predominant blue.
Unfortunately the players from other Salvation Army areas dwindled with just the Felixstowe and Ipswich lads remaining loyal but even then in decreasing amounts and so the club became more of a Community Club allowing other players to join through recommendations from existing players on the understanding that players realised they represented the name of the Salvation Army whether they used it as their Church or not. However, to this day members of the church of the Salvation Army have continually played and run the club with the Constitution stating three of the five officers of the club must be members of the Salvation Army.
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