Faversham Strike Force are on their way home after almost a decade on the road.

Strike Force have struck a groundshare agreement with Faversham Town that will see them use Salters Lane for home games from the start of next season.

It’s great news for the club, who have been sharing Rochester United’s Rede Court Road ground - a round trip of almost 50 miles - since winning promotion to Southern Counties East Division 1 in 2020.

They played at Faversham rec before moving to Sittingbourne Community College in 2014.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for us,” said Strike Force chairman Mike Ellet.

“The first team have been commuting to Rochester, and we’re grateful to them for their support, but to be playing in our home town will make all the difference in terms of getting spectators along and getting more involved with the wider club.

“We want to get the kids involved, watching football at that level, but it’s hard to do that at Rochester when you’re travelling 25 miles to get there.

“We’re really looking forward to playing locally, we thank Faversham Town for their support, and we can’t wait to get started.

“Across the board we’ve got in the region of 500 players, plus parents and volunteers, so I’d like to think we can get 100-plus at home games.

“We’re really going to push it around the club and I hope there’s a knock-on effect for Faversham Town as well because people who watch us might watch them the following week.”

The two clubs held talks over a groundshare three years ago.

While nothing came of those discussions, it was always something Strike Force planned to revisit once they’d established themselves in Southern Counties East.

“We were just starting out at that level three years ago and I’m not sure if we were ready or Faversham were ready,” said Ellet.

“We made tentative enquiries but Rochester were enthusiastic for us to go there, they’d just lost their groundshare partner, so it was a gift horse we couldn’t ignore at the time.

“It was always our ambition to reopen negotiations with Faversham when the time was right.

“We’re more established now, we’ve got more of a reputation and it’s easier as a club to sell yourselves in that situation.

“If you’re a new club trying to groundshare with somebody, there’s always that element of risk and they want to be sure you’ve got the funding and the infrastructure.

“We’re in a far stronger place now to step into that arena.

“It’s a fantastic ground, we’ve used it in the past, it’s got everything we need.

“We can establish ourselves locally and build our club name and club ethos and it will help attract players as well.”

Faversham Town were open to a new groundshare as Canterbury prepare to leave Salters Lane at the end of the season.

Lilywhites chairman Paul Bennett said: "The arrangement benefits both clubs and we also believe it is good news for the local community that we all serve.

“We wish Strike Force the best in their quest for promotion and hope their players, officials and supporters will enjoy their new home back in the town next season.”