Chester Football Club is an association football club based in Chester. They are currently members of and play at the Deva Stadium.
The club was founded in 2010 following the liquidation of Chester City. In its inaugural season it competed in Division One North of the Northern Premier League, following a successful appeal to the Football Association against its initial placement in the North West Counties League. After winning this division, it then won the Northern League Premier Division in 2011–12 and the Conference North in 2012–13. Chester returned to the National League North following relegation in 2017–18.
History
Background and formation
The original Chester FC was founded in 1885 and joined the Football League before the 1931–32 season. They changed their name to Chester City in 1983. They were members of the Football League, predominantly in its fourth tier but occasionally in its third tier, until 2000 when the club was relegated to the Football Conference. They returned to the Football League after winning the Conference title in 2004. Following relegation back to the Conference in 2009, the club hit financial difficulties. These financial difficulties led to the season starting with a 25-point deduction, following the Inland Revenue overturning a proposed CVA. Chester City were eventually wound up on 10 March 2010.
City Fans United (CFU) had been formed in October 2009, following growing disquiet among fans with the running of Chester City, who at that point were already in deep financial trouble. Only a month after the official formation of CFU, fans staged an on-pitch protest about Chester City's ownership, leading to the abandonment of the game against Eastbourne Borough at a point when Chester were leading 3–2. Following a vote of its membership, CFU in January 2010 called for a boycott of Chester City, after the dismissal of the then manager Jim Harvey, which led to CFU expressing its "disappointment, shock, and anger" at the decision. The group then began preparations in February 2010 to form a phoenix club for the following season just weeks before Chester City FC was wound up.
Following the official winding up of Chester City in March 2010, a ballot was held to choose the name for the new club. Over 1,000 people participated in the ballot and 70% voted for the name Chester FC, which had been the old club's name for its first 98 years. The club received the support of Cheshire West and Chester Council, which granted the lease of the Deva Stadium (subsequently renamed the Exacta Stadium as part of a sponsorship arrangement), Chester City's former ground, to Chester FC in May 2010.
Chester FC started competing in the 2010–11 season. The FA initially recommended that they should be placed in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division, a decision that the club appealed against. On 18 June 2010, the FA made a statement saying that Chester would instead be placed a step higher and would play in the Northern Premier League Division One North, the 8th tier of the English football league system.