Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club, nicknamed “The Knights,” is a non-league football club based in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire.
Established in 1970, they currently compete in the uhlsport UCL Premier Division North, which is part of the ninth tier of English football. The team calls NFU Sports Ground their home ground.
History
Founded in 1948, Ashby Ivanhoe Football Club plays at the NFU Sports Ground in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, a venue they acquired in 2021. The club fields two adult teams: the first team in the United Counties League Premier Division North and the Knights in the Everards Brewery Senior League Premier Division. Their youth system is extensive, comprising forty teams in various leagues for the 2023/24 season, including a soccer school and development school led by Rob Avins and Joe Poyser.
Achieving FA Charter Standard status in 2004, Ashby Ivanhoe had a standout 2010/11 season, winning the Leicestershire Senior League and the Coalville Charity Cup, and reaching the Leicestershire Senior Cup finals in subsequent years. They secured promotion to the East Midlands Counties League in 2013/14, with the reserves also advancing. The club made its first FA Cup appearance in the 2016-17 season, reaching the 1st Qualifying Round.
In recent years, the club was reconstituted as a Community Interest Club and purchased their ground. The 2022/23 season, coinciding with the club’s 75th anniversary, was highly successful, with the first team achieving their highest league position and securing promotion to Step 5. The Knights also excelled, winning their league and a trophy, highlighting a period of significant growth and achievement for the club.
Alumni
Former players and managers elsewhere in the non-league pyramid