Our Story
From grassroots beginnings to National League North, five decades of football at the heart of Market Harborough.
Chapter 1
A works team, a junior side and a clubhouse on the site of today's ground.
1970 to 1991The roots of today’s club include Spencers United, the works team of Spencer & Sons of Market Harborough, which competed in local leagues during the 1970s. The senior side would later join forces with Harborough Town Juniors and Harborough Minis, bringing generations of local football together and creating a pathway from children’s football into the senior game.
Harborough Town Juniors was formed at the start of the 1975/76 season, providing organised football for young people in Market Harborough. Initially playing at Symington’s, the club established the junior football roots from which today’s Harborough Town would grow. Community involvement and opportunities for local players were central to the story from the beginning.
Matches moved to the new Market Harborough leisure facility on Northampton Road, beginning an association with the area that continues today. The move was an important early step towards establishing a permanent home for the town’s growing football community.
Harborough Town Juniors opened its clubhouse on the site of the present ground, giving players, coaches and families a home of their own. Developed over the years into the clubhouse and changing facilities, the building became a focal point for the club and its activities beyond the pitch.
Chapter 2
Three clubs, one vision, and a route from children's football into the senior game.
Early 2000s to 2007
The formation of Harborough Minis opened the door to football for younger children, adding another important part of the town’s grassroots provision. During the same period, the Spencers senior side adopted the Harborough name. The foundations were now in place to bring the different age groups together under one club.
Harborough Town Juniors, Harborough Minis and Harborough Town Spencers merged to form the present Harborough Town FC. The ambition was to create one club serving the Market Harborough community, with opportunities across ages and abilities. Crucially, the merger also gave young players a route into senior football without having to leave the club.
Chapter 3
From Northamptonshire Combination Division One to the United Counties League Premier Division.
2007/08 to 2013/14The newly merged club took over Harborough Town Spencers’ place in Northamptonshire Combination Division One and quickly made its mark. A second-place finish secured promotion to the Premier Division, providing an immediate reward for the work that had brought the three clubs together.
Under manager Andy ‘Stan’ Wilson, the Bees won the Northamptonshire Combination Premier Division. The championship earned a move into United Counties League Division One for 2010/11, taking Harborough Town beyond local combination football and into the next stage of its development.
After a difficult first United Counties League campaign, the Bees responded with a runners-up finish in Division One. Promotion brought Premier Division football to Harborough for 2012/13, beginning a lengthy spell at Step 5 that would provide the platform for the club’s later rise.
Harborough Town entered the FA Cup for the first time and marked the occasion with a 2–1 victory over Teversal in the Extra Preliminary Round. The journey ended against Mickleover Sports in the next round, but the club had taken its first steps in a competition that would later deliver unforgettable memories.
Chapter 4
Years of work by trustees, volunteers and partners.
2018
An £800,000 redevelopment transformed the main ground, with a new artificial playing surface and improvements around the stadium. Officially opened on 1 November, with Sir Trevor Brooking attending and a fixture against an FA Representative XI marking the occasion, the project represented years of work by trustees, volunteers and partners. It strengthened the Beehive’s role as a home for both senior and community football.
Chapter 5
Three promotions under Mitch Austin.
2020 to 2026The football pyramid
The Football League
Non-league
County and local leagues
2026/27
The first season in National League North, level 6 of the pyramid. The champions of this league go up to the National League, and the Football League is the step after that. That is where the Bees could go, not where they will.
The Bees are here now
24 clubs in each of two regional divisions. The Bees are in National League North.
The champions go up to the National League. A second place is decided by play-offs for the teams finishing 2nd to 7th.
2026/27, their first season here.
Levels follow the English football league system. Steps 1 to 6 are the FA's numbering for non-league football, with Step 1 the National League. The pyramid carries on below level 12 into local leagues.
Mitch Austin was appointed manager in October 2020, arriving from St Ives Town, where he had been assistant manager. His ambition matched the club’s determination to progress, and his appointment proved a turning point. Over the seasons that followed, the Bees would climb from Step 5 to Step 2.
The Bees won the United Counties League Premier Division South title with an outstanding 102 points, scoring 119 goals and conceding just 20. Promotion to the Northern Premier League Midlands Division secured Step 4 football for the first time. The silverware continued with the United Counties League Champions Cup and the Hinchingbrooke Cup, completing a remarkable campaign.
Harborough adapted well to their first season at Step 4, finishing eighth in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. There was further success elsewhere in the club as Tony Sansome guided the Reserves to the United Counties League Reserve Division title, underlining the strength developing beyond the first team.
The Bees secured promotion to Step 3 after a memorable play-off campaign. A penalty shoot-out victory over Hinckley Leicester Road set up a final away at Anstey Nomads, where goals from Kai Tonge and Luis Rose delivered a 2–0 win. Celebrations followed as Harborough earned a place in the Southern League Premier Central Division, reaching another new level in the club’s history.
A historic FA Cup campaign carried Harborough into the First Round Proper for the first time. A 4–1 victory at Tonbridge Angels then earned a Second Round trip to League One Reading. The Bees twice led and later forced extra time before eventually losing 5–3, producing a performance that brought enormous pride to the club and introduced Harborough Town to a much wider audience.
Alongside the FA Cup adventure, the Bees enjoyed an impressive first Southern League Premier Central campaign. A fifth-place finish secured a play-off place, with the season ending in a penalty shoot-out defeat at Kettering Town after a goalless semi-final. Harborough had shown they could compete towards the top of Step 3 at the first attempt.
Harborough Town were crowned Southern League Premier Central champions, securing the title with two matches to spare. Promotion to National League North followed, taking the Bees to Step 2 for the first time. Just four years after winning the United Counties League, the club had earned its third promotion under Mitch Austin.
The Bees began their first National League North campaign, opening a new chapter at the highest level in the club’s history. From junior football in 1975 to the national non-league stage, the journey has been shaped by generations of players, coaches, volunteers and supporters, with community football remaining at the heart of Harborough Town.
2026/27
The story is still being written, and every home game adds to it.
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