Clubs to watch : Caversham United FC, Greenwich Battle Cruisers
How many grassroots football clubs do you know?
How much do you know about them?
Here are some fun facts you may not have known before today!
Caversham United FC
Caversham United Football Club are a grassroots football club based in Reading, England. They were founded in 2015. Known as The Goats, United boast a strong social media following including some famous friends!
#Twitter Goats
Caversham United boast a fair social media following, including over 15,000 Twitter followers - making them one of the most followed amateur teams in the UK! Including in that follower count are the likes of AS Roma, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and fellow Goats FC Cologne. Caversham’s nickname, The Goats, was actually chosen by their Twitter followers after a series of polls.
#Kits
The club have run a kit design competition for the last 4 seasons. Designers and followers alike can send in their kit designs and the club’s Twitter followers vote for their favourite! The winning design gets manufactured and worn by The Goats players on the pitch!
#Charity
The club have used their social media platform to positive effect in recent years. To date the club has raised over £10,000 for partner charities including through raffles, charity football tournament #CavershamCup and shirt sales!
#Teams
The club has grown since 2015 and now run 2 men’s Sunday League teams, as well as a successful women’s team who compete in the sixth tier nationally! The growth has no doubt been assisted by the club’s ongoing social media engagement.
Greenwich Battle Cruisers FC
"We are Greenwich Battle Cruisers, a division 6 side playing in WESFA (Woolwich & Eltham Sunday Football Association)." The club was formed by 20 or so friends in the summer of 2020 as a way to play football post-COVID. The friends first played 7-a-side together on Monday nights in Coldharbour before establishing the side as a Sunday League club.
#Debut Season, Different People
The core of the Cruisers' debut season consisted of two teachers, two emergency service staff, several friends in the finance & insurance industry, one graphic designer, a couple of university students, and two lads the secretary met at a pub quiz before the season started. The Battle Cruisers' played with 7 players at one point, trained twice the entire 2021/22 season - making the team as Sunday League as it got - but enjoyed their moments, claiming big points against Springhill United Blues, who narrowly lost the league title by 2 points.
#For Everyone
As a club, Greenwich Battle Cruisers' wants to advance diversity and inclusion at all levels within grassroots football, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability or economic status. As they said, "We want you to know you are welcome to join us on the sidelines or on the pitch." The club is for everyone. No egos, no bad attitudes, no discrimination, no hatred. Their captain wears a pride armband every match to showcase their commitment to inclusion for all - and they have announced they will continue to do so.
"Great partnership. The Battlecruisers are becoming a brilliant club in the WESFA community."(SELK Grassroots - Podcast Network, July 2022)
#The Future
Like many clubs, the Cruisers' have lost key players but continue to take positive steps, starting with new signings, training sessions, relationships and partnerships with sponsors and clubs alike, etc. for the future of the club. More players are always welcome, especially in defence!
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