Dover Athletic F.C.

{{For|a statistical breakdown by season|List of Dover Athletic F.C. seasons}}

Dover Athletic F.C. was formed in 1983 after the town's previous club, Dover, folded due to its debts. The new club took Dover's place in the Southern League Southern Division,{{cite web|url=http://www.pyramidpassion.co.uk/html/dover_athletic.html|title=Dover Athletic F.C.

|publisher=Pyramid Passion|access-date=2008-01-02}} with former Dover player Alan Jones as manager and a team consisting mainly of reserve players from the old club. Initially Athletic struggled, finishing second from bottom of the table in the 1984–85 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablese/engsouthernleaghist.html |title=England – Southern League Final Tables |access-date=2008-02-04 |date=2005-07-04 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100721195910/http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engsouthernleaghist.html |archive-date=21 July 2010 |website=RSSSF |df=dmy }} In November 1985 Steve McRae, who had succeeded Jones a year earlier, was sacked and replaced by Chris Kinnear.

File:PeterTaylor2009.jpg had a short spell as the club's manager in the mid-1990s.|alt=A middle-aged man with greying hair, wearing a dark blue T-shirt and matching jogging bottoms, standing near the touchline of a sports pitch. Some spectators are visible in the background.]]

Under Kinnear the club's fortunes turned round, with two top-five finishes followed by the Southern Division championship, and with it promotion, in the 1987–88 season. The team started strongly in the Premier Division, finishing in sixth place at the first attempt, and then winning the championship in the 1989–90 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/DOVERA.HTM|title=Dover Athletic|publisher=The Football Club History Database|access-date=2008-02-02}} The club was denied promotion to the Football Conference, however, as the Crabble Athletic Ground did not meet the standard required for that league. After finishing fourth and second in the subsequent two seasons, Dover won the title again in the 1992–93 season and this time were admitted to the Conference.

Although Dover finished in eighth place in their first season in the Conference,{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/lghist/conf1994.htm|title=Football Conference 1993–94|publisher=The Football Club History Database|access-date=2008-02-05}} the following season saw the club struggling against relegation, and Kinnear was dismissed due to a combination of the team's poor performances and his own personal problems. John Ryan was appointed as the club's new manager, but his reign was a short one and he was dismissed when the club lost seven of its first eight matches in the 1995–96 season. The club then appointed former England international Peter Taylor as manager, but he was unable to steer the team away from the foot of the table, and Dover held onto their place in the Conference only because Northern Premier League runners-up Boston United failed to submit their application for promotion before the required deadline.

Bill Williams took over as manager in 1997 and led the club to the FA Trophy semi-finals in the 1997–98 season and a best league finish to date of sixth place in the 1999–2000 season. Williams left the club to take a senior position with Conference rivals Kingstonian in May 2001.{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=149|title=Bill Williams Resigns|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|access-date=2008-02-05|date=2001-05-14}} By now the club was in severe financial difficulties, with a number of directors resigning and debts exceeding £100,000. Amid the crisis the entire board of directors resigned, forcing the club's Supporters' Trust to take over the running of the club,{{cite news| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dover_athletic/1717288.stm| title = Dover appoint Southall|date=2001-12-18| access-date = 2008-02-07| publisher = BBC}} and manager Gary Bellamy was sacked after just six months in the job.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3015948/Nationwide-Conference-Dover-on-the-brink.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3015948/Nationwide-Conference-Dover-on-the-brink.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Nationwide Conference: Dover on the brink|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2008-02-05|date=2001-11-01 | location=London | first=Nicholas | last=Harling}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3016619/Nationwide-Conference-Dover-win-lifts-gloom.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3016619/Nationwide-Conference-Dover-win-lifts-gloom.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Nationwide Conference: Dover win lifts gloom|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=2008-02-05|date=2001-11-11 | location=London | first=Richard | last=Luscombe}}{{cbignore}} Former Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall took over but was dismissed just three months later, with Clive Walker taking over in March 2002 with the club rooted to the foot of the table. The club finished the season bottom of the Conference and was relegated back to the Southern League Premier Division.{{cite web|url=https://www.fchd.info/lghist/conf2002.htm|title=Football Conference 2001–02|publisher=The Football Club History Database|access-date=2008-02-05}} The club's ongoing financial problems led to it entering a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA), a process by which insolvent companies offset their debts against future profits, due to debts that were now estimated at £400,000.{{cite web|url=http://doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=209|title=CVA Proposal Gets Green Light|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|access-date=2008-02-05|date=2002-06-19|author=Steve Cattermole}}

File:DovervStaines.jpg in 2009|alt=Two teams competing in a football match, one wearing white shirts and black shorts and the other yellow shirts and blue shorts. A stand full of spectators and another low brick building are visible outside the playing area.]]

In Dover's first season back in the Southern League Premier Division the Whites finished in third place, albeit 17 points adrift of Tamworth, who claimed the one promotion place available that season. A poor start to the following season saw Walker replaced by Richard Langley. Dover finished the season in 19th place, before being switched to the Isthmian League Premier Division in the summer of 2004 following a re-organisation of the English football league system. The new season started with six successive defeats, which saw Langley sacked, and the financial problems continued, with the club coming within two months of being closed down.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/kent/4043189.stm|title=Club must raise £48,000 or close|publisher=BBC|date=2004-11-25|access-date=2008-02-05}} Dover were relegated to the Isthmian League Division One at the end of the season, but were saved from possible extinction in January 2005 when former director Jim Parmenter returned to head up a consortium that took over the club.{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=240|title=Jim's Takeover Bid Confirmed|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|date=2005-01-06|access-date=2008-02-05|author=Justin Allen}} Parmenter quickly sacked manager Steve Browne and convinced Clive Walker to return to the club to replace him, and also arranged for the club's outstanding CVA debts to be cleared, putting the club on a firm financial footing for the first time in many years.{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=485|title=CVA Agreement Reached|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|date=2006-08-01|access-date=2008-02-05|author=Justin Allen}}

Dover Athletic narrowly missed out on an immediate return to the Premier Division in the 2005–06 season, reaching the play-offs for promotion but losing out to Tonbridge Angels.{{cite web|url=http://www.tonbridgeangels.co.uk/Club/clubhistory.html|title=Club History|publisher=Tonbridge Angels F.C.|access-date=2008-02-05| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071218201015/http://www.tonbridgeangels.co.uk/Club/clubhistory.html| archive-date = 18 December 2007}} The following season Dover again reached the play-offs but lost in the semi-final to Hastings United,{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/1368817.print/|title=Ten-man Hastings reach play-off final|work=The Argus|date=2007-05-02|access-date=2008-02-05}} after which Walker did not have his contract renewed and was replaced by former Gillingham manager Andy Hessenthaler.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/barnet/6699855.stm|title=Hessenthaler named Dover manager |publisher=BBC|access-date=2008-02-02|date=2007-05-29}} In his first season in charge he led the club to the Division One South championship and promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/low/football/eng_conf/7261707.stm|title=Dover ease to Ryman South title|publisher=BBC|date=2008-04-05|access-date=2008-04-09}} The following season Dover won a second consecutive championship and thus gained promotion to Conference South.{{cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/dover_athletic_crowned_ryman_premier_champions_1_1049869|title=Dover Athletic crowned Ryman Premier champions|first=Tom|last=Howard|work=Eastern Daily Press|date=2009-03-28|access-date=2009-03-28|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716221057/http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/dover_athletic_crowned_ryman_premier_champions_1_1049869|archive-date=16 July 2014|df=dmy-all}} In the 2009–10 season, Dover reached the play-offs for promotion to the Conference National, but lost at the semi-final stage to Woking.{{cite web|url=http://www.surreyherald.co.uk/surrey-sport/allsport/2010/05/01/woking-book-play-off-final-spot-at-dover-86289-26358168/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724163740/http://www.surreyherald.co.uk/surrey-sport/allsport/2010/05/01/woking-book-play-off-final-spot-at-dover-86289-26358168/|archive-date=2011-07-24|title=Woking book play-off final spot at Dover|first=Chris|last=Slavin|work=Surrey Herald|date=1 May 2010|access-date=1 May 2010}} The following season the club reached the third round of the FA Cup for the first time after wins over Kent rivals Gillingham in the first round{{cite web|url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/dover_dump_ailing_gills_out_of_fa_cup_1_946340|title=Dover dump ailing Gills out of FA Cup|work=Eastern Daily Press|date=6 November 2010|access-date=6 November 2010|first=David|last=Pritchard|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716222335/http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/dover_dump_ailing_gills_out_of_fa_cup_1_946340|archive-date=16 July 2014|df=dmy-all}} and another League Two club, Aldershot Town, in the second round.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/fa_cup/9206778.stm|title=Dover 2 – 0 Aldershot

|work=BBC News|date=27 November 2010|access-date=27 November 2010}} In the 2012–13 season the club again reached the play-offs, but this time lost in the final to Salisbury City.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22480383|title=Blue Square Bet South play-offs: Salisbury promoted|work=BBC News|date=12 May 2013|access-date=12 May 2013}}

During the following season, the team reached the second round of the FA Cup, losing 1–0 to Milton Keynes Dons. They also made the last 16 of the FA Trophy, narrowly losing 3–2 to Eastleigh, and reached the play-offs once more.{{cite web|url=http://www.dover-express.co.uk/dramatic-dover-clinch-gasp-conference-south-play/story-21018240-detail/story.html|title=Dramatic Dover clinch last-gasp Conference South play-off spot|work=Dover Express|first=Sam|last=Inkersole|date=26 April 2014|access-date=28 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429080024/http://www.dover-express.co.uk/Dramatic-Dover-clinch-gasp-Conference-South-play/story-21018240-detail/story.html|archive-date=29 April 2014|df=dmy-all}} A 4–1 aggregate victory over Sutton United in the semi-final set up a match with fellow Kent team Ebbsfleet United in the final.{{cite web|url=http://www.dover-express.co.uk/man-dover-athletic-crush-sutton-reach-play-final/story-21053166-detail/story.html|title=Ten-man Dover Athletic crush Sutton to reach play-off final|work=Dover Express|first=Sam|last=Inkersole|date=3 May 2014|access-date=9 May 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512213045/http://www.dover-express.co.uk/man-Dover-Athletic-crush-Sutton-reach-play-final/story-21053166-detail/story.html|archive-date=12 May 2014|df=dmy-all}} On 10 May 2014, Dover beat Ebbsfleet 1–0 at Stonebridge Road with a goal from Nathan Elder, enough to seal the club's return to the top flight of non-league football for the first time since 2002.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27358116|title=Dover promoted to Conference after Ebbsfleet play-off victory|work=BBC Sport|date=10 May 2014}} In the 2014–15 season, Dover went on another FA Cup run, beating Morecambe 1–0 in the first round and Cheltenham Town 1–0 in the second, to reach the third round proper for only the second time ever.{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30266283| title = Cheltenham Town 0–1 Dover Athletic|date=2014-12-07| access-date = 2014-12-08| publisher = BBC}} However, they lost 4–0 at home to Premier League side Crystal Palace.{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30614379| title = Dover Athletic 0–4 Crystal Palace|date=2015-01-04| access-date = 2015-01-05| publisher = BBC}} During the following season, the team qualified for the play-offs for promotion to League Two.{{cite news| url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36118789| title = Dover Athletic 0–1 Forest Green Rovers|date=2016-04-30| access-date = 2016-04-30| publisher = BBC}}

During the 2020–21 season, the team only played 15 fixtures, with none played after 30 January 2021, due to staff being furloughed because of the costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the club had all of its results expunged in March and was fined £40,000. In addition, the club was handed a 12-point deduction for the 2021–22 season and fined £40,000 by the National League.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56544033|title=Dover Athletic: National League club hit with fine, points deduction and results expunged|publisher=BBC Sport|date=26 March 2021|access-date=8 April 2021}}{{cite news |author=Bob Dale |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-57177208 |title=Champions League final: Dover Athletic face ruin in 'dog eat dog' football world |publisher=BBC Sport |date=29 May 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021 }} {{As of|2021|05|29}}, the club had released all but four players, who were reduced from full to part-time. The 2021–22 season saw Dover start with the points deduction and after picking up only eight points in 33 matches, a 2–0 home defeat to Yeovil Town confirmed Dover's relegation back to the National League South after eight seasons in the top flight of non-league football.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60717467 |title=Dover relegated after Yeovil defeat |publisher=BBC Sport |date=19 March 2022 |access-date=20 March 2022}} In their second season back in the sixth tier, they were relegated to the Isthmian League, finishing bottom of the table having only won four games all season.{{cite web|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/sport/dover-relegated-from-national-league-south-304264/|title=Dover Athletic relegated from National League South – Second relegation in three years for Whites|work=Kent Online|publisher=KM Group|first=Matthew|last=Panting|date=29 March 2024|accessdate=29 March 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/conference-n--s/20232024/south/r75712/|title=Summary – National League N/S|publisher=Soccerway|accessdate=2 June 2024}}

Dover Athletic's traditional colours are white and black,{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=836&link=/|title=SeaFrance on board|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|date=2007-08-01|author=Matthew Clements|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071004221324/http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=836&link=%2F|archive-date=4 October 2007|access-date=16 December 2021|url-status=live}} which were also the colours worn by the earlier Dover club.{{cite web|url=http://doverteamphotos.tripod.com/index.html|title=Team Photos|publisher=The History of Dover Football Club|access-date=4 February 2008}} Away colours worn by the club have included red, yellow and green, pink, and blue.{{cite book | last=Williams|first=Tony|author2=Mike Williams | title=Non-League Club Directory 2007| publisher=Tony Williams Publications Ltd | year=2007| isbn=978-1-869833-55-8|page=515}} The club's crest contains a stylised representation of the town's two most famous landmarks, Dover Castle and the white cliffs, enclosed in a circle bearing the club's name. The club's shirts have been sponsored by companies including Criccieth Homes, Paul Brown of Dover, Jenkins and Pain, cross-channel ferry operators Hoverspeed and SeaFrance, local car dealership Perry's, and Gomez, the company owned by Dover Athletic chairman Jim Parmenter.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/d/dover_athletic/850211.stm|title=New sponsor deal for Dover|publisher=BBC|access-date=11 February 2008|date=25 July 2000}}

File:TheCrabble.jpg

{{main|Crabble Athletic Ground}}

Dover Athletic's home ground since the club's foundation has been the Crabble Athletic Ground, which was also the home of the former Dover club. The word Crabble, which is also found in the name of a local corn mill,{{cite web|url=http://www.ccmt.org.uk/|title=Crabble Corn Mill|publisher=Crabble Corn Mill Trust|access-date=2008-02-04}} may derive from the Old English crabba hol, meaning a hole in which crabs are found.{{cite web|url=http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/name_origin.htm|title=The Origin of Dover's Name|publisher=Dover-Kent.co.uk|access-date=2008-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017221538/http://www.dover-kent.co.uk/name_origin.htm|archive-date=17 October 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} The stadium, commonly known simply as "Crabble"{{cite web|url=http://doverathletic.com/index.php?p=crabble|title=Visiting Crabble|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|access-date=2008-02-27}} or, imprecisely, as "The Crabble",{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_conf/1935692.stm|title=Dover 1–1 Morecambe |publisher=BBC|access-date=2008-02-16|date=2002-04-20|quote=The hosts, already relegated, showed plenty of spirit and enjoyed the majority of possession in an entertaining encounter at The Crabble.}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/football-league/slade-enraged-by-dover-defeat-119725.html|title=Slade enraged by Dover defeat |work=The Independent|access-date=2008-02-16|date=2003-02-21|quote=Dover entertain Forest Green Rovers at The Crabble in the fifth round of the Trophy. | location=London | first=Rupert | last=Metcalf}} forms part of a larger council-owned complex,{{cite web|url=http://www.dover.gov.uk/Leisure-Culture-Tourism/Leisure-Facilities/Parks--Open-Spaces/CrabbleAthleticGround,Dover.aspx|title=Crabble Athletic Ground, Dover |publisher=Dover District Council|access-date=2008-02-04}} and the earlier Dover club originally shared the lower pitch with a rugby club, but moved to the upper pitch in the 1950s, adding a grandstand in 1951, followed soon after by terracing and floodlights.

Dover Athletic continued to make improvements to the ground, although not in time to allow the club to take its place in the Football Conference in 1990. Subsequently, new turnstiles were installed and two new terraces and a second grandstand added. These improvements meant that the club was able to gain promotion after its second Southern League title in 1993. The stadium's modern capacity is 5,745{{cite web|url=https://www.southendunited.co.uk/news/2019/november/dover-big-preview/|title=Big Preview: Dover Athletic vs Southend United|publisher=Southend United F.C.|date=2019-11-08|access-date=2020-01-04}}

In 2007 the club announced that under the new sponsorship deal with SeaFrance, the stadium would be known officially as the SeaFrance Crabble Stadium, but a year later it was announced that the deal would not be renewed due to the ferry operator's financial constraints.{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=1105|title=Sponsor cutback hits Whites |publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|date=2008-05-27|access-date=2008-06-05}} On 1 July 2008 local car dealership Perry's was announced as the club's new main sponsor and the stadium rebranded as the Perry's Crabble Stadium,{{cite web|url=http://doverathletic.com/index.php?p=news&id=1125|title=Whites in the fast lane|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|access-date=2008-07-02|date=2008-07-01}} an arrangement which lasted until 2012. Between 2003 and 2004 it was known as the Hoverspeed Stadium under the terms of another such agreement.{{cite web|url=http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=10104|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601005830/http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/news/index.php?newsmode=FULL&nid=10104|archive-date=2012-06-01|title=New sponsorship deal for Dover brings new ground name |publisher=Non League Daily|date=2003-07-05|url-status=usurped|access-date=2008-02-14}} Margate played their home matches at Crabble for two seasons from 2002 until 2004, while their own Hartsdown Park ground was being redeveloped.{{cite web|url=http://www.margatefchistory.co.uk/clubhistory.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610231319/http://www.margatefchistory.co.uk/clubhistory.htm|archive-date=2010-06-10|title=The History of Margate Football Club |website=Margate FC History|access-date=2008-02-04}} The stadium had further development in 2016, when a new family stand was built.{{cite web|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/sport/stand-delivered-115886/|title=Dover Athletic to open new Family Stand at Crabble|work=Kent Online|first=Alex|last=Hoad|date=18 November 2016|access-date=4 January 2020}}

In the club's early days Athletic struggled to attract crowds of over 150, but by the time the club reached the Conference, crowds at Crabble were averaging around 1,000.{{cite web| url = http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=1999

| title = Stats 1999/2000: Dover Athletic| access-date = 2008-02-04| publisher = ConfGuide.com

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050506041318/http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=1999 |archive-date=2005-05-06}}{{cite web

| url = http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=2000| title = Stats 2000/1: Dover Athletic| access-date = 2008-02-04| publisher = ConfGuide.com

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050503235730/http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=2000 |archive-date=2005-05-03}}{{cite web

| url = http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=2001| title = Stats 2001/2: Dover Athletic| access-date = 2008-02-04| publisher = ConfGuide.com

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050428102637/http://www.confguide.com/stats.do?tab=attendances&club=dove&season=2001 |archive-date=2005-04-28}} After the club's relegation to the Isthmian League Division One South, the average attendance fell to just over 800,{{cite web|url=http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/archive06-07/il1satt.htm|title=Attendances: Isthmian League Division One South|publisher=Tony's English Football Site|access-date=2008-05-21}} but when the club returned to the Premier Division for the 2008–09 season, the average attendance at Crabble was 1,293, the highest in the division.{{cite web|url=http://www.tonykempster.co.uk/il1satt.htm|title=Attendances: Isthmian League Division One South|publisher=Tony's English Football Site|access-date=2009-05-30}} The highest home attendance in the club's history was 5,645 for the match against Crystal Palace in the third round of the FA Cup on 4 January 2015. Although Athletic's improved monetary position means that the Supporters' Trust is no longer required to financially support the club, it remains active as a fundraising organisation.{{cite web| url = http://doverathletic.com/dast/SPdastNews.php?id=620| publisher = Dover Athletic Supporters' Trust| author = Paul Harrison| access-date = 2008-02-07| title = Trust Statement| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080212123810/http://www.doverathletic.com/dast/SPdastNews.php?id=620| archive-date = 12 February 2008| df = dmy-all}}

Dover Athletic's highest finish in the English football league system was in the 2015–16 season, in which the team finished in fifth place in the National League, the highest level of non-League football and the fifth level overall. The Whites have made 13 appearances in the final qualifying round of the FA Cup, but have only progressed to the first round proper three times. In the 2010–11 season, Dover reached the third round for the first time, defeating Football League Two teams Gillingham and Aldershot Town in the first two rounds before losing to Huddersfield Town of Football League One. In the 1997–98 season the Whites reached the semi-finals of the FA Trophy but missed out on an appearance at Wembley, losing to Cheltenham Town. The largest number of points the team has accrued is 104 in the 2008–09 season, and the highest total number of goals scored in a season is 89, scored in 40 matches in the 1985–86 season. The team's biggest ever win was an 8–0 defeat of East Preston in September 2009,{{cite web|url=http://www.doverathletic.com/index.php?p=matchreport&date=2009-09-26|title=Record win sends Dover through|publisher=Dover Athletic F.C.|first=Kevin|last=Harris|date=2009-09-26|access-date=2009-09-28}} and the heaviest defeat was by six goals when they lost 7–1 to Poole Town in April 1984{{cite web|url=http://www.soccerbase.com/team_records.sd?teamid=804|title=Dover Athletic all-time records|publisher=Soccerbase|access-date=2008-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526081044/http://www.soccerbase.com/team_records.sd?teamid=804|archive-date=26 May 2008|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}} and 6–0 to Grimsby Town in October 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58688136|title=Grimsby Town 6–0 Dover Athletic|publisher=BBC Sport|date=2 October 2021|access-date=8 November 2021}}

The holder of the record for most appearances for Dover Athletic is Jason Bartlett, who played in 539 matches, and the all-time top goalscorer is Lennie Lee, with 160 goals.{{cite web|url=http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/teams/guidetoground.php?team_id=4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601005758/http://www.nonleaguedaily.com/teams/guidetoground.php?team_id=4|archive-date=2012-06-01|title=Dover Athletic|publisher=Non-League Daily|url-status=usurped|access-date=2008-02-02}} The club's record signing is Dave Leworthy, who joined the club from Farnborough Town in 1993 for £50,000, which at the time was the highest transfer fee ever paid between non-league clubs.{{cite web|url=http://www.portsmouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=92886|title=He played them both – Spurs: David Leworthy|publisher=Vital Football|access-date=2008-02-02|archive-date=25 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125084351/http://www.portsmouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/sitepage.asp?a=92886|url-status=dead}} The highest confirmed fee received by the club was also £50,000, paid by Brentford in 1997 for Ricky Reina.

• Best FA Cup performance: Third round, 2010–11, 2014–15
• Best FA Trophy performance: Semi-finals, 1997–98

{{updated|13 October 2024|{{cite web |title=First Team Squad |url=https://doverathletic.com/list/first-team-squad-2024-25/ |publisher=Dover Athletic F.C. |access-date=13 October 2024}}}}

{{fs start}}

{{fs player|no=1|nat=ENG|pos=GK|name=Mitch Walker}}

{{fs player|no=2|nat=GRN|pos=DF|name=Roman Charles-Cook}}

{{fs player|no=3|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Fuad Sesay}}

{{fs player|no=4|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Jeremiah Gyebi}}

{{fs player|no=5|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Joe Tennent}}

{{fs player|no=6|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Luca Cocoracchio}}

{{fs player|no=7|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Luke Baptiste}}

{{fs player|no=8|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Alfie Matthews}}

{{fs player|no=9|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Eniye Amgbaduba}}

{{fs player|no=10|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=George Nikaj}}

{{fs player|no=11|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Lindell Stewart}}

{{fs mid}}

{{fs player|no=12|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Matty Holness}}

{{fs player|no=14|nat=POR|pos=FW|name=Ruben Soares-Junior}}

{{fs player|no=15|nat=ENG|pos=DF|name=Tamas Amgbaduba}}

{{fs player|no=16|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Harrison Pont}}

{{fs player|no=17|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Archie Hatcher}}

{{fs player|no=18|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=Henry Young}}

{{fs player|no=19|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Jayden Silcott-Brown}}

{{fs player|no=21|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Keiron Agbebi}}

{{fs player|no=22|nat=LCA|pos=MF|name=Kieran Monlouis}}

{{fs player|no=23|nat=ENG|pos=MF|name=George Wilkinson}}

{{fs player|no=24|nat=ENG|pos=FW|name=Francis Mampolo}}

{{Fs end}}

{{further|:Category:Dover Athletic F.C. players}}

Alan Jones was the first manager of Dover Athletic. Chris Kinnear's first stint as manager was the longest in the club's history. The shortest stay was that of Ian Hendon, who was announced as manager on 28 May 2010 and resigned only 18 days later to join Andy Hessenthaler at Gillingham.

File:AndyHess2009.jpg was appointed manager of Dover in 2007, and again in 2018.|alt=A blond-haired man in his 40s, wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts, stands near the edge of a football pitch.]]

File:DoverChamps09.jpg championship trophy in 2009|alt=Two men in white football shirts and black shorts receive a silver trophy from an elderly man in a dark blazer. More players look on, as do several more men in blazers and a crowd of spectators of all ages. Several photographers are taking pictures of the presentation.]]source:{{Cite news|url=http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/sport/dover-v-welling-124894/|title=Cup joy for Whites|work=Kent Online|access-date=2017-12-06|language=en-GB}}

• Conference South (level 6)
• Play-off winners: 2014
• Southern League Premier Division (level 6)
• Champions: 1989–90, 1992–93
• Southern League Southern Division (level 7)
• Champions: 1987–88
• Isthmian League Premier Division (level 7)
• Champions: 2008–09
• Isthmian League Division One South (level 8)
• Champions: 2007–08
• Kent Senior Cup
• Winners: 1990–91, 2016–17

Dover Athletic's main rivalry is with nearby Folkestone Invicta.{{cite web|url=http://www.kentishfootball.co.uk/drmartens/premier/dover/folkestone280305.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715003355/http://www.kentishfootball.co.uk/drmartens/premier/dover/folkestone280305.html |archive-date= 15 July 2014 |title=Dryden breaks Invicta record and Dover's hearts |access-date=6 February 2008 |date=28 March 2005 |publisher=kentishfootball.co.uk |quote=In the post-match press conference, Folkestone Invicta boss Neil Cugley was delighted with their victory over their local rivals.

}} A meeting between the two teams in 2024 was watched by a crowd of 2,906, a record attendance for a league match at Invicta's ground, with the two league games being watched by more than a combined 5,400 spectators in the 7th tier of English football.{{cite web |date=14 November 2024 |title=Football Web Pages |url=https://www.footballwebpages.co.uk/folkestone-invicta/attendances |access-date=14 November 2024 |website=Football Web Pages}} The club also has a rivalry with Margate.{{cite web

| url = http://www.margate-fc.com/history.php

| title = History/Honours

| access-date = 2008-02-04

| publisher = Margate F.C.|quote=... with the highest single attendance being just under 4,000 for the Boxing Day game against local rivals Dover Athletic.

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071212003702/http://www.margate-fc.com/history.php |archive-date = 2007-12-12}} In the 2001–02 season, when both teams were in the Football Conference, the two games between Margate and Dover were watched by a combined total of more than 6,000 spectators. The game played at Margate's Hartsdown Park stadium drew a crowd of 3,676, and 2,325 watched the game at Dover.{{cite web

| url = http://www.confguide.com/fixtures.do?club=marg&season=2001

| title = Fixtures 2001/2 : Margate

| access-date = 2008-01-08

| publisher = Confguide.com

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070408213221/http://www.confguide.com/fixtures.do?club=marg&season=2001 |archive-date = 2007-04-08}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|Dover Athletic FC.ogg|date=2008-06-03}}

• {{official website|http://www.doverathletic.com}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726151039/http://dafctv.1066-media.com/ DAFCtv website] (archived)

{{Isthmian League}}

{{featured article}}

Category:Football clubs in Kent

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