Stratford Town F.C.
Stratford Town Football Club is a football club based in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division Central.
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| Full name | Stratford Town Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Town | ||
| Founded | 1941 (as Stratford Rangers) | ||
| Ground | Knights Lane, Tiddington | ||
| Chairman | Vacant | ||
| Manager | Paul Davis | ||
| League | Southern League Premier Division Central | ||
| 2019–20 | Southern League Premier Division Central (season abandoned) | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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History
The club was formed in 1941 as Stratford Rangers, changing their name in 1949. After playing in various local leagues they joined the Worcestershire Combination (which later became the Midland Football Combination) in 1954. In 1957 they switched to the Birmingham and District League, which became the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1962, but rejoined the Combination in 1970. In 1975 they took the unusual step of joining the Hellenic League, which does not normally include teams from Warwickshire. After two unsuccessful seasons they rejoined the Midland Combination once again, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994.
The club entered financial difficulty in 1998 and were reformed to become Stratford Town F.C. 1998.
They have reached the third qualifying round of the FA Cup three times, in seasons 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2011–12.
The team is currently managed by Thomas Baillie. On 20 April 2013, a 1–1 draw with Stourport Swifts sealed the Midland Alliance title and promotion to the Southern Football League for the first time in the club's history, where they initially played in Division One South & West.
After two seasons in the Division One South & West, Stratford Town earned promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs with a 3–2 win against Larkhall Athletic on 4 May 2015. They successfully retained their status the following season.
Stadium
Stratford Town moved into the Knights Lane ground, Tiddington in the 2007–08 season. They played their first league match there against Barwell on 16 February 2008, losing 1–0 to a Stuart Spencer goal.[1]
The record attendance is 1,054 for the Southern League Division One South & West play-off final against Larkhall Athletic in May 2015.
See also
- Stratford Town F.C. players
- Stratford Town F.C. managers
References
- Mike and Tony Williams (2006). Non League Club Directory 2006. Tony Williams Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-869833-54-6.
- Stratford Town match report Archived 2008-07-24 at the Wayback Machine