Dover Athletic F.C.

Dover Athletic F.C. was formed in 1983 after the town's previous club, Dover, folded due to its debts. The new club took Dover's place in the Southern League Southern Division, with former Dover player Alan Jones as manager and a team consisting mainly of reserve players from the old club. Initially Athletic struggled, finishing second from bottom of the table in the 1984–85 season. In November 1985 Steve McRae, who had succeeded Jones a year earlier, was sacked and replaced by Chris Kinnear.

Under Kinnear the club's fortunes turned round, with two top-five finishes followed by the Southern Division championship, and with it promotion, in the 1987–88 season. The team started strongly in the Premier Division, finishing in sixth place at the first attempt, and then winning the championship in the 1989–90 season. The club was denied promotion to the Football Conference, however, as the Crabble Athletic Ground did not meet the standard required for that league. After finishing fourth and second in the subsequent two seasons, Dover won the title again in the 1992–93 season and this time were admitted to the Conference. Although Dover finished in eighth place in their first season in the Conference, the following season saw the club struggling against relegation, and Kinnear was dismissed due to a combination of the team's poor performances and his own personal problems. John Ryan was appointed as the club's new manager, but his reign was a short one and he was dismissed when the…

source: Conference South (level 6) Play-off winners: 2014 Southern League Premier Division (level 6) Champions: 1989–90, 1992–93 Southern League Southern Division (level 7) Champions: 1987–88 Isthmian League Premier Division (level 7) Champions: 2008–09 Play-off winners: 2024–25 Isthmian League Division One South (level 8) Champions: 2007–08 Kent Senior Cup Winners: 1990–91, 2016–17