BLANDFORD UNITED - CLUB HISTORY
Blandford United is based in Blandford Forum Dorset, playing their home games at the Recreation Ground, Park Road, Blandford.
Alongside its first team, they boast a reserve team playing in the Dorset League and an affiliated youth section across all age groups. It is steeped in history being formed in 1882 as one of the inaugural members of the South Hants & Dorset Football Association, which became part of the Dorset FA in 1887.
In 1896 the club became founder members of the Dorset League and continued to play in this league, only breaking for the two world wars. Success has followed the club throughout, even reaching the third qualifying round of the FA Cup in the 1920/21 season after beating East Cowes Victoria 3–2 in the preliminary round.
In the 1934/35 season the club won the Dorset Senior Cup for the first time, beating Weymouth 2–1 at Dorchester after a drawn match, and at time of writing is the only time the club has picked up that silverware. In 1957 the club left the Dorset league, to play in the Dorset Combination League (now Dorset Premier League) which had just been created, and the club went on to win the league that season. Further league wins followed in 1969/70, 1974/75, 1982/83 and 1991/92.
Cup wins were also collected in the Dorset Combination Cup in 1973/74, 1975/76, 1977/78 and 1978/79. In recent years, a resurgence has been seen by the Royals fans, who regularly turn out with 300+ strong crowds.
This has given the club a platform to make the required ground improvements in order to be considered for step 6 football. After finishes in the Dorset Premier League of 5th, 3rd and 4th, the 2025/26 season saw the Royals crowned champions of the Dorset Premier League.
Promotion to the Wessex League Division One followed for the first time in their history. Here is some more of the clubs FA Cup story, bearing in mind the competition has seen several structural changes in the early rounds down the years, plus details of their outings in the FA Vase.
