HISTORY IN THE MAKING

BRIGHTON BANDITS FC first came together in 1997 when a group of members of the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) decided to put together a scratch five-a-side team (the Brighton Belle-endes) and enter the GFSN National Five-a-Side Tournament in Blackpool. Despite having never played together before they finished in a respectable mid-table position in the tournament.

From these humble beginnings, players started to meet for regular training on Sunday mornings on Hove Lawns. The group attracted shirt sponsorship from the Amsterdam Hotel and, in 2002, a grant from The Scarman Trust. This allowed the newly named BRIGHTON BANDITS to train on proper pitches, fund training courses and broaden publicity. Further funding towards the running costs of the club from Brighton Pride followed in 2004 and GScene Magazine became the club's Media Sponsor in 2008.

Today, the Bandits are one of the strongest of the GFSN regional teams and hope to become even stronger through further training and the introduction of new players. They entered the GFSN National League for the first time in 2003, finishing third overall.

The Bandits have now won the GFSN Bristol Five-a-Side Tournament three times, the GFSN Leicester Six-a-Side Tournament once and were crowned National Five-a-Side Champions in Blackpool in 2004. Most recently, they won the GFSN National League in 2006, winning 1-0 away to Village Manchester to clinch the title.

We hope you've enjoyed reading about the history of BRIGHTON BANDITS FC... we'll keep on writing it! If you want to know more, then follow this link to our Constitution.