Stratford Town Football Club, nicknamed “The Bards,” is a non-league football club based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.
Established in 1941, they currently compete in the Pitching In Southern Football League Premier Central, which is part of the seventh tier of English football. The team calls Arden Garages Stadium their home ground.
Founded during the Second World War to give local servicemen on leave the opportunity of a game, the club originally operated under the name Stratford Rangers. Paul Bartlett established it in 1943, initially playing friendlies before entering competitive football after the war. In 1948–49 the club reached the semi-final of the Birmingham Junior Cup and drew over 1,000 supporters to Villa Park for the Aston Villa Cup Final. At the end of that season, with approval from the town council, the club adopted its present name and the town’s crest.
Early successes included winning the Aston Villa Cup in 1952–53 under player-manager Len Livingstone, and the league championship the following season when Gordon Hillman scored 50 goals. The club won the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1963, with Sid Keenan scoring both goals in a 2–1 win over Lockheed Leamington.
After spells in the Birmingham & District League and Hellenic League, the club became a founder member of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994. Promotion to the Southern League followed in 2013, and further promotion to the Southern League Premier Division came in 2015 via the play-offs, with a ground record crowd of 1,054 attending the final.
The most celebrated recent moment came in 2021–22, when the club reached the FA Cup first round proper, defeating Boston United before falling 5–1 to Shrewsbury Town in front of a sell-out crowd of 2,800, with the match broadcast on ITV4.
Stratford Town Football Club C.I.C. is a registered company in England and Wales under company number 05560465
As a Community Interest Company (CIC), it operates to provide benefits to the community and is regulated by the Community Interest Company Regulator.