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 in the 1970's and complementing this with a third and fourth
team at either end of the 80's.
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 them a place in the 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 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 now run it as Seasons Business and Conference Centre. Although the football club was
given a very expensive years 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 maintain 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 in its first three years at its
new home. 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.
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
