Boston United Football Club, nicknamed “The Pilgrims,” is a non-league football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Established in 1933, they currently compete in the Enterprise National League, which is part of the fifth tier of English football. The team calls Jakemans Community Stadium their home ground.
Football has been staged on the York Street site since the 1880s, with a first FA Cup entry in 1887. Boston Town and Boston Swifts merged after the First World War, joined the Midland League in 1921 and famously beat Bradford Park Avenue in 1925. Liquidation in 1933 prompted supporters to form a successor side at Shodfriars Lane, soon adopting black shirts.
Ernest Malkinson joined the board in 1934 and his family were involved for decades. Freddy Tunstall became Boston United player-manager in 1936, and Ray Middleton’s 1955-56 team beat Derby County 6-1 and finished Midland League runners-up. Subsequent moves yielded titles in the United Counties, West Midlands and four Northern Premier seasons, but a failed ground inspection in 1977 denied election to the Football League and triggered York Street’s rebuilding.
Alliance Premier League founder members in 1979, the club reached the 1985 FA Trophy final and fell to step three in 1993. Promotion to the Football League arrived in 2002, but penalties caused demotions by 2008. New owners steadied matters; a return to Conference North came in 2010, relocation to the Quadrant Community Stadium in 2020, and re-entry to the National League was sealed through the 2024 play-offs.
Boston United Football Club Limited is a registered company in England and Wales