THE success of Finningham Football Club is charted in a book about sport in the village.

The book, titled ‘An Imprecise Account of the History of Sport in Finningham’, has been written by Peter Everall, who has lived in the village since 1972.

Although the book contains tales of other sports in Finningham, which is situated near Stowmarket, it is largely based on the village’s football team.

Cricket, cycle speedway, rifle shooting, tennis and quoits are all covered, but it is the success of Finningham FC, who are pictured on the front cover (above) in a photograph taken around 1960, that dominates the pages.

The earliest records of Finningham FC date back to the mid-1920s, but the team in the 1960s lays claim to arguably being the finest ever Junior Suffolk Club.

After losing in the final of the Suffolk Primary Cup in the 1960-61 season, from 1963-64 onwards Finningham won the Suffolk Junior Cup in five seasons out of the next six!

This was in addition to being runners-up in both the 1961-62 and 1969-70 seasons as well as a host of league and league KO cup victories.

The team became known as Finningham Flyers FC from 1996 until 2015 when the club folded.

The book contains numerous team photographs and newspaper cuttings as well as charts and league tables recalling the team’s history.

Author Peter Everall said: “For me, the story starts with Alan Rice’s collection of photos and cuttings about Finningham Football Club and a subsequent talk he gave the local history group.

“I thought at the time that all this information should be collected together and published, which is what I’ve done here. All I’ve done is compile information.

“All the content comes from the memories of players, families and followers not just of football but the other sports that featured in Finningham’s history.”

The books are priced at £8 if collected or delivered in and around Finningham or £11 including postage.

They are available on a first come, first served basis and the next reorder will be the last, although there may be a delay of two or three months for the reprint to be available.