History

Colne Valley Football Club was established in the summer of 2004 having originally been the senior team of Acorn Raiders Youth FC since 2001. The club has grown from an under 12s team that played it's first competitive game in September 1995 under the banner of Raiders United Youth FC. At the end of the 2000/01 season, the decision to step up to men's football was taken and life in the Olympian Sunday Football League began. Playing as an independent subsidiary of Acorn Raiders Youth FC, the team struggled to adapt to adult football and ended their first season without a point to their name, but with an influx of new signings, they came back (to most people's surprise) the following season. The next two seasons saw a continual improvement with respectable mid-table standings and a Ken Simmons Memorial Cup semi-final place in 2004. Club Secretary, Matthew Day collected the Olympian Sunday Football League Best Club Secretary award and a place on the League's Management Committee and was joined by Team Manager, Mark Bunn soon after. At the end of the 2003/04 season, the Club's management felt that the time was right after three seasons at adult level, to seek independence from Acorn Raiders Youth as they had outgrown the youth club. At the same time, the Olympian Sunday Football League restructured the divisions and the Club found themselves promoted to the First Division. With a new look management team and a re-built squad including two players from the original under 12 team, Colne Valley's path to the Premier Division had begun that would see them end the 2004/05 season as Division One runners-up and a second consecutive semi-final appearance, this time in the Chairman's Cup. Success was not only reserved to the pitch. In February 2005, Colne Valley FC became only the third adult club in Hertfordshire to be awarded the FA Charter Standard, the Football Association's benchmark for quality and best practice that sets standards for coaching and administration. During the summer of 2005, following on from the success of the previous season, the club formed a second team, Colne Valley Blues and were placed under the management of Damian Owens. The Blues had a creditable mid-table finish in Division Two, whilst the Valley side followed on from their promotion with a fourth place finish in the Premier Division.