Chesterfield Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. The team, known as the Spireites after the town's Crooked Spire, competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system, after winning the 2023–24 National League title.
Chesterfield play their home games at the 10,600 capacity SMH Group Stadium, having moved from their historic home of Saltergate during the summer of 2010. Notable former players include record appearance holder Dave Blakey, who played in 617 of Chesterfield's league games, and record goalscorer Ernie Moss, who scored 162 league goals for the club. The club contests numerous local rivalries, most notably The Miners Strike Derby with Nottinghamshire club Mansfield Town.
Chesterfield FC was officially established in 1867, but it was the third incarnation of the club, formed in 1891 that turned professional and adopted the name Chesterfield Town. The club entered the FA Cup for the first time the following year, and competed in the Sheffield & District League and Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup, before joining the Midland League in 1896–97. A third-place finish in 1898–99 resulted in a successful application to the Football League Second Division for the following season. After ten seasons in the Second Division, they failed to gain re-election to the League and returned to the Midland League in 1909 where they were champions in 1909–10. The club entered liquidation in 1915, and were reformed as Chesterfield Municipal in April 1919. They again rejoined the Midland League and finished as champions in 1919–20.
The club was renamed Chesterfield FC in December 1920, and became founder members of the Third Division North in 1921–22. They marked their tenth season in the division, 1930–31, by winning the title, though they only managed two seasons in the Second Division before suffering relegation. They again won the Third Division North title in 1935–36, and after World War II recorded their best ever league finish of fourth in the Second Division in 1946–47. However they were relegated again in 1950–51, and were relegated out of the Third Division in 1960–61. Chesterfield won the Fourth Division in 1969–70, and then won the Anglo-Scottish Cup in 1980. After relegation in 1982–83, they again won the Fourth Division title in 1984–85, though would again be relegated after five seasons in the third tier. They secured their return to the third tier with a 2–0 win over Bury in the 1995 play-off final at Wembley.
Chesterfield reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1997, but were relegated back to the fourth tier in 1999–2000. They made an immediate return to the third tier after securing an automatic promotion place in 2000–01. Relegated in 2006–07, they secured the League Two title in 2010–11, but were relegated from League One the following season. In 2011, Dave Allen took full ownership of the club and oversaw progress to two League Trophy finals; Chesterfield won the trophy with a 2–0 victory over Swindon Town in 2012, and finished as runners-up after losing 3–1 to Peterborough United in 2014. Chesterfield were crowned champions of League Two for a record fourth time in 2013–14, but remained in League One for just three seasons. Back-to-back relegations saw the club relegated out of the English Football League at the end of the 2017–18 season, before returning to League Two after winning the National League title in the 2023–24 season.
Contents
History
Potentially five or more teams have been called Chesterfield Football Club at different times. A Derbyshire Times newspaper report from 2 January 1864 noted a scheduled game between "Chesterfield and Norton football clubs", suggesting that a Chesterfield FC, whether loosely or formally organised, was active from at least 1863.
A second Chesterfield FC was formally created as an offshoot of Chesterfield Cricket Club in October 1867.
The cricket and football clubs moved to the Recreation Ground at Saltergate in 1871, the same year that they became separate entities. However, a souring of the relationship between the two led to the closure of the football club in 1881, when it found itself homeless. Many players joined other local sides, notably Chesterfield Livingstone, a club that took up using the Saltergate site, and Spital, a works team which competed in the early years of the FA Cup.
Three years later, in 1884, a third entity called Chesterfield Football Club was formed, again making its home at Saltergate. It drew in players from the preceding club and both Chesterfield Livingstone and Chesterfield Spital, though records show Spital continued as a separate club until 1888. After changing its name to Chesterfield Town, the club turned professional in 1891 and won several local trophies in the following two seasons, entering the FA Cup for the first time in 1892. For the 1892–93 season, the club wore an extraordinary playing strip of all dark blue with the Union Jack emblazoned across the front of the shirt. Chesterfield joined the Midland League in 1896, and successfully applied for a place in the Second Division of the Football League at the start of the 1899–1900 season, finishing seventh. After finishing bottom of the League for three consecutive seasons, the club failed to gain re-election to the League in 1909, returning to the Midland League.
In 1915 Chesterfield Town was put into voluntary liquidation and a new club with the same name was formed by a local restaurateur to play wartime football using locally based "guests" from Football League clubs. It lasted only two years before its management and players were suspended by the FA for illegal payments and the club shut down.
The current Chesterfield FC was formed on 24 April 1919 by Chesterfield Borough Council, seeing it as a way to spearhead improvements in local recreational provision. Initially called "Chesterfield Municipal", the club made great strides on the pitch in its first season, lifting the Midland League title – and did so despite three changes of management. However, The Football Association and the Football League had already made clear their vehement opposition to a council-run club and ultimately forced it to cut its ties and become independent, reflected in a name change to Chesterfield FC in December 1920.
Kit manufacturers and sponsors
Table of kit suppliers and sponsors:
Stadium
Chesterfield's historic ground was Saltergate, officially named the Recreation Ground, which was in use from 1872 to 2010. Saltergate's record attendance was 30,561, which was set when Chesterfield hosted Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup fifth round in February 1938.
Since the 2010–11 season, Chesterfield have played their home games at the £13 million B2net Stadium. The first match was against Derby County in a pre-season friendly, which Derby won 5–4, Craig Davies becoming the first goalscorer at the stadium. The first competitive fixture was against Barnet, which ended in a 2–1 win after Dwayne Mattis scored the opening League goal at the ground in the first half. Chesterfield suffered their first home league defeat at the B2net Stadium with a 2–1 loss to Burton Albion on 13 November 2010.
On 13 August 2012, it was announced that, after the acquisition of b2net by Proact, the stadium would be renamed the Proact Stadium.
On 15 May 2020, it was announced that, from August, the stadium would be renamed the Technique Stadium after local education provider Technique acquired the naming rights.
In 2023, the stadium was renamed the SMH Group Stadium after new sponsors, financial services company SMH group, acquired naming rights for a minimum of three years.
The highest attendance at the SMH group stadium was 10,108 at home in their last match of the 2023–24 National League season against Maidenhead United which Chesterfield won 3–2.
Rivalries
Chesterfield's geographical position means that the club has many local rivals.
Chesterfield compete in The Miners Strike Derby against Nottinghamshire club Mansfield Town. The derby originated due to the 1984-85 Miners' Strike, with those in Derbyshire largely striking, while those in Nottinghamshire did not, leading to the latter being referred to as 'scabs'. The last fixture between the sides endes with a 2–0 win for Mansfield at the SMH Group Stadium.
Chesterfield also have rivalries with nearby South Yorkshire clubs Rotherham United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United. The rivalries with Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday both came to the fore with the two playing in League One at periods in the 2010s. The Spireites have encountered United much more in recent years, continuing to meet in the third level of English football until 2017.
A slight rivalry with Grimsby Town intensified with a number of feisty encounters over the years.
Players
Current squad
As of 5 September 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Retired numbers
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Club officials
Management and backroom staff
As of 7 December 2022
Managerial history
Source:
Honours
Source:
League
Third Division North (level 3)
Champions: 1930–31, 1935–36
Fourth Division / Third Division / League Two (level 4)
Champions: 1969–70, 1984–85, 2010–11, 2013–14
Promoted: 2000–01
Play-off winners: 1995
National League (level 5)
Champions: 2023–24
Midland League
Champions: 1909–10, 1919–20
Cup
Football League Trophy
Winners: 2011–12
Runners-up: 2013–14
Anglo-Scottish Cup
Winners: 1980–81
Derbyshire Senior Cup
Winners (7): 1898–99, 1920–21, 1921–22, 1924–25, 1932–33, 1936–37, 2017–18
Notes
Derbyshire Senior Cup is competed for by all registered Derbyshire FA clubs. Until season 2010–11, Chesterfield and Derby County did not enter teams and in turn competed in their own competition called the Derbyshire FA Centenary Cup. Both Chesterfield and Derby County have fielded reserve sides in the Derbyshire Senior Cup since season 2010–11.