Fisher Athletic  

Fisher Athletic are a club with ambitions of playing in the Football league though the origins of the club are slightly more humble.   

Formed in 1908 the club provided sport for the underprivileged children of Bermondsey in London’s East End.  Though they hailed from the heart of London’s docklands Fisher Athletic take their name from Saint John Fisher, a Catholic martyr who has given his name to many educational and spiritual organisations throughout the country. 

Fisher moved away from their original home playing in a succession of district leagues with little in the way of major honours until the London Intermediate Cup was won in 1959/60 swiftly followed by the Surrey Intermediate Cup in 1962.   

But, the pressure of little on-field success and being forced to play away from traditional home contributed to the club folding in 1965.  Almost immediately the club reformed and joined the West Kent League though the intention was always to return home to Bermondsey.   

This became a step closer in the mid-1970s when the club were elected to the London Spartan League and was a precursor to the clubs golden age of the 1980s.   

1982 not only saw Fisher Athletic win their second successive London Spartan League championship but they also retuned to the East End of London to play in the brand new purpose built Surrey Docks Stadium.   

The excellent facilities at the new ground enabled Fisher Athletic to successfully apply for promotion to the Southern League; winning the Southern Division Championship at the first attempt.   

After a couple of close finishes the Southern League was won in 1986/87 with Fisher earning promotion to the Football Conference to complete their remarkable rise up the Pyramid.   

The memorable 1980s, which also saw plenty of success in both local and national cup competitions, gave way to the unhappy 1990s in which the club struggled with back-to-back relegations seeing the club drop to the Southern Division of the Southern League. 

Since then Fisher have revitalised themselves with the last few seasons bringing great success despite the club having to ground-share with Dulwich Hamlet whilst the Surrey Docks Stadium is redeveloped.   

Successive promotions via the play-offs now see Fisher playing their football in the Blue Square South.  Progress on the pitch together with a realistic timetable for returning to their East London home ground leaves Fisher supporters with plenty of optimism for the future.