Grays Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Grays, Essex, England. It is currently a member of the . The team play at Chadfields in nearby Tilbury.

History

The club was established as Grays Juniors in 1890, before merging with former Southern League club Grays United to form Grays Athletic. The newly formed club joined the Grays & District League, later joining Division Two B of the South Essex League in 1908. It was runner-up in its first season in the division and won it in its second season, earning promotion to Division One for the 1909–10 season. The club was a founder member of the Athenian League in 1912, but that league closed down in 1914 due to the First World War, and Grays transferred to the Premier Division (Amateur) of the London League. They won the division in their first season, with the reserves also winning Division One. they returned to the London League in 1926. The return was a success as the club were Premier Division champions in 1926–27 and runners-up in the next two seasons, before winning the title again in 1929–30. After finishing as runners-up in 1930–31, the club spent most of the 1930s in mid-table,

After the Second World War, Grays was a founder member of the Corinthian League, and was that league's inaugural champion and League Cup winner in 1945–46. They were league runners-up in 1951–52, and the following season saw them qualify for the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 5–0 at home to Llanelli. They also reached the second round of the FA Cup, beating York City 3–0 at Bootham Crescent before losing 3–0 at Mansfield Town, as well as retaining the FA Trophy with a 2–0 win over Woking in the final. They went on to finish bottom of the Premier Division in the 2016–17 and were relegated back to the (renamed) North Division. In 2022–23 the club finished fifth in the North Division, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3–2 to AFC Sudbury in the semi-finals.

Season-by-season

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center

!Season

!Division

!Position

!Top league goalscorer

!Notes

|-

|2003–04||Isthmian League Premier Division||6/24||Freddy Eastwood, 28||

|- style="background: #90EE90;"

|2004–05||Conference South||1/22||Leroy Griffiths, 19||Champions, promoted

|-

|2005–06||Conference National||3/22||Michael Kightly, 15||

|-

|2006–07||Conference National||19/24||Aaron McLean, 13||

|-

|2007–08||Conference National||10/24||Danny Kedwell, 13||

|-

|2008–09||Conference National||19/24||Andy Pugh, 7||

|- style="background:#fcc;"

|2009–10||Conference National||23/23||Jamie Slabber, 4||Relegated

|-

|2010–11||Isthmian League Division One North||10/21||Alex Osborn, 17||

|-

|2011–12||Isthmian League Division One North||5/22||Joao Carlos, 10||Lost in the play-off semi-finals

|- style="background: #90EE90;"

|2012–13||Isthmian League Division One North||1/22||Jack West, 17||Champions, promoted

|-

|2013–14||Isthmian League Premier Division||14/24||Joao Carlos, 20||

|-

|2014–15||Isthmian League Premier Division||6/24||Freddie Ladapo, 14||

|-

|2015–16||Isthmian League Premier Division||15/24||Dumebi Dumaka, 19||

|- style="background:#fcc;"

|2016–17||Isthmian League Premier Division||24/24||Kieran Bishop, 12||Relegated

|-

|2017–18||Isthmian League North Division||16/24||Kieran Bishop, 24||

|-

|2018–19||Isthmian League North Division||7/20||Mitch Hahn, 9||

|-

|2019–20||Isthmian League North Division||—||Joao Carlos, 14||Season abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic

|-

|2020–21||Isthmian League North Division||—||Joseph Agunbiade, 2||Season abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic

|-

|2021–22||Isthmian League North Division||6/20||Anointed Chukwu, 16||

|-

|2022–23||Isthmian League North Division||5/20||Sam Bantick, 19||Lost in the play-off semi-finals

|-

|2023–24||Isthmian League North Division||16/20||Charlie Stimson, 15||

|-

|2024–25||Isthmian League North Division||9/22||Alejandro Machado, 12||

|-

|2025-26

|Isthmian League North Division

|18/22

|Oscar Shelvey - 5

|

|}

Ground

The club initially played at the Hoppit Ground in Little Thurrock. In 1906 they moved to the New Recreation Ground, playing there until 2010. After the ground was sold to developers, the club groundshared with East Thurrock United at their Rookery Hill ground in Corringham.

During the 2012–13 season the club played at Rush Green Stadium in Rush Green, sharing the ground with West Ham United's reserves who played in the Professional Development League. The following season, West Ham pulled out of the deal in June and Grays moved to Aveley's Mill Field ground. When Aveley moved to Parkside in 2017, Grays became tenants at the new ground. In February 2023 Grays announced the club would be groundsharing at Tilbury for the 2023–24 season.

In 2024 the club obtained ownership of Ship Lane, the former home of Thurrock, stating they hoped to be playing at the new ground in the 2025–26 season. However, they have since revised their target to the 2026–27 season, and talks are currently on-going to extend their groundshare agreement with Tilbury FC.

Honours

  • FA Trophy
  • Winners 2004–05, 2005–06
  • Football Conference
  • Conference South champions 2004–05
  • Isthmian League
  • Division Two South champions 1984–85
  • Division One North champions 2012–13
  • League Cup winners: 1991–92
  • London League
  • Premier Division champions 1921–22, 1926–27, 1929–30
  • Premier Division (Amateur) champions 1914–15
  • Challenge Cup winners 1936–37
  • Corinthian League
  • Champions 1945–46
  • League Cup winners 1945–46
  • South Essex League
  • Division Two B champions 1908–09
  • Essex Senior Cup
  • Winners 1914–15, 1920–21, 1922–23, 1944–45, 1956–57, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1994–95
  • Biggest defeat: 0–12 vs Enfield, Athenian League, 20 April 1963