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| Full name | Worcester City Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | City, The Blues, Faithful | ||
| Founded | 1902 | ||
| Ground | Sixways Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 12,067 | ||
| Chairman | Steve Goode | ||
| Manager | Chris Cornes | ||
| League | Southern League Premier Division Central | ||
| 2024–25 | Northern Premier League Division One Midlands, 4th of 21 (promoted via play-offs) | ||
Worcester City Football Club is an Englishfootball club based inWorcester,Worcestershire. The club play in theSouthern Football League Premier Division Central, the seventh tier of English football.[1] Established in 1902, the club play at Sixways Stadium.
Worcester City's most notable successes include anFA Cup first round victory againstCoventry City[2] and a third round win, in the same competition, againstLiverpool.[3]
The club was formed on 9 September 1902 when, following the liquidation of another local side, Berwick Rangers, Worcester Rovers amalgamated taking the present name of Worcester City F. C.[4] taking over Berwick's fixture list in theBirmingham & District League. Initially, they played onPitchcroft on an enclosed area called Severn Terrace (behind the modern day Swan Theatre).[4] They played there until the start of the 1905 season.[4] It was in 1905 that they reached the first round of theFA Cup, losing 6–0 at home toWatford. In 1924–25, they won the league for the first time, and thefollowing season reached the FA Cup first round again, losing 2–0 toKettering Town in a second replay atSt Andrew's. The club won back-to-back league titles in 1928–29 and 1929–30, also reaching the FA Cup first round in the former, losing 3–1 atWalsall.
In 1938, they joined theSouthern League. In 1940, they won the Southern League Cup beating Chelmsford 7–3 over two legs under the guidance of former Fulham F.C. legendSyd Gibbons. DuringWorld War II, the club returned to the Birmingham & District League for two seasons.
After the war, Worcester rejoined the Southern League. In1958–59, the club reached the first round of theFA Cup again. After beatingChelmsford City in a replay and thenMillwall 5–2 in the second round, they were drawn againstLiverpool. A 2–1 win saw Worcester qualify for the fourth round againstSheffield United. They were defeated 2–0 in front of a record home attendance of 17,042 at St George's Lane.
In 1973–74, the club were relegated to Division One North of the Southern League. They returned to the Premier Division as Division One champions in 1977, and in 1978–79, won the title. The following season they became founder members of theAlliance Premier League, finishing third in theirfirst season. However, they were relegated at the end of the1984–85 season.
The 1973–74 season saw City reach the quarter-final of theFA Trophy (reached 5 times in the club's history). They beat Taunton Town 1–0 away from home and then a 5–1 home win over Bletchley saw the club reach the third round. Having beaten Sandbach Ramblers 4–1, City progressed to the last eight where a 2–0 away defeat followed a goalless draw against South Shields ended their cup run. Also in 1973–74, Worcester played in theWelsh Cup for the first time, losing in the quarter-finals toStourbridge In 1975–76 City were drawn againstShrewsbury Town in the quarter-finals at home and took them to a replay after a 2–2 draw, losing 3–0 in the replay. In the 1978–79 season, Worcester reached the semi-finals after beatingCardiff City 3–2 in the quarters. They again played Shrewsbury, this time losing 2–0 away.
The club remained in the Southern League Premier Division until 2004, when a fifth-placed finish earned them a place in the newly establishedConference North. In 2008, they were moved to the Conference South after no southern teams were relegated from theConference National. In2009–10, they finished in the relegation zone, but were reprieved after several other clubs were demoted or folded – these clubs were all based in northern England so Worcester were transferred back to the Conference North.
On 9 November 2014, In the FA Cup first round, Worcester went to theRicoh Arena and beatCoventry City 2–1. This earned them a second-round away tie againstScunthorpe United four weeks later. City secured a replay at Aggborough after a 1–1 draw, in which Daniel Nti equalised immediately after half-time with a strike into the roof of the net in front of the 2,200 travelling fans. The replay also finished 1–1 and, some 21⁄2 hours after kick-off, Scunthorpe won 14–13 on penalties, setting a record for the longest shoot-out in FA Cup history.[5]
Worcester resigned from National League North towards the end of the 2016–17 season, but finished in one of the relegation places anyway. The FA then decided the club would be further relegated to the Midland League to ease the club's financial situation.[6] The2023–24 season saw Worcester promoted from theHellenic Football League as champions, as well as reaching the semi-finals of theFA Vase.[7] Thefollowing season saw the club achieve back-to-back promotions, defeatingCorby Town in the play-off final.[8]
The club used to play at St George's Lane. The ground had four main areas; the Dressing Room End and the Canal End (which was used for away fans), the Main Stand (containing all 1,121 seats) and the Brookside Terrace, including The Shed. The capacity was 4,523.
The ground's record attendance is 17,042 from a fourth roundFA Cup game againstSheffield United in 1959.
The ground was vacated in June 2013, as it has been sold to a housing developer. The sale of the ground was aimed at helping to fund the building of a new 6,000-capacity ground to be built at Nunnery Way on the edge of Worcester but the sale of the ground failed to provide sufficient finances to pay for such a stadium.[9] On 30 January 2013, it was announced that Worcester would ground-share withKidderminster Harriers at theirAggborough ground from the 2013–14 season.[10]
Worcester City decided to terminate their arrangement with Kidderminster and move toBromsgrove and groundshare the Victoria Ground withBromsgrove Sporting from the start of the 2016–17 season.[11]
In 2013, previous plans for the club's new stadium to be built out of the city at Nunnery Way were shelved. The Worcester City Supporters' Trust have since tabled plans for a multi-use sporting facility on land currently occupied by Perdiswell Sports Centre, close to the city centre. Being a modest stadium with a capacity of 4,130, it would consist of a covered stand with 500 seats and two covered, terraced stands to hold 130 each (the capacity could be increased to 5,540 if tiered terraces are utilised). The proposal includes a full-size, all-weather and flood-lit artificial pitch, alongside three existing grass pitches. It would incorporate community facilities, in conjunction with the proposal of a new swimming pool. A full planning application was submitted to the City of Worcester Council and was rejected.[citation needed] New plans were drawn up for a new stadium at Parsonage Way, but this land was unfeasible.
In late 2019, it was announced that City would be returning to Worcester for the start of the 2020–21 season and playing at theWorcestershire FA headquarters at Claines Lane.
In November 2023, the club unveiled plans to move to a permanent home at a new Worcestershire Community Sports Park at Fernhill Heath, to the north of the city.[12]
In January 2025, it was announced that Worcester City would move to the Sixways Stadium for the 2025–26 season.Worcester Raiders subsequently moved back to Claines Lane.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Chris Cornes |
| Assistant Manager | Ryan Rowe |
| Coach | Nick Clayton |
| Football Secretary | Kevin Preece |
| Physio | Jess Morton |
| Kit Manager | Dave Boddy |
| Image | Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Win% | Honours | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Womack |  England | May 1928 | July 1930 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Joe Smith | England | 1930 | 1932 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Alex Hair |  Scotland | 1932 | 1934 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Jack Whitehouse | England | 1934 | 1935 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Frank Keetley | England | 1935 | 1936 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Jack Russell | England | 1936 | 1937 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Syd Wallington | England | 1937 | 1938 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Syd Gibbons | England | 1938 | 1946 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bob Jackson | England | 1946 | 1947 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Jack Vinall | England | 1947 | 1950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Percy Percy | England | 1950 | 1953 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bill Jones | England | 1953 | 1957 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Roy Paul |  Wales | 1957 | 1958 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bill Thompson | Scotland | 1958 | 1962 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Danny McLennan | Scotland | 1962 | 1962 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bill Jones | England | 1962 | 1968 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Eddie Stuart |  South Africa | 1968 | December 1971 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Wilf Grant | England | December 1971 | 1973 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Graham Newton | England | 1973 | 1973 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bill Jackman | England | 1973 | July 1974 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Ronnie Radford | England | July 1974 | 1975 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Nobby Clark | England | 1975 | 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Bobby Shinton | England | 1984 | 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| George Armstrong | England | 1984 | 1985 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Ian Cooper | England | 1985 | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| John Jones | England | 1986 | 1986 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| George Rooney | England | 1986 | 1989 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Dave Boddy | England | 1989 | 1989 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Steve Fergusson | England | 1989 | 1990 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Ally Robertson | Scotland | 1990 | 1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
 | Martyn Bennett | England | 1991 | 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | |||
| George Rooney | England | 1992 | 1998 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Graham Allner | England | 1998 | 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| John Barton | England | 1999 | January 2005 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
 | Richard Dryden | England | November 2007 | 17 January 2010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | |||
| Carl Heeley | England | 13 March 2010 | 2017 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | !— | ||||
| Ashley Vincent | England | 2019 | 2020 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Tim Harris | England | 2021 | 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Worcester City striker Sean Geddes struck twice as the non-leaguers pulled off a shock FA Cup first round win against 1987 winners Coventry City.
The 15th of January, 1959 will always be remembered as one of the most embarrassing defeats in Liverpool Phil Watts scored both goals Football's Club history when Worcester earned a distinguished place among the FA Cup giant-killers when they defeated Liverpool, of the Second Division.
52°13′29″N2°12′44″W / 52.2247°N 2.2121°W /52.2247; -2.2121
