Wikipedia

AFC Whyteleafe

AFC Whyteleafe is an English football club established in 2021 by Chairman Kelly Waters. From the 2026/27 season the club will compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division, having won the South East Division play-off final in the 2025/26 season,[1] and will play its home matches at Flamingo Park, sharing with Cray Wanderers FC.[2]

AFC Whyteleafe
Full nameAFC Whyteleafe
Nickname'Leafe
Founded2021
GroundFlamingo Park
Capacity2,500
ChairmanKelly Waters
ManagerEnnio Gonnella
LeagueIsthmian League Premier Division
2025–26Isthmian League South East Division, 4th of 22 (promoted via play-offs)
Websitehttp://www.afcwhyteleafe.com

History

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AFC Whyteleafe was formed in 2021 by Kelly Waters, replacing another club, Whyteleafe FC, which folded shortly before. Waters had hoped to purchase the Church Road premises before it was sold to Irama Sports in February 2021,[3] but he discovered the auction a week too late and the sale to Irama went through. Following the withdrawal of Whyteleafe FC from the Isthmian League, and inspired by the story of AFC Wimbledon,[4] AFC Whyteleafe was born.

The new club was granted a position in the Surrey South Eastern Combination League[5] for the 2021/22 season, having formed a merge of registration with Balham FC B Team.[6] This still left the club with less than one month to build a squad from scratch, ready for their debut match on 4 September 2021 at home to Earlsfield 2018.[7]

A crucial part of the successful formation of the club was securing a ground. Church Road was the preferred choice and a four-year deal was reached with Irama to play there.[8]

Following a successful first season, AFC Whyteleafe joined up with Whyteleafe Youth FC ahead of the 2022/23 season to form one AFC Whyteleafe comprising a men's first team and over 30 Youth teams from U7 to U18.

In May 2022, the club was admitted into the Southern Counties East League Division One which sits at Step 6 in the National League System.[9] The club achieved a respectable 8th-place finish[10] in their debut season at Step 6. The following season saw Whyteleafe promoted as champions.[11]

The 2024–25 season saw AFC Whyteleafe crowned champions of the Combined Counties Premier Division South. Despite being third heading into the final day of the season, points deductions for both Jersey Bulls and Redhill saw the club finish top of the league, promoted to the Isthmian League South East Division.[12] The club also made a historic appearance at Wembley in the 2025 FA Vase Final, losing 2–1 to Whitstable Town after extra time.[13]

The 2025–26 season saw the club achieve a third successive promotion, defeating AFC Croydon Athletic on penalties to win the Isthmian South East Division play-offs.[14]

Ground

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Church Road, the club's home ground

After formation, AFC Whyteleafe played their home games at Church Road, Whyteleafe, Surrey, CR3 0AR.

The site of Church Road was formerly farmland, and the farm's existing buildings were converted into the clubhouse and dressing rooms. Whyteleafe FC originally planned to add a running track and cricket pitch to the complex, but these plans were abandoned. Floodlights were added in the early 1980s and a new main stand added in 1999 for the club's first round FA Cup match against Chester City, which saw a record attendance of 2,164. Some of the turnstiles added at the ground were purchased from Stoke City's Victoria Ground after they moved to the Britannia Stadium in 1997.

In June 2021, following the purchase of the ground by Singapore-based company Irama, Whyteleafe FC left Church Road due to no agreement being reached with Irama for a new lease with the club.[15]

In August 2021 the new club, AFC Whyteleafe, was formed under new management and a 4-year agreement was reached to play at Church Road.

Following promotion to Step 3 of the National League System, the club announced a ground-sharing agreement with Cray Wanderers (also Step 3) to play home matches during the 2026–27 season at Wanderers' Flamingo Park ground in Chislehurst, Bromley. Church Road would continue to be used for training and youth teams matches.[2]

Committee

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In the summer of 2025, having gone up 4 levels in 4 years, a management committee was formed to assist the Chairman with the higher demands of step 4 football.

Name Role
Kelly Waters Chairman
Niall Maguire Club Secretary
Will Blundell-Moseley Finance
James Lacey Commercial
Gillian Bullen Match Day
Kieron Horn Welfare Officer

Management/Coaching Staff

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For the first 4 years the team was managed by owner/manager Kelly Waters. After winning back to back titles and making a historic appearance at Wembley in the FA Vase final, Kelly handed over the reigns. The current management team is as follows:

Name Role
Ennio Gonnella First Team Manager
Kelly Waters Assistant Manager
Nathan White First Team Coach
Danny Rose Goalkeeping Coach
Wayne Bullen Assistant Coach
Milvin Boadi Analyst
Lydia Passera-Hughes Physio

Squad

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As of Apr 2026

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  SVK Slavomir Huk
21 GK  ENG Rocco Yiasemides
2 CM  ENG Helge Orome (captain)
4 CM  JAM Anthony Grant
5 CB  ENG Aaron Goode
6 CB  ENG Corey Holder
7 CM  ENG Daniel Bennett
8 CM  ENG Jordan Johnson-Palmer
9 CM  ENG Moses Emmanuel
10 FW  ENG Mason Saunders-Henry
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 FW  ENG Palace Francis
12 CM  ENG Kershaney Samuels
13 FB  ENG Alton Leeward
14 CM  ENG Mannie Mensah
15 FB  ENG Jamie Mascoll
16 FW  ENG Eniola Hassan
17 FB  ENG Hani Hechachena
19 FB  ENG Frankie Moralee
22 FB  MSR Craig Braham-Barrett
23 FW  ENG Ryan Gondoh

Honours

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Records

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(Competitive matches only)

Men's first team:

  • Best League Performance: 4th - Isthmian League South East Division (2025/26)
  • Best FA Cup Performance: First Qualifying Round (2025/26)
  • Best FA Vase Performance: Runners-up (2024/25)
  • Best FA Trophy Performance: First Qualifying Round (2025/26)
  • Record Home Attendance:
  • Biggest Wins:
  • Biggest Defeat:
  • Highest Scoring Match:
  • Top 5 All-time club appearances (competitive games only, as at 3 May 2026):
    • Helge Orome - 149
    • Alton Leeward - 140
    • Daniel Bennett - 101
    • Corey Holder - 98 (joint 4th)
    • Aaron Goode - 98 (joint 4th)
    • Aaron Watson - 98 (joint 4th)
  • Top 5 All-time club Goalscorers (competitive games only, as at 3 May 2026):
    • Aaron Watson - 57
    • Daniel Bennett - 43
    • Ryan Gondoh - 38
    • Gus Ward - 32
    • Helge Orome - 31
  • Most Goals by a Player in a Season: Aaron Watson - 32 (2023/24)
  • Most League Goals by a Player in a Season: Aaron Watson - 25 (2023/24)
  • Most Goals in a Single Match:
  • Competitive Results Summary by Season:
    • 2021/22 Played 29, W21, D2, L6 (Win% 72.4%)
    • 2022/23 Played 38, W15, D11, L12 (Win% 39.5%)
    • 2023/24 Played 45, W28, D7, L10 (Win% 62.2%)
    • 2024/25 Played 54, W43, D2, L9 (Win% 79.6%)
    • 2025/26 Played 55, W34, D8, L13 (Win% 61.8%)

References

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  1. ↑ "The Pitching In Isthmian League". Pitching In Isthmian League. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Club Statement: The Next Chapter". AFC Whyteleafe. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 8 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ↑ "Singapore-based firm buys up Whyteleafe's football ground". Inside Croydon. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "The story of AFC Wimbledon". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Intermediate Division 1: League Table". Surrey South Eastern Combination League (Football.Mitoo). 25 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "B TEAM". Balham FC. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  7. ↑ "AFC Whyteleafe kick-off thinking 'the impossible could happen'". Inside Croydon. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "Phoenix club AFC Whyteleafe secure four-year deal to play at Church Road". SurreyLive. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "National League System club allocations – steps 5/6, season 2022–23" (.pdf). The Football Association. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Southern Counties East Football League Division One Table 2022/23". The FA. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "AFC Whyteleafe confirmed as First Division Champions!". www.scefl.com. 23 April 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  12. ↑ "Non-league team win title after finishing third". BBC Sport. 22 May 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Whitstable beat Whyteleafe to win FA Vase". BBC Sport. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "All hail Huk the Final hero- again". www.isthmian.co.uk. 2 May 2026. Retrieved 2 May 2026.
  15. ↑ "WFC withdrawn from league". Whyteleafe FC. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.

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