| Full name | Bitton Association Football Club | |
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| Nickname(s) | The Ton, The Boyds, The River Boys | |
| Founded | 1896 | |
| Ground | The Recreation Ground, Bitton |
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| Chairman | John Langdon | |
| League | Western Football League Premier Division |
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| 2010–11 | Western Football League Premier Division, 2nd |
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Bitton A.F.C. is a football club based in Bitton, near Bristol, England. They are currently members of the Western League Premier Division which is Step 5 of the National League System and play at the Recreation Ground in Bath Road, Bitton.
They also have a women's team, Bitton Ladies, who play in Division 1 of the Gloucestershire County Women's Football League.[1]
The club is affiliated to the Gloucestershire County FA.
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Although founded in 1922, little is known of the clubs history before the Second World War. From 1945 until the late 1980s, the Bitton played in the Bristol and District League without notable achievement.
However, the club were promoted to the Bristol Premier Combination in 1990 and quickly moved to that league's top division. A runners-up effort in the 1994/95 season allowed the club to promote to the Gloucestershire County League.
Bitton's success on the field continued as a second place finish in the Gloucestershire County League two years later allowed them to advance to Western League football. They played in Division One for a number of seasons usually finishing in the top half of the table before another second place finish earned the club promotion to the Premier Division.
Bitton won the 2008/09 Western League Premier Division title[2] with three games left to play. They secured the title with a 2-0 home win against Corsham Town.
Bitton finished runners up in the 2010/11[3] season but missed out on promotion to the Southern league as they were in the process of rebuilding the clubhouse
Having toiled in the obscure lower reaches of the pyramid for most of its existence, Bitton does not have a long track record in national cup competitions. However, the club has achieved some notable results thus far. Bitton reached the 3rd round of the FA Vase in 2002-03,[4] losing to Devizes Town on replay. Improving on that record, they reached the 5th round the following season, falling to Lancashire side Colne.[5] Once again in 2004-05 they reached the 4th round, this time losing to Bedlington Terriers of the Northern League.Bitton have gone out three times in recent season to clubs that have gone on to the final. Truro,Glossop and Coalville have all defeated Bitton in the latter stages of the competition before going on to Wembley
Bitton has less success in the FA Cup, having never advanced beyond the second qualifying round.
Bitton A.F.C played in an all yellow strip with black hooped socks from their formation until 1930, until they adopted a yellow and white halved strip. They assumed the current strip of red and white stripes in the 1933-34 season. The chairman at the time, Jonathan Crowe, was the one who introduced the new red and white stripes. He was said to be “Dazzled by the beauty” of Atletico Madrids kit during a trip to Spain, and thus introduced the colours to Bitton.
The team wear an away kit consisting of a yellow shirt with green shorts and yellow socks, which links to the historic first home strip. They also occasionally wear an all black away kit.
Bitton's official nickname is The Ton. The complete origins of the nickname are unknown, although it is believed other fans assigned it because the locals of Bitton were deemed upper class.
In 1934, the charismatic chairman Jonathan Crowe, who introduced the red and white striped kit, said he would jump into the River Boyd (located near the ground) if Bitton were to win their first in the new colours. Bitton subsequently went onto win the game, and Jonathon Crowe, with locals watching, ran from the ground and jumped into the River Boyd. This incident produced a new nickname known as "The Boyds" or "The River Boys".
Historically, Bitton AFC had links with Keynsham Town as their rivals. During the early years, Bitton AFC was a relatively well-supported team attracting many of the town locals, and matches against Keynsham Town always sparked incident. In 1923, Keynsham Town striker, Graham Walnut, described the Bitton fans as "Vicious lions" with "Voices louder than a town crier". The most famous match between the two took place in 1924 - a pre-season friendly at Keysham. The Bitton fans travelled there to watch the match, which ended in a dramatic 3-3 draw. This, however, was squandered by violence. Four Bitton fans were arrested for acting "Brutish", and subsequently the team were banned from playing at Keynsham Town for a number of years.
Today, the rivalry no longer exists and the fan base that once followed Bitton has decreased significantly.
After their promotion to the Western League Premier Division in the 2009/2010 season a strong local rivalry has developed with Longwell Green Sports F.C. and high attendances for both clubs are often achieved in the respective home and away fixtures.[6][7]
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