Redditch United Football Club

(The Reds) are one of the longest established football clubs in the Midlands, starting out in the Birmingham Combination League in 1891. In 1971, the club reached the first round of the FA Cup. A record crowd of 4,500 in the Valley Stadium saw a draw with Peterborough United. The team joined the Southern League and were promoted to the Premier Division in 1975/76. The Reds were founder members of the Alliance Premier League in 1979/80 which became the Football Conference. The club joined the Southern League and another FA Cup run in 1989 ended against Conference side Merthyr Tydfil. In 2003/04 they clinched an historic double promotion- the Southern League Western Division and a place in the Conference North. Chris Swan took control of the club in March 2011, clearing all outstanding debts to guarantee its continued survival. He and his wife Sallie began a strategy of developing the club’s community links with schools and other organisations across the town’s surrounding area. The Junior sections re-launched with teams including disabled sides. Alliances with Redditch Borough Council, West Mercia Police, Birmingham City Girls and West Bromwich Albion Foundation with the first community hub established offering football to disadvantaged youngsters. In 2015/16, the club were runners-up losing in the play-offs. 2016, the club worked with Redditch Borough Council, the FA and the Football Foundation on a £900,000 investment programme for a state-of-the-art 3G playing surface as well as substantial upgrades to the Valley Stadium. A full time Academy was developed enabling scholars to take part in College and University level education alongside an elite football programme. In 2018 Redditch United Women’s Team achieved the double- crowned League and Cup winners. The future is strong with 1000+ people playing on the 3G pitch weekly, 50 different teams, and excellent community links with David Faulkner taking over the chairmanship in 2020.