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Football club to take part in 1000th match

Getty Images General view of the Meadowbank Football Ground, Mill Lane, DorkingGetty Images
Dorking Wanderers Football Club was formed by a group of friends at a park 25 years ago

Dorking Wanderers Football Club will play the 1,000th match in the club's history on Saturday.

The club, which was formed by a group of friends at a park 25 years ago, have experienced 12 promotions in 23 years and currently play in the sixth tier of English football.

They did reach the National League, the top of the non-league system, but they were relegated in the 2023/24 season.

The club's owner and manager Marc White told BBC Radio Surrey: "The club's greatest day was when we won promotion to the National League in the 2021/22 season."

Getty Images Dorking Wanderers manager Marc White during the Vanarama National League match between Hartlepool United and Dorking Wanderers Getty Images
Marc White is the owner and manager of Dorking Wanderers

The club regularly get attendances of 1,500 fans at their home games.

The club played at Brockham Big Field until 2007, and after several promotions it relocated to its current stadium of Meadowbank, in the centre of Dorking.

Mr White said: "It started when me and my mates wanted to play football together.

"We though of a name over a pint, the pub bought us all a kit and we rented a pitch for £50 and since then, it has taken off a bit.

"There has never been a time when I have thought 'I have had enough of this', but I am as keen for the next game of football as I ever have been."

He joked the buck stops with him as the owner and manager and described his position as "luxurious".

Getty Images Alfie Rutherford of Dorking Wanderers celebrates scoring a goal to make the score 3-2 during the Vanarama National League match between Oldham Athletic and Dorking Wanderers at Boundary Park Getty Images
Dorking got promoted to the top of non-league system and played former Premier League side Oldham Athletic in a league match

The club have also built a fanbase online by posting clips of training and snippets of moments from their matches on the Bunch of Amateurs TikTok page.

Mr White added: "It is a unique story and we get a lot of local, national and international support come to watch - we are very privileged and flattered by all the support we get.

"The dream is to be a Football League club - the dream is to be the first club who started at the very bottom of football and turn professional in the football league."

The club's 1,000th match is a home tie against Weston-super-Mare.

After the match, Mr White will retire his "lucky coat" and give it away to a lucky fan.

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