The sad announcement was made earlier in the week that Barnsley based SHAW LANE FC will cease to play football this season has opened up a space at step 4 of the non-league which has allowed FC ROMANIA to move up from the Essex Senior League where they finished in third place to Basildon United and Great Wakering Rovers last season. They will play in the Bostik Leaue South Central Division with Fleet Town transferring over to the the Evo Stik Southern League South West Division. Since joining the Essex Senior League in 2013 they have finished in 5th, 6th, 3rd, 3rd and 3rd in the table.
Reproduced below is an interview Manager Ion Vintila gave to TheColdEnd in May 2013. You will see he got his wish of seeing the team gaining promotion in five years time as well as playing in the FA Cup.
The team was formed in 2006 around a group of friends with the objective of attracting players from the many communities around London - not just players from the Romanian community. In 2006-2007 we competed in and won the London football league. In 2008 we joined the Essex Business Houses League Division Two with the long term aim to gain promotion and move up to the semi-professional leagues. In 2010- 2011 we moved to the Middlesex County Football League Division One and finished second gaining promotion to the Premier Division. In 2011 - 2012 we finished runners -up in the Premier Division and we won Middlesex Senior County League Open Cup when we beat Brentham 3-1 in the final.
In 2011 we were awarded from The Football Association as a Charter Standard Adult Club. Last season we were honoured to be accepted into The FA Vase and we played Tring Athletic in the Preliminary Round winning 3-1. In the next round we unfortunately lost against Hoddesdon Town. We also moved to ground-share at Cheshunt FC and we finished runners-up in the league once again which allowed us to apply for promotion to the Essex Senior League.
Where do you see FC Romania in five years time?
We hope to have gained promotion to the Ryman League and to be playing in The FA Cup.
Are there any players in your squad who have played at a higher level in England, Romania or other countries?
All players in the team have played in the lower levels of football in Romania, Turkey, Spain or Bulgaria.
Are there any young players in your squad who could make it at a higher level?
I believe we have four or five young players who are capable of developing into good players at Step 1 or 2 of the non-league pyramid.
What would you see as a success next season in the Essex Senior League?
Our objective in the first year is to finish the season in the top half of the league table.
What was the best experience playing in the Middlesex Senior League?
It was a great experience, the team gained much in terms of sport and organisation in the three years spent in the League.
What can teams in the Essex Senior league expect from FC Romania next season?
We hope to be a competitive opponent at this level. We want to represent the league well in the FA Vase. We hope to prove to those who have decided that our team be part of this league that they made a very good decision.
FROM 'BEATING CHASTARDS' TO THE ISTHMIAN LEAGUE IN JUST OVER A DECADE
Saturday 4th November 2006 saw FC Romania play their first competitive game against a team called 'Beating Chastards' in the London Football Saturday Premier where they won 12-2 and they went on to lose just one of their fourteen league games. The defeat came against 'SML United' by a score of 4-1 on Saturday 3rd February 2007 which is an amazing result seeing as they had beaten them TWENTY SIX-NIL on Saturday 16th December 2006.
FC ROMANIA'S FULL LEAGUE PLAYING RECORD
| SEASON | LEAGUE | POSN | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| 06/07 | LONDON FOOTBALL SATURDAY PM PREMIER | 1/8 | 14 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 19 | +54 | 49 |
| 07/08 | LONDON FOOTBALL SUNDAY AM PREMIER | 3/9 | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 63 | 24 | +39 | 33 |
| 08/09 | ESSEX BUSINESS HOUSES DIVISION TWO | 6/7 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 30 | 46 | -16 | 21 |
| 09/10 | ESSEX BUSINESS HOUSES DIVISION TWO | 4/9 | 15* | 7 | 2 | 6 | 53 | 35 | +18 | 23 |
| 10/11 | MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE DIV ONE (C&E) | 2/11 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 64 | 35 | +29 | 44 |
| 11/12 | MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION | 2/16 | 30 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 94 | 39 | +55 | 70 |
| 12/13 | MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION | 2/16 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 7 | 97 | 48 | +49 | 61 |
| 13/14 | ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE | 5/20 | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 82 | 56 | +26 | 72 |
| 14/15 | ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE | 6/20 | 38 | 21 | 2 | 15 | 88 | 72 | +16 | 65 |
| 15/16 | ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE | 3/21 | 40 | 27 | 8 | 5 | 114 | 43 | +71 | 89 |
| 16/17 | ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE | 3/22 | 42 | 27 | 7 | 8 | 125 | 56 | +69 | 88 |
| 17/18 | ESSEX SENIOR LEAGUE | 3/21 | 40 | 28 | 7 | 5 | 98 | 37 | +61 | 91 |
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