Leafe move to Flamingo Park

We left AFC Whyteleafe on Friday night celebrating promotion, and yesterday we discovered that they'll be starting their first top flight season at a new ground, sharing with Cray Wanderers at Flamingo Park.

Leafe released a detailed statement explaining their decision to relocate, and you can read it below:

'Our story has been incredible. Now we find ourselves at step 3, only five short years after starting at step 8. 

Our meteoric rise on the pitch unfortunately means we have outgrown our historic home at Church Road. In order for the club to survive and continue to thrive, we need to move to a ground more suitable for the level we will be playing at. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We understand how much it means to the community. But unfortunately, for now, we have to move to keep going until such a time as it’s possible to move back. 

Next season we will continue to train at Church Road and all our Youth teams will continue at Church Road. However our first team will play our matches at Flamingo Park, the home of Cray Wanderers. It’s a beautiful ground with everything we need for step 3 football. Supporters will enjoy a modern 2,500 capacity stadium, featuring a brand new 299 seat stand and a dedicated fan zone with a giant screen showing premier league matches. Our players will enjoy a brand new 3G pitch, one that will allow us to showcase the playing style we’ve all come to know as the Whyteleafe Way. 

The Whyteleafe story is not over, but we need you with us, now more than ever! Back in 2021, the old club folded and AFC Whyteleafe was formed. No-one expected what has happened since. And now, to continue this remarkable story, we need your help. We need the Leafe army to come out in force, just as you did for our historic appearance at Wembley and our sensational performance in the playoff final at Croydon. It’s imperative for the Club’s survival. 

If there is sufficient demand, we will arrange subsidised supporter travel to every home game. We ALL want football in Whyteleafe and we hope we can return to Whyteleafe when possible. In the meantime, we will make ourselves at home at Flamingo Park and see how far we can take our story. 

We understand our supporters will feel frustrated or disappointed. We want to offer all our fans a chance to air their views and ask questions. We will do this on Leafe Radio on Saturday 9th May at 5pm, where the hosts can take your questions on the chat. Enzo will also attend, so we can talk about football as well as the ground. 

We are so grateful for all the support we have received over the last 5 years. We have tried everything in our power to keep first team football in Whyteleafe. And we will do everything in our power to bring it back as soon as it’s possible. We’re in this together. Let’s make the next chapter another exciting one. We would like to thank Gary Hilman and Cray Wanderers for supporting us in our time of need.'

Kelly- Chairman