Petersfield Town FC was founded in 1993 with Peter De-Sisto as chairman and former Tottenham and England defender Gary Stevens as manager – but football in the town has a much longer history.

The presence of an official town football club in Petersfield dates back to the foundation of Petersfield FC in 1889, when it is listed in the Hampshire FA handbook along with teams as far apart as Christchurch, Cowes, Bournemouth, Fordingbridge and Winchester.

The club’s ground was listed as The Heath and its colours were red and black. The first captain was T Caparn, with George Underdown as secretary.

Among the team’s fixtures in the 1889-90 season was a friendly at home against Alton. The Alton visitors were beaten ‘’by 12 goals to love’’. Matchday travel would have been mostly by train, with occasional use of horse and brake.

In 1891-92 the latter part of the season was affected by a widespread influenza epidemic. In an away game against Havant they were forced to field several reserves as members of the first team were unable to play because of influenza, and lost 7-2. It was reported in the local press: “Petersfield representatives were somewhat handicapped as they took to the field with five men absent, for whom substitutes had to be provided on the ground.”

During the late 1800s the popularity of football continued to increase, and in the 1899-1900 season a second Petersfield team is mentioned in the Southern Daily Mail, the Petersfield Dragons. They listed friendly fixtures with opponents such as Hambledon and Alton Butts, while Petersfield FC’s opposition included Girdletone and Charter House.

In 1908 Petersfield FC – now known as Petersfield Town – and the Dragons joined forces to promote an Easter Monday football tournament. The event made a profit of £7, of which five guineas went to Petersfield Cottage Hospital and the balance to Petersfield’s Victoria Brass Band, which had ‘’rendered much appreciated services on the day of the tournament’’.

In 1909 Petersfield Town sought fixtures for Thursdays and Saturdays from naval and other teams. In the Portsmouth Junior Cup Round 1, the Town were drawn against Havant Rovers, while the Dragons were paired with another Petersfield team whose history is not known, Petersfield Wanderers.

Easter 1910 saw the third of Petersfield’s successful football tournaments. The tournament was played at the Love Lane ground. Nineteen teams competed in matches starting just after 10am and continuing until 6.30pm.

The winners were the 3rd Hants Rifle Brigade, who defeated Petersfield Town’s B side on points, by 46-4, in the final. In tournaments of this time it was usual for a goal to count as four points, with one point for a corner. Once again the Victoria Brass Band, conducted by A Stacey, provided musical entertainment that “enlivened” the proceedings.

The Easter Monday tournaments and other joint undertakings showed a clear coming together of the Dragons and Petersfield Town. Discussions in the summer of 1910 saw them merge to form Petersfield United.

In 1993 United were refused permission to switch from the Isthmian League to the Wessex League and as a result disbanded after more than 100 years of existence. Out of the ashes rose the current Petersfield Town.