 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 . 
