Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. The club compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system.
Founded in 1946 from the merger between Gravesend United and Northfleet United, they were known as Gravesend & Northfleet until changing to their current name in 2007.
Between 2008 and 2013, the club was 75% owned by the web-based venture MyFootballClub whose members, by majority vote, decided on how the club was managed. In May 2013, KEH Sports Ltd, a group of Kuwaiti investors, became owners of the club. In August 2026, the club announced John O'Leary as its new owner during a month-long suspension by the National League.
History 1946–2007: Gravesend & Northfleet Gravesend & Northfleet F.C. was formed in 1946 by a merger between Gravesend United (originally formed in 1893) and Northfleet United (originally formed in 1890). The new club retained the red and white home colours and the Stonebridge Road stadium of Northfleet United.
The club were elected to the Southern League for the 1946–47 season and, in the inaugural season, reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, losing to fellow Southern League club Gillingham. The club reached the first round of the FA cup again in 1949–50, before being defeated by Torquay United of the Football League Third Division South. For eight seasons, the club recorded mid-table finishes in the single division Southern League (a highest of fifth in 1947 and a lowest of twenty-first in 1952) until finishing bottom of the division over the 1954–55 season. During that period, "The Fleet" twice won the Kent Senior Cup: in 1949 they defeated Gillingham 2–0 in a twice-replayed final and, in 1953, were victors 2–1 over Dartford.
Following the dismal record over the previous season, in the summer of 1955 the club appointed ex-Arsenal and England player Lionel Smith as manager, their seventh manager in ten seasons. He remained in charge for five seasons until resigning in 1960. Three seasons into Smith's tenure, Gravesend & Northfleet were the 1957–58 Southern League Champions. During the following season, the league operated two parallel regional divisions and, by achieving a second-placed finish in the South-East Division, the club earned a position in the league's newly formed Premier Division for the 1959–60 season.
For three seasons, the club recorded lowly finishing positions in the division before being relegated to the Southern League Division One after the 1962–63 season. In 1961 and 1962, whilst still members of the Premier Division, the club applied for election to the Football League Fourth Division but failed to receive a single vote on each occasion. In the relegation season, "The Fleet" achieved their longest-ever FA Cup run in the 1962–63 season competition: after beating League Division Four strugglers Exeter City, and then mid-table Isthmian League club Wycombe Wanderers at Stonebridge Road in the first two rounds, in the third round the club won away at Carlisle United of the Football League Third Division before they were knocked out in a fourth round replay at leading Football League Second Division club Sunderland – that was the first of a sequence of four seasons of appearing in the proper rounds of the FA cup. The subsequent three were: in 1963–64 losing in the second round to Brentford of the Third Division, in the following season losing in the first round to another Third Division club Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, and then beaten in the first round by Wimbledon of the Southern League.
Shortly after the relegation, the club was rocked by a financial crisis which saw an exodus of key players in October 1963 and, in April 1964, the supporters club made key donations to avert the threat of the club folding. In the 1963–64 season, "The Fleet" slumped to twentieth position (from twenty-two clubs) of the Southern League Division One, and recorded similar lowly finishes over the following six seasons. During that spell, in November 1968, the club appointed Alf Ackerman as manager. In 1970, in the final season of the six-season run, the club won the Kent Floodlit Cup, defeating Margate 2–1 in a final replay, having shared six goals over the initial two-legged final tie. In 1971, the club achieved a third-place finish in Division One and were promoted back to the Southern League Premier Division. During the period between 1969 and 1971, Roy Hodgson, who later became manager of the national teams of Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and England, was a player at the club, making 59 appearances.
The club's return to the Premier Division for the 1971–72 season was unsatisfactory: they recorded all-time lows of five matches won and thirty goals scored. They finished at the foot of the table and were duly relegated into the now-regional Southern League Division One South. In February 1974, Ackerman quit as manager, citing lack of funds, and was replaced as manager by former player Tony Sitford. Fifteen months later, under Sitford, Gravesend & Northfleet were the 1974–75 Division One South champions and were again promoted to the Premier Division. Three seasons later, in 1978, "The Fleet" won the Southern League Cup defeating Weymouth 2–0 over a two-legged final. The club appeared in the first round of the FA Cup for each of the three seasons between 1978 and 1980, being defeated in the first two occasions by members of the Football League Fourth Division and previous cup conquerors: Wimbledon in an away replay in 1978 and in the following 1979–80 competition by Torquay United; and in 1980 defeated at home by non-league Isthmian League Division One St Albans City.
There was a reorganisation of Non-league football in 1979 and Gravesend & Northfleet were one of thirteen clubs from the Southern League Premier Division who together with seven clubs from the Northern Premier League were founder members of the countrywide Alliance Premier League. After a disappointing first half of the 1980–81 season, with the club in lower mid-table, manager Sitford was sacked in December 1980 and replaced by former Gillingham and Wimbledon defender Dave Galvin. 'The Fleet' not only maintained their league status that season but also won the 1981 Kent Senior Cup defeating Ashford Town 2–0 in the final. However, after the following 1981–82 campaign, in which Galvin resigned mid-season they were relegated back into the Southern League Premier Division
In the autumn of 1982, the club again reported financial losses and made cutbacks, the club manager of nine months Stan Harland and the chairman of the board both resigned. In 1988 there was a further crisis: the club was £58,000 in debt and close to financial collapse; the situation was alleviated when club landlords and local employer Blue Circle Industries intervened with a five-year deal worth £90,000. During the fifteen seasons between 1982 and 1997 Gravesend & Northfleet bounced between the Premier and South Divisions of the Southern League: there were relegations in both 1986 and 1992 (the club should have been relegated in 1991 however they were spared as Rushden Town were demoted owing to ground problems); these were followed by two promotions, firstly in 1989 under manager Denis Moore and then in 1994 led by manager Garry Aldous. There were two notable FA Cup runs during the period: in the 1993–94 season the club were defeated 2–1 at Football League Second Division club Leyton Orient; two seasons later in the 1995–96 competition after triumphing at home over newly restored Division Three club Colchester United and then Southern League South Division members Cinderford Town in a replay, 'the Fleet' played their highest ever ranked FA Cup opponent when they were beaten in the third round 3–0 by Premier League members Aston Villa, a tie in which the club ceded home advantage to maximise its revenue.
For the 1997–98 season, Gravesend & Northfleet left the Southern League and switched to what they believed to be the more geographically suitable Isthmian League Premier Division. After a poor start to the season, in September 1997 the club appointed their third manager in just over a year when they replaced player-manager Steve Lovell with their former youth team and assistant manager and ex-Gillingham forward Andy Ford. Under him 'the Fleet' played in the Isthmian League until 2001–02, the season in which they won the league championship and earned promotion into the Football Conference (formerly named the Alliance Premier League). That promotion season was the third of consecutive season wins in the Kent Senior Cup (the club's forerunner Northfleet United had achieved this and more, recording five consecutive wins in the 1920s): in the 1999–2000 final Folkestone Invicta were defeated 3–0; Dover Athletic were defeated 4–0 in the 2000–01 final; and beating Margate 5–0 in the 2001–02 final completed the trio of wins. There were too three consecutive seasons of appearing in the proper rounds of the FA Cup facing Football League Second Division clubs: on two occasions the club were defeated by Notts County, in round one in the 2000–01 season and in round two in the 2002–03 competition; in the intervening 2001–02 season they were defeated by Huddersfield Town in a round one tie.
In 2005, there was a change of manager: Andy Ford resigned in January 2005 and was replaced the following month by former Cambridge United, Birmingham City and Coventry City defender Liam Daish. A club player milestone occurred on 28 September 2005 when veteran Jimmy Jackson, who first played for 'the Fleet' in 1994, recorded his 500th game for the clubJackson hits Gravesend landmark BBC Sport 28 September 2005
For the remaining seasons that the club was known as Gravesend & Northfleet it maintained its position in the Football Conference, the leading non-league competition. In May 2007 the club renamed itself Ebbsfleet United (cited as being for strategic reasons associated with the growth of the region and the establishment of Ebbsfleet Station as an international gateway).
2007–present: Ebbsfleet United 2007–2013: MyFootballClub ownership
Shortly after the name change to Ebbsfleet United, on 13 November 2007 website community MyFootballClub (MyFC) agreed to take control of Ebbsfleet United. MyFC had 28,250 members (each paying a subscription of £35) and paid £625,000 to purchase a 75% stake in the club with each member owning an equal share in the club on which no profit nor dividend was earned. Between 16 and 23 January 2008, a majority of MyFC members voted to both proceed with the takeover (95.89% voting "Yes") and to allow Liam Daish to continue with his plans for the January transfer window (95.86% voting "Yes"). The deal was ratified at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club's board on 19 February 2008. Members had a vote on all major club decisions including transfers and player selection. Because of the nature of MyFC, Liam Daish, who had been titled manager since 2005, became instead the first team head coach – his backroom staff remained at the club.
Success quickly followed. On 10 May 2008 Ebbsfleet United won the FA Trophy, defeating now non-league Torquay United 1–0 in the final, a match watched by 40,000 spectators on the club's first trip to Wembley – becoming the first Kentish team to win this trophy. A couple of months later 'the Fleet' added further silverware when, in a delayed final played on 26 July 2008, they won the 2007–08 Kent Senior Cup with a 4–0 victory over Cray Wanderers. During the following 2008–09 FA Cup competition the club featured once again in the first round, losing 1–0 away at EFL League One club Crewe Alexandra.