Earlswood Town F.C.
Earlswood Town Football Club is a football club based in Earlswood, near Solihull, England. They are currently members of the Midland League Division Two and play at The Yakinori Pavilions on Malt House Lane.
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| Full name | Earlswood Town Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Earls | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Ground | The Yakinori Pavilions, Earlswood | ||
| Chairman | Andy Walker[1] | ||
| Manager | Joel Hughes[2] | ||
| League | Midland League Division Two | ||
| 2022–23 | Midland League Division Two, 12th of 16 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Former Republic of Ireland international Don Givens is a vice-president while ex-England goalkeeper Ben Foster is club patron.[3]
History
The club was originally known as Churchgreen United.[4] They were renamed Earlswood Town in 1968, at which point they were playing in the West Midlands Metropolitan League.[4] The club joined the Mercian League in 1971 and won the league's Queens Hospital Cup in 1972–73.[4][5] After winning the Aston Villa Shield in 1978–79, the club were Premier Division runners-up the following season and went on to win the Premier Division title in 1981–82.[5] They then moved up to Division Three of the Midland Combination, which was renamed Division Two in 1983.[6]
Earlswood won the Midland Combination's Challenge Vase in 2002–03 and retained the trophy the following season.[5] A fourth-place finish in 2007–08 saw them promoted to Division One. The club were runners-up in Division One in 2009–10, and after moving to Pilkington XXX's Triplex Ground in order to meet the ground grading criteria for the Premier Division,[4] the club won the Division One title the following season, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[6] When the Midland Combination merged with the Midland Alliance to form the Midland League in 2014, Earlswood were placed in Division Two.[6] Despite finishing bottom of Division Two in 2015–16 and 2018-19, the club avoided relegation.
Ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, The Earls launched a fully-fledged junior section for the first time in the club's history with U7 to U9 sides competing in the Central Warwickshire Youth Football League.[7]
Ground
The club moved to Lady Lane in Earlswood in 1966, before relocating to the Pavilions on Malt House Lane in 1970.[4] In 2010 the club moved to Pilkington XXX's Triplex Ground in Kings Norton in order to be meet the ground grading criteria to be promoted to the Midland Combination Premier Division.[4] In 2012 the club relocated to Studley's Beehive ground,[4] and played the 2013/14 season at Bromsgrove Sporting's Victoria Ground [8] before later returning to the Pavilions ground.
On 6 July 2023, the club announced a ground naming rights agreement with Yakinori, a Japanese restaurant chain.[9]
Honours
- Midland Combination
- Division One champions 2010–11
- Challenge Vase winners 2002–03, 2003–04
- Mercian League
- Premier Division champions 1981–82
- Queens Hospital Cup winners 1972–73
- Aston Villa Shield winners 1978–79
Records
See also
- Earlswood Town F.C. players
References
- "NEW CHAIRMAN ANNOUNCED". earlswoodtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
- "JOEL HUGHES APPOINTED EARLS MANAGER". earlswoodtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- "FOSTER NAMED CLUB PATRON". earlswoodtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- Who are we? Earlswood Town F.C.
- Honours list Earlswood Town F.C.
- Earlswood Town at the Football Club History Database
- {{Cite web |title=FOOTBALL - Earlswood Town look to future with club set to launch junior set up for first time|url=https://solihullobserver.co.uk/sport/football-earlswood-town-look-to-future-with-club-set-to-launch-junior-set-up-for-first-time-41533/ |access-date=23 October 2023 |website=Solihull Observer}
- "Earlswood Town". Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- "WHAT'S THE STORY? YAKINORI". earlswoodtownfc.co.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2023.