Brantham Athletic Football Club, nicknamed “The Blue Imps,” is a non-league football club based in Manningtree, Essex.
Established in 1887, they currently compete in the Pitching In Isthmian League North Division, which is part of the eighth tier of English football. The team calls Brantham Leisure Centre their home ground.
The side began as a factory team at the Recreation Ground, playing its first match in January 1888 and winning the return fixture in March. Its players worked at the adjacent British Xylonite factory, which supported the Athletic Association’s formation. A founding Ipswich & District League member, it won Division Two in 1898 and claimed further league titles in 1913–14.
After World War I it rejoined the Ipswich & District League and alternated between the Essex & Suffolk Border and Harwich & District leagues. It reached the Suffolk Senior Cup final in 1925 and won in 1927. After World War II it won the Border League Cup in 1948–49 and the Senior Cup in 1959–60, securing four Border League championships in the 1970s.
Admitted to the Eastern Counties League in 1978, the club achieved its highest league finish of fourth and reached the FA Vase fifth round in 1982–83, then won the Suffolk Premier Cup in 1983–84. After relegations and a merger as Brantham & Stutton United, it reclaimed its name and, following further promotions, returned to the Eastern Counties League Premier Division in 2010. Recent expansions include women’s, under-23 and development sides.