Littlehampton Town Football Club, nicknamed “The Marigolds,” is a non-league football club based in Littlehampton, West Sussex.
Established in 1896, they currently compete in the Pitching In Isthmian League South Central Division, which is part of the eighth tier of English football. The team calls The Sportsfield their home ground.
Local football has been recorded since 1891, first at Selborne Road before The Sportsfield became the site in the early 1900s, still its ground. Teams originally wore dark green as the ‘Greenbacks’, switching to blue in 1911. After joining the Sussex County League in 1928 they won their debut 5-1 and collected the RUR Charity and Sussex Senior Cups in 1949.
Terry Gill’s side adopted gold in 1953, earning the ‘Marigolds’ tag, and lifted the Sussex Senior Cup in 1970. After eight runners-up finishes they captured the Division 1 title in 1991, sealed by a draw at Peacehaven before 1,400 fans. The same campaign featured an FA Cup first-round tie with Northampton Town, a run to the FA Vase semi-final and the Sussex League Challenge Cup.
Relegated in 1995, the club returned in 1997, dropped again in 2003 and 2008, and under Mark Bennett won Division 2 in 2013 and Division 1 in 2015. Bennett’s departure saw George Gaskin become manager; after another relegation they reunited in 2018. Unbeaten when COVID-19 halted 2019-20, promotion arrived on points-per-game in 2021. A treble followed in 2022 alongside a Wembley FA Vase final, before finishing 12th in the Isthmian South East in 2023.