Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club (), often known simply as Dagenham and abbreviated when written to Dag & Red, is a professional association football club based in Dagenham, Greater London, England that play in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They are nicknamed the Daggers and play their home games at Victoria Road which holds a capacity of 6,078.
The club was formed in 1992 through a merger of Dagenham and Redbridge Forest, the latter merged from Ilford, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Avenue. The club's traditional colours are red and blue, to represent the merged teams. The club replaced Redbridge Forest in the Football Conference but were relegated in 1996. They won the Isthmian League title in 1999–2000 and qualified for the next three Conference play-offs, missing out on the 2001–02 title on goal difference and losing the 2003 Conference play-off final. They secured promotion into the Football League after winning the Conference title in the 2006–07 season. They then moved up from League Two after winning the 2010 play-off final, though were relegated the next season after finishing 21st in League One. Dagenham were relegated back into non-League football in 2016. They suffered a further relegation to the National League South in 2024–25.
Contents
History
Formation
Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. was formed in 1992 following a merger between two clubs – Dagenham F.C. and Redbridge Forest F.C.. Both clubs had fallen on hard times due to dwindling attendances. The club can trace back its ancestry to 1881 as Redbridge Forest was an amalgamation of three of the amateur game's most famous clubs, Ilford, Leytonstone and Walthamstow Avenue. Between the clubs they won the FA Trophy once, FA Amateur Cup seven times, Isthmian League 20 times, Athenian League six times, Essex Senior Cup 26 times and London Senior Cup 23 times.
Non-League
Dagenham & Redbridge spent its inaugural season in the Football Conference, taking the place of Redbridge Forest. The club's first fixture after the merger was on 25 July 1992, which was an 8–0 thrashing of Great Wakering Rovers in a friendly. The first competitive result was a 2–0 win over Merthyr Tydfil in the Conference.
Dagenham & Redbridge spent several seasons in the Football Conference but were relegated to the Isthmian League Premier Division in 1996, at that point the 6th tier of English football. They remained in that division until winning promotion in the 1999–2000 season, subsequently cementing themselves as one of the strongest clubs in the Conference, finishing third, second and fifth in its first three seasons back following promotion.
The club was narrowly beaten to the Conference title by Boston United in 2002 on goal difference. Boston United were subsequently found guilty of making illegal payments during the 01/02 season. Dagenham & Redbridge attempted to have itself declared Conference Champions, and therefore take Boston's contentious place in The Football League, however their appeal was unsuccessful and they remained in the Football Conference for the 2002/03 season. A four-point deduction was put in place against Boston United for the following season but not for the season in which the irregularities had been committed.
The Daggers then declined somewhat, finishing the 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 seasons in mid-table. On 27 February 2004 they were hammered 9–0 at home by Hereford United, equalling the record highest winning margin in the Conference.
The 2006–07 season saw Dagenham & Redbridge battle it out with Oxford United for the top of the league spot. Despite Oxford quickly racing to the top, a collapse in Oxford's form combined with an excellent run for the Daggers saw them overtake Oxford in the league. On 7 April, Dagenham & Redbridge beat Aldershot Town 2–1 to mathematically secure the Conference title, meaning the club would play in the Football League for the first time in its short history.
2007–2015: Football League
Dagenham & Redbridge played their first match in the Football League on 11 August 2007, a 1–0 defeat to Stockport County. The club won its first Football League game at home to Lincoln City on 1 September 2007. The Daggers finished the season in 20th place, ensuring a second season of Football League competition. The following season, the Daggers reached their highest position in the English footballing pyramid yet, an 8th place finish in League Two, where they narrowly missed out on the League Two play-offs after losing to Shrewsbury Town at home on the final day of the season.
The 2009–10 season saw the Daggers promoted from League Two to League One via the play-offs. They defeated Rotherham United in a dramatic play-off final at Wembley which ended 3-2 to Dagenham. The Daggers took the lead twice, only to concede moments later on both occasions. Jon Nurse regained the advantage for Dagenham & Redbridge, scoring a scrappy 70th-minute winner. The Daggers’ first game in League One was a 2–0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, which set the scene for the rest of the season, and they finished 21st and were relegated on the last day of the 2010–11 season back to League Two.
Their first season back in League Two resulted in a 19th place finish. Manager John Still left the club during the 2012–13 season to join Luton Town after nine years at the helm. The Daggers would end up finishing 22nd that season, narrowly avoiding relegation back into non-league football by a single spot. Following the club's safety from relegation, Wayne Burnett was appointed as manager on a permanent basis after a spell as caretaker manager. Despite an inconsistent start to the 2013–14 season, Dagenham & Redbridge finished in a respectable ninth place.
However, the club faced a match fixing scandal during the season. Following newspaper reports, an investigation launched by the National Crime Agency jailed two players and businessman, Krishna Ganeshan, Chann Sankaran and Michael Boateng, a Whitehawk player, for match-fixing. Moses Swaibu was similarly charged in January 2014.
They were convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery for a failed plot to fix a game between AFC Wimbledon and Dagenham & Redbridge on 26 November. It is believed that the case may have been part of a wider Singaporean match-fixing syndicate which Europol and other investigations uncovered.
2016–2025: return to non-League
In their first season back in the National League, they ended the season in fourth place; they lost their play-off semi-final to Forest Green Rovers. The 2017–18 season started positively, but after the club was hit by a financial crisis midway through the season, the Daggers finished the campaign in 11th place. The financial crisis was resolved early in the 2018–19 season.
Peter B. Freund of Trinity Sports Holdings purchased controlling interest in the club in 2018. He sold the club in 2024 to Club Underdog, a subsidiary of North Sixth group, who reached an agreement in principle to purchase the club. They became the fifth club owned by the group, joining Italian clubs Campobasso and Ascoli, Swiss club FC Locarno and the newly formed American club Brooklyn FC.
Manager since March 2023, Ben Strevens was sacked in December 2024, after a run of just seven wins from 23 league fixtures left the Daggers five points above the relegation zone. They were ultimately relegated to the National League South on the final day of the 2024–25 season.
On 3 March 2026, British influencer Olajide Olatunji, more commonly known as KSI, purchased a minority stake in the club. He reportedly wants to take the team to the Football League, and eventually to the heights of the Premier League. On 6 March, Variety announced that KSI alongside After Party Studios will be producing a docuseries titled "Race to the Top", chronicling his takeover of the club similarly to Ryan Reynolds' "Welcome to Wrexham."
Current squad
First-team squad
As of 18 August 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.
Team management
Updated 14 August 2026
Club Officials
Board of Directors
Directors: Peter Freund, John Grabowski, Alan Jeyes (Members Director)
Club Administration
Managers
Dagenham & Redbridge have had twelve different managers since their formation in 1992.
Stadium
Dagenham and Redbridge play out of the Chigwell Construction Stadium. Also known as Victoria Road, it has been used for football since 1917. However, it was not fully enclosed until 1955. The pitch was massively upgraded during that summer, including being re-seeded.
In 1956, the main stand (boasting a capacity of 800) was built by JW Bowers. Before this, there was only a small wooden stand. Further improvements were made that summer by adding turnstiles and some toilets.
1958 saw the addition of the cover over the far side of the pitch. Very little happened until 1990, when Redbridge Forest F.C. paid for a new stand to be built. Just two years later, Redbridge and Dagenham merged, and they fixed the perimeter wall and the toilets.
In 2001, a new stand (800 seat capacity) was built. Further upgrades occurred that year, as new turnstiles and floodlights were built. The year of upgrades continued when Bass Brewers PLC pledged £150,000 to build a new stand. It is currently known as the Carling Stand.
Only a couple upgrades have occurred since 2001. The SD Samuels Stand was erected in 2009, seating 1200 fans and housing the dressing rooms. Finally, new floodlights were added in 2012.
The ground has held multiple major matches, including a Women's FA Cup semi-final, multiple UEFA Youth International fixtures, and numerouse West Ham United U23 Premier League 2 games.
Records and statistics
League history
Source:
Club records
Record victory:
Football League – 6–0 vs. Chester City, 9 August 2008; 6–0 vs. Morecambe, 16 May 2010
Football Conference – 8–1 vs. Woking, 19 April 1994
Record defeat:
Football League – 5–0 vs. Peterborough United, 7 May 2011; 5–0 vs Cheltenham Town, 18 February 2012
Football Conference – 9–0 vs. Hereford United, 27 February 2004
Record attendance: 5,949 vs. Ipswich Town, FA Cup third round, 5 January 2001
Record league attendance: 4,791 vs. Shrewsbury Town, League Two, 2 May 2009
Record transfer fee paid: Oliver Hawkins from Hemel Hempstead, undisclosed fee
Record transfer fee received: Dwight Gayle to Peterborough United, £470,000 (2013)
Record appearance holder: Tony Roberts, 507 appearances over 10 years
Record goalscorer: Danny Shipp, 105 goals over nine years
Best FA Cup performance: Fourth round, 2002–03; lost to Norwich City 1–0
Best EFL Cup performance: First round (9), 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
Best EFL Trophy performance: Quarter-finals, 2001–02, 2008–09, 2013–14, 2015–16
Other records
Tony Roberts was the second goalkeeper in the history of the FA Cup to have scored a goal from open play. He netted against Basingstoke Town in October 2001, it was a fourth qualifying round.
First fully capped international whilst playing for Dagenham & Redbridge was Jon Nurse who was capped for Barbados against Dominica in 2008.
The highest ever scoreline in the first leg of a play-off game is now held by Dagenham & Redbridge, they defeated Morecambe 6–0 on 16 May 2010, although they could not build on this afterwards with a 2–1 defeat in the second leg.
The joint highest aggregate score in a League Cup match: 12 – On 12 August 2014, Dagenham & Redbridge drew 6–6 after extra time at home with Brentford in the first round of the League Cup. They went on to lose 4–2 on penalties.
Honours
Sources:
League
League Two (level 4)
Play-off winners: 2010
Conference (level 5)
Champions: 2006–07
Isthmian League (level 6)
Champions: 1999–2000
Cup
FA Trophy
Runners-up: 1996–97
Essex Senior Cup
Winners: 1997–98, 2000–01
Runners-up: 2001–02