The Hertfordshire Cheetahs (formerly the Watford Cheetahs and Chiltern Cheetahs) are an American football team based in Watford, including a senior kitted team (contact) competing in the BAFA National Leagues (BAFANL), Under 16 and under 19 kitted teams (contact) a women's kitted (formally the Hertfordshire Tornadoes) team and The Hertfordshire Cheetahs Flag Football 11U , 14U , and 17U Flag football (non-contact) teams playing in the BAFA Youth Flag Football League. Currently all teams train and host their home games at Sun Postal Sports & Social Club, Bellmount Wood Avenue, Watford, WD17 3BN. The senior team was first formed in 1986 and entered a senior competition the following year, making them the third-longest continuously competing team in the United Kingdom behind only the Birmingham Bulls and Glasgow Tigers. During their history, the Cheetahs have reached the Divisional Playoff final on four occasions: in 1997, 2004, 2005 and 2018.The 2018 final was their first championship victory beating the Portsmouth Dreadnoughts for division 2 honours. After winning the Thames Valley div 2021 SFC1 West 2022 the Cheetahs won it all in 2023 SFC1 West SFC1 Conference and finally took National honours against the Northumberland Vikings in over time. After a 13-0 season they earned promotion to the Premier league in 2024
History
Early years (1986–1989) The Chiltern Cheetahs were formed in the summer of 1986 by a group of friends based in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. With some outside help, the team developed and they played their first friendly on 30 November 1986—a 0–9 defeat to the St Albans Kestrels played at the home of Chesham United football club in front of 1800 spectators. A further three pre-season matches were played after the New Year; an 18–6 win against the F14 Tomcats, a 41–2 win against the Bristol Blackhawks, and a 34–9 win against the Chiltern Panthers. After these pre-season successes, they entered league competition in the summer of 1987, competing in the Capital League's County Division. They finished with a record of seven wins and three defeats, narrowly missing out on the playoffs.
The Cheetahs moved to the British National Gridiron League the following year, but were affected by the loss of their two American coaches. Despite one team in their division being banned from competition and two teams pulling out before the season began, the Cheetahs struggled throughout and lost all six of their games. They performed slightly better in 1989 despite losing more players, winning three out of their ten games.
1990–1995
The following season, the Cheetahs were moved to the Southern Conference of the BNGL's Premier Division, but they struggled once again, finishing bottom of the four-team group with just two wins out of ten.
This resulted in the Cheetahs being relegated to Division One, where they were assigned to the East Midlands Conference. They moved home once again, playing their games at Newlands Park College in Chalfont St. Giles. They began the season with two ties away from home, before narrowly losing their first home game against the Stratford Tempests due to a last minute field goal. Two further defeats were followed by three successive victories, with the Cheetahs eventually finishing fourth in the group. 1992 saw them winning six of their games, again narrowly missing out on a playoff spot.
Their first real success came in 1993. After appointing a pair of new coaches, the team won all but one of their games to win the First Division South Central Conference, claiming their first ever conference title and qualifying for the playoffs. They were drawn at home to the Weymouth Renegades, whom they beat 15–8 with their three running backs each getting over 100 yards. In the quarter-final, they travelled to the Hereford Chargers—after conceding 22 points in the first quarter, they were unable to recover and ended up losing 15–22.
The following year, the Cheetahs switched over to the newly formed British American Football Association (BAFA) league. They were assigned to the Division 3 Midlands Conference, which also contained the Cambridge Cats, Colchester Gladiators and Norwich Devils, with their home games against the Gladiators and Devils being their only two wins that season. The following season also saw them struggle, with two of their three wins coming as the result of the London Mets forfeiting their games.