Hayling United Football Club is a football club based on Hayling Island in Hampshire, England. The club is affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association, and is a FA Charter Standard club. The Humbugs were founded in 1884 as Hayling Island, but changed their name in the early seventies to the present name.
The club currently play in the .
History
Formation and early years
There is no definitive date for the founding of the club but there are numerous mentions of matches being played in 1884 including one against a team that went on to become Portsmouth Football Club.
Playing in the Portsmouth side that day under the name of A C Smith was a struggling local doctor who went on to become the creator of Sherlock Holmes as Arthur Conan Doyle.Association Football in Hampshire until 1914 by Norman Gannaway
Teams under the name of Hayling Island continued to play in the Waterlooville & District League until the club joined the Portsmouth League in the early fifties.Hampshire Football Association Centenary History 1887-1987 by Norman Gannaway
From there some 40 years later they progressed to the Hampshire LeagueA History of the Hampshire League 1896–1996 by Norman Gannaway where their first fixture was in the north Hampshire (nearly Berkshire) village of Ecchinswell, the home of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber who, it was suggested at the time, was sponsoring the club. By this time the club were playing as Hayling United having changed their name in 1999. A Tabulated History of the Hampshire League by Stephen Farmery
Wessex League success
In 2004 Hayling joined the newly-formed Wessex League Division Three.https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5592690.hants-league-accept-wessex-expansion-plans-as-inevitable/ After finishing runners-up in back-to-back seasons, they achieved promotion to Division One. Hayling lost just five games in their debut season at this level, scoring a club record 116 goals in the process, and were crowned champions of the division.https://www.wessexleague.co.uk/history
A six-season stint in the Wessex Premier League followed, where Hayling achieved their highest-ever finish in the 2008 season and also took part in the early rounds of the FA Cup.
Defeats to Romsey and Blackfield & Langley in 2009 and 2010 respectively brought a premature end to Hayling's FA Cup dreams, but they would have more joy the following season. After holding Bridport to a 2–2 draw at St Mary's Field, Hayling's hopes of progression were wiped out thanks to a 2–0 home defeat in the replay.
The Humbugs fared better in the FA Vase, especially during the 2012–13 season. Having successfully navigated a tough first-qualifying round replay against Verwood Town, Hayling then beat local rivals AFC Portchester in the following stage to set up a first-round proper clash away to Cadbury Heath. The Humbugs struck twice in south Gloucestershire but lost 3–2, bringing a bitter end to an encouraging cup run.
Back-to-back relegations
Throughout the 2012-13 Wessex Premier Division campaign, Hayling United were issued warnings over the state of their ground by the league. The authority's argument was that the College Ground did not meet the Grade F grade required for the Wessex Premier league as the ground was not fully enclosed by a six-foot-high perimeter fence. However, due to the fact that the Humbugs only rented the field from the Hayling College, installing the fence was harder than it first appeared.
After several negotiations, it was decided that a removable fence would be placed at one of the field's entrances, and would be installed on match days by club representatives. Despite finding a temporary solution, Hayling were still demoted to the Wessex Division One at the end of the 2012–13 season and a points deduction ensured they would be relegated to the Hampshire Premier League Division One ahead of the 2014-15 campaign.
On the rise again
After steadying the ship with a respectable seventh-placed finish, Hayling achieved promotion back to the Hampshire Premier League Senior Division by finishing runners-up in 2015–16. The following season they won the League Cup.https://www.hpfl.co.uk/league-cup-winners
Notable former players
Hayling's most famous 'son' is former Chelsea player Bobby Tambling, recently overtaken by Frank Lampard as the Blues' all-time record goalscorer. He played for Hayling in his youth days and managed the club for a spell in the 1990s, before turning out a couple of times in the No 11 shirt despite being in his fifties.
Performance by season SeasonDivisionPositionPldWDLFAPtsNotes 1991-92 Hampshire League Division 3 26 11 8 7 41 35 41 6/14 Promoted 1992-93 Hampshire League Division 2 34 12 10 12 58 45 57 9/18 1993-94 Hampshire League Division 2 32 21 7 4 71 26 70 2/17 Promoted 1994-95 Hampshire League Division 1 38 12 14 12 51 45 50 9/20 1995-96 Hampshire League Division 1 38 21 6 11 58 42 69 7/20 1996-97 Hampshire League Division 1 40 19 6 15 65 59 63 9/21 1997-98 Hampshire League Division 1 38 10 8 20 51 100 38 7/20 1998-99 Hampshire League Division 1 36 11 6 19 40 60 39 15/19Competition reorganised 1999-00 Hampshire League Premier Division 42 19 11 12 59 50 65 9/22Demoted 2000-01 Hampshire League Division 1 30 17 6 7 58 28 57 4/16 2001-02 Hampshire League Division 1 28 17 5 6 56 31 56 3/15 2002-03 Hampshire League Division 1 28 20 3 5 86 29 63 1/15Ineligible for promotion 2003-04 Hampshire League Division 1 26 13 4 9 42 32 43 5/14Competition absorbed by Wessex League 2004-05 Wessex League Division 3 38 26 8 4 104 30 86 2/20Promoted 2005-06 Wessex League Division 2 42 27 8 7 99 39 89 2/22Divisions renamed 2006-07 Wessex League Division 1 36 27 4 5 116 32 85 1/19Promoted 2007-08 Wessex League Premier Division 44 15 9 20 66 101 54 12/23 2008-09 Wessex League Premier Division 42 11 8 23 66 96 41 16/22 2009-10 Wessex League Premier Division 42 11 11 20 51 84 44 15/22 2010-11 Wessex League Premier Division 42 9 4 29 69 130 31 21/22 2011-12 Wessex League Premier Division 42 10 8 24 59 104 38 18/22 2012-13 Wessex League Premier Division 40 13 5 22 74 112 44 16/21Demoted 2013-14 Wessex League Division 1 30 6 4 20 47 106 22 14/16Left competition 2014-15 Hampshire Premier League Division 1 20 7 3 10 51 42 24 7/11 2015-16 Hampshire Premier League Division 1 18 14 1 3 59 19 43 2/10Promoted 2016-17 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 28 14 4 10 63 47 46 6/15 2017-18 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 30 12 7 11 68 72 43 10/16 2018-19 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 30 10 3 17 48 74 32 11/16 2019-20 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division Season abandoned due to Covid-19 2020-21 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division Season abandoned due to Covid-19 2021-22 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 30 13 3 14 57 65 42 8/16 2022-23 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 32 7 10 15 38 75 31 14/17 2023-24 Hampshire Premier League Senior Division 30 10 2 18 43 69 32 15/16 Relegated 2024-25 Hampshire Premier League Division 1 26 10 8 8 56 55 38 6/14 2025-26 Hampshire Premier League Division 1 26 7 5 14 45 61 26 11/14 2026-27 Hampshire Premier League Division 1
Honours
Wessex League Division 1 Champions (1) 2006–07, Runners-up (1) 2005–06 Division 3 Runners-up (1) 2004–05
Hampshire Premier League Division 1 Runners-up (1) 2015–16 League Cup Winners (1) 2016-17
Hampshire League Division 1 Champions (1) 2002–03 Division 2 Runners-up (1) 1993-94
References
External links Club website Football Club History Database 1 Football Club History Database 2 Hampshire Premier League website Hampshire League Final Tables Wessex League Final Tables Hampshire Soccer Archive