AFC Whyteleafe

AFC Whyteleafe
Full nameAFC Whyteleafe
Nickname(s)'Leafe
Founded2021
GroundChurch Road, Whyteleafe
Capacity2,000
ChairmanKelly Waters
ManagerEnnio Gonnella
LeagueIsthmian League South East Division
2024–25Combined Counties League Premier Division South, 1st of 20 (promoted)
Websitehttp://www.afcwhyteleafe.com

AFC Whyteleafe is an English football club based in Whyteleafe, Surrey. The club was established in 2021 by Chairman Kelly Waters and plays at Church Road, Whyteleafe. The club currently competes in the Isthmian League South East Division, following promotion in the 2024/25 season.

History

AFC Whyteleafe was formed in 2021 by Kelly Waters, replacing another club, Whyteleafe FC, which folded shortly before. Waters had hoped to purchase the Church Road premises before it was sold to Irama Sports in February 2021,[1] but he discovered the auction a week too late and the sale to Irama went through. Following the withdrawal of Whyteleafe FC from the Isthmian League, and inspired by the story of AFC Wimbledon,[2] AFC Whyteleafe was born.

The new club was granted a position in the Surrey South Eastern Combination League[3] for the 2021/22 season, having formed a merge of registration with Balham FC B Team.[4] This still left the club with less than one month to build a squad from scratch, ready for their debut match on 4 September 2021 at home to Earlsfield 2018.[5]

A crucial part of the successful formation of the club was securing a ground. Church Road was the preferred choice and a four-year deal was reached with Irama to play there.[6]

Following a successful first season, AFC Whyteleafe joined up with Whyteleafe Youth FC ahead of the 2022/23 season to form one AFC Whyteleafe comprising a men's first team and over 30 Youth teams from U7 to U18.

In May 2022, the club was admitted into the Southern Counties East League Division One which sits at Step 6 in the National League System.[7] The club achieved a respectable 8th-place finish[8] in their debut season at Step 6. The following season saw Whyteleafe promoted as champions.[9]

The 2024–25 season saw AFC Whyteleafe crowned champions of the Combined Counties Premier Division South. Despite being third heading into the final day of the season, points deductions for both Jersey Bulls and Redhill saw the club finish top of the league, promoted to the Isthmian League South East Division.[10] The club also made a historic appearance at Wembley in the 2025 FA Vase Final, losing 2–1 to Whitstable Town after extra time.[11]

Ground

Church Road, the club's home ground

AFC Whyteleafe play their home games at Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, CR3 0AR.

The site of Church Road was formerly farmland, and the farm's existing buildings were converted into the clubhouse and dressing rooms. Whyteleafe FC originally planned to add a running track and cricket pitch to the complex, but these plans were abandoned. Floodlights were added in the early 1980s and a new main stand added in 1999 for the club's first round FA Cup match against Chester City, which saw a record attendance of 2,164. Some of the turnstiles added at the ground were purchased from Stoke City's Victoria Ground after they moved to the Britannia Stadium in 1997.

In June 2021, following the purchase of the ground by Singapore-based company Irama, Whyteleafe FC left Church Road due to no agreement being reached with Irama for a new lease with the club.[12]

In August 2021 the new club, AFC Whyteleafe, was formed under new management and a 4-year agreement was reached to play at Church Road.

Committee

In the summer of 2025, having gone up 4 levels in 4 years, a management committee was formed to assist the Chairman with the higher demands of step 4 football.

Name Role
Kelly Waters Chairman
Niall Maguire Club Secretary
Will Blundell-Moseley Finance
Gillian Bullen Match Day
Ennio Gonnella Football

Management/Coaching Staff

For the first 4 years the team was managed by owner/manager Kelly Waters. After winning back to back titles and making a historic appearance at Wembley in the FA Vase final, Kelly handed over the reigns. The current management team is as follows:

Name Role
Ennio Gonnella Manager
Danny Rose Asst. Manager & Goalkeeping Coach
Adam Flemming Head Coach
Wayne Bullen Asst. Coach
Milvin Boadi Analyst
Lydia Passera-Hughes Physio

Squad

As of Aug 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG Nathan Boamah
21 GK England ENG George Hill
2 CM England ENG Helge Orome (captain)
3 FB England ENG Charlie Kennett
4 CM England ENG Dominic Vose
5 CB England ENG Aaron Goode
6 CB England ENG Corey Holder
7 CM England ENG Daniel Bennett
8 CM England ENG Jordan Johnson-Palmer
10 ST England ENG Ryan Hall
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW England ENG Rodney Eruotor
13 FB England ENG Alton Leeward
14 FW Poland POL Dawid Przybylo
15 FB England ENG Jamie Mascoll
16 FW England ENG Eniola Hassan
17 FB England ENG Hani Hechachena
18 FW England ENG Stefan Ilic
20 CB England ENG Cairo Duhaney-Burton
22 FB Montserrat MSR Craig Braham-Barrett
23 FW England ENG Ryan Gondoh

Honours

Records

(Competitive matches only)

Men's first team:

  • Best League Performance: 1st - Combined Counties Football League Premier Division South (2024/25)
  • Best FA Cup Performance: First Qualifying Round (2025/26, in progress)
  • Best FA Vase Performance: Runners-up (2024/25)
  • Best FA Trophy Performance: Preliminary Round (2025/26, in progress)
  • Record Home Attendance:
  • Biggest Win:
  • Biggest Defeat:
  • Highest Scoring Match:
  • Top 5 All-time club appearances (competitive games only, as at 17 Aug 2025):
    • Alton Leeward - 121
    • Helge Orome - 99
    • Aaron Watson - 98
    • Gaspar Mico - 87
    • Buruk Tedros - 83 (joint 5th)
    • Kane Orlebar - 83 (joint 5th)
  • Top 5 All-time club Goalscorers (competitive games only, as at 17 Aug 2025):
    • Aaron Watson - 57
    • Gus Ward - 32
    • Joe Condon - 28
    • Daniel Bennett - 26
    • Temi Alaka - 24
  • Most Goals by a Player in a Season: Aaron Watson - 32 (2023/24)
  • Most League Goals by a Player in a Season: Aaron Watson - 25 (2023/24)
  • Most Goals in a Single Match:
  • Competitive Results Summary by Season:
    • 2021/22 Played 29, W21, D2, L6 (Win% 72.4%)
    • 2022/23 Played 38, W15, D11, L12 (Win% 39.5%)
    • 2023/24 Played 45, W28, D7, L10 (Win% 62.2%)
    • 2024/25 Played 54, W43, D2, L9 (Win% 79.6%)

References

  1. ^ "Singapore-based firm buys up Whyteleafe's football ground". Inside Croydon. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  2. ^ "The story of AFC Wimbledon". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Intermediate Division 1: League Table". Surrey South Eastern Combination League (Football.Mitoo). 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  4. ^ "B TEAM". Balham FC. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  5. ^ "AFC Whyteleafe kick-off thinking 'the impossible could happen'". Inside Croydon. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Phoenix club AFC Whyteleafe secure four-year deal to play at Church Road". SurreyLive. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  7. ^ "National League System club allocations – steps 5/6, season 2022–23" (.pdf). The Football Association. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Southern Counties East Football League Division One Table 2022/23". The FA. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  9. ^ "AFC Whyteleafe confirmed as First Division Champions!". www.scefl.com. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Non-league team win title after finishing third". BBC Sport. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Whitstable beat Whyteleafe to win FA Vase". BBC Sport. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  12. ^ "WFC withdrawn from league". Whyteleafe FC. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.

51°18′16.98″N 0°4′46.62″W / 51.3047167°N 0.0796167°W / 51.3047167; -0.0796167

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