 The local success of a junior football side, Chatham Excelsior F.C., encouraged a group of businessmen to meet at the Napier Arms pub on 18 May 1893, with a view to creating a football club that could compete in larger competitions. To do this, the club required an enclosed playing area where an admission fee could be charged, which Excelsior lacked. New Brompton F.C. was formed at the meeting, incorporating a number of Excelsior players. The gentlemen also purchased the plot of land which would later become Priestfield Stadium, where a pitch was quickly laid and a pavilion constructed. New Brompton's first team played their first match on 2 September 1893, with the new team, sporting Excelsior's black and white stripes, being defeated 1 – 5 by Woolwich Arsenal's reserve team in front of a crowd of 2,000. As a "curtain-raiser" immediately prior to this match, New Brompton's own reserves played a match against Grays, which was therefore technically the first match played by a team representing the club.
