Parley F.C.

The Parley Sports Club was formed in 1949 by a group of ex-National servicemen and their fathers who decided there was a need to establish a sports club in their community.^[2] Football and cricket teams were subsequently formed and entered into local competitions.

After moving to their newly-opened sports complex in 1960, the football team enjoyed great success. Two years later they were promoted to the Dorset Combination (now known as the Dorset Premier League) ^[3] and proceeded to be champions and league cup winners five years running, as well as winning the Bournemouth Senior Cup.^[4]

The seventies and eighties saw Parley remain a dominant force within the competition, regularly challenging for silverware - winning the title a further five times, the League Cup four times and both the Dorset Senior and Bournemouth Senior Cups twice.^[5] Their twelve league championships is a competition record. ^[6] However, by the mid-nineties their fortunes gradually declined and they left the competition in 2000.^[7]

After a spell of rebuilding in the Bournemouth League, Parley returned to the Dorset Premier League in 2009,^[8] where they became a steady midtable side. ^[9] There was cup glory in 2017 when they defeated Holt United 2-1 in the final of the Dorset Trophy, but two years later they were made homeless after the lease was terminated. Consequently, this resulted in the team moving to neighbours Bournemouth Sports - retaining their status under their identity.^[10]

By 2021, a new lease had been agreed with the Sports Ground receiving a much needed revamp thanks to various grants and efforts by local volunteers and the council. A new football team was subsequently formed as Parley F.C. and joined the Dorset League.^[11] They won the Division 2 title at the first attempt and have since risen to the Senior Division.

• Dorset Premier League
  • Champions 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1979–80, 1983–84 and 1984–85. Runners-up 1967–68, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1998–99
  • League Cup Winners 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1976–77 and 1985–86. Finalists 1966–69, 1972–73, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1986–87, 1991–92 and 1998–99
• Dorset League
  • Division 2 Champions 2021–22
• Bournemouth League
  • Division 1 Champions
  • Division 2 Champions
• Dorset Football Association
  • Senior Cup Winners 1972–73 and 1973–74
  • Trophy Winners 2016–17 ^[12]
• Bournemouth Football Association
  • Senior Cup Winners 1964–65, 1971–72 and 1972–73 ^[13]

Parley Sports play at Parley Community Hub, Christchurch Road, West Parley.^[14] Owned by West Parley Parish Council, the 8-acre site is shared between the football, cricket,^[15] and pétanque sections of the Sports Club. The clubhouse was officially opened in 1961 by cricket commentator John Arlott,^[16] and is due to be refurbished.^[17]

Former Parley players include prolific striker Terry Mitchell, who broke all goal-scoring records during the late sixties and seventies,^[18] and goalkeeper David Best, who was player-manager in the early eighties after a long professional career with AFC Bournemouth, Oldham Athletic, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth.^[19]