Club History
Star FC was established
as Eagle Star FC in 1965, when the then parent company moved out of London to set up its new Headquarters in Cheltenham.
The club began life playing at The Burrows playing fields in Leckhampton until it
became part of the new Eagle Star Sports & Social Club, which was built at Quat Goose Lane in Swindon Village at the end
of the sixties. It actually joined the Cheltenham League midway through the 1965-66 season when, along with Telehoist
Reserves, it helped to bring the numbers of the hitherto understrength Seventh Division up to 11. The club's
first competitive match was played on Saturday, November 13th, 1965, at home to Cheltenham Saracens, a game that was won 2-1.
Following this excellent start, progress through the ranks of the Cheltenham League was steady, if unspectacular, for
the next 30 years, as the club expanded, incepting a reserve side following its first promotion in 1967 and complementing
this with a third team in 1979 and a fourth team 10 years later.
It was in the mid 1990's that the club
really started to make its mark, however, with the 1st team winning the Cheltenham League in 1995, to gain admittance into
the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League, and then achieving promotion from Division Two at the first attempt the year after.
The following 3 seasons were spent in the First Division of the NSL, in which the club attained 5th place in season 1997-98, when just 5 more points would have won
the club a place in the Gloucestershire County League. Whilst all this was going on, the rest of the club was enjoying
its own successes too. The second team went close to capturing the GFA County Intermediate Cup, losing in the final,
whilst the fourth team won Stroud League Division 6.
Soon, however, the club returned to the Cheltenham League,
as leaner times on the pitch coincided with a period of fundamental change, both for the parent company and for the Football
Club. As a result of these changes, Eagle Star was merged with Zurich Insurance and the Eagle Star Sports & Social
Club was leased to the Union of Finance Staff, who started to run it as Seasons Business and Conference Centre.
Although the football club was given a very expensive year's grace, at the end of the 2003-2004 season it was obliged
to find itself somewhere else to play after 34 years at Quat Goose Lane. With all ties to its origins now being severed,
the club changed its name to Star FC and set up home at the brand new Sports grounds in Bishops Cleeve, a move that allowed
it to both continue its use of high quality facilities and, also, to aim, once more, to regain its place in the Northern
Senior League.
Reborn, the club reaped the benefits of the revitalisation afforded by its new lease of life at
its new home immediately. Firstly, in 2004/05, the club's second team lead the way as they were promoted at the
same time as also reaching the semi finals of the County Intermediate Cup.
A year later, in 05/06, the first team earned the club its place back in the Northern
Senior League by becoming Cheltenham League Champions for the second time in the club's history.
This was immediately followed
up with yet another promotion as the 1st Team secured the Northern Senior League Division Two Runners Up spot on the
final day of the 2006-07 season after another fine campaign, which also saw the Reserve side gain its highest ever
finishing position - 5th in Division Two of the Cheltenham League.
Season 2007-08 was, ultimately, frustrating
as both the Reserve team and the Third team finished in third place in their respective divisions, a position that had been
good enough to bring promotion in every other season this century but which saw both of our teams miss out. The first
team established themselves in Division One of the Northern Senior League, however, and consolidated this position in 2008-09
with a highly creditable 7th place finish. The main plaudits went to the Reserves, however, who secured promotion to
Division One of the Cheltenham League for the first time ever as they took the runners-up spot in Division Two.
Season 2009-10 was a landmark year for the club. The First team finished
7th in Division One of the Northern Senior League for the second season in a row and, by so doing, guaranteed that the
team would retain both its status as a Northern Senior League club and its position in the League's top Division for longer
than previously in the 1990's. In the Cheltenham League, the Reserves lead the way in Division One before finishing
in 8th position, their highest ever placing and one that exceeded the finish achieved by the first team just 7 years before,
whilst the third team retained their place in Division Four for the first time in 13 years.
Please go to the "Club Honours" page for listings of the club's achievements since 1965, or select the
links at the top of this page for full season-by-season details of the Club's current three sides or the Club's
officers since 1984
