In an ever expanding town such as Didcot, more and more young people and adults would love to have the opportunity to take part in grass roots football.
In order to facilitate this, Didcot Town and Didcot Town Youth FC work closely together to provide opportunities to all footballers in the area, from children to men’s non-league football. The two clubs have become closer in recent seasons. There is a hugely popular player’s day when everyone from the youth set up is invited to a first team game. From next season, every team involved with Didcot Town will be wearing the same home kit to establish even further a one-club identity. The growth of the game is important to everyone at Didcot Town and the club look to continue to grow in the coming years.
The clubs have a long history in the area, with Didcot Town formed in 1907 and Didcot Town Youth born from Didcot Town Boys in 2007. Having started out on Station Road, the team now play at the Loop Meadow Stadium on the Ladygrove estate. The youth teams play their home games on Edmonds Park whilst there is also the opportunity for some teams to play on the first team and training pitch at Didcot Town.
Since the turn of the century, Didcot has enjoyed some famous days. An FA Vase final win in 2005 at Tottenham’s old White Hart Lane ground and more recently, hosting League One side Exeter City in the FA Cup first round in 2015. A game that attracted their largest ever crowd of 2,707 and was also shown live to the nation on BT Sport. Last season, the first team enjoyed a fantastic May Day Bank Holiday when they won promotion back to the Southern Premier League for the first time in 14-years. Didcot beat Ware 1-0 in the play-off final in front of almost 2000 fans at the Loop Meadow Stadium. The first team are currently playing in the Southern League Premier Division South in step three of the football pyramid.
In recent years, the club has seen the progression from youth to first team football grow and there are now two development teams that allow for the youth footballers to make the next step into senior adult football and hopefully, into the first team. The youth team have 29 teams of all ages from under six to adult football and they have over 400 players registered to the club.
With the increased rise and popularity of the ladies game nationally, thanks to the England lionesses, Didcot Town now have four girls’ teams and there are plans to have a senior ladies team playing at the club next season.
For further information about the clubs please visit didcottownfc.co.uk and didcottownyouthfc.co.uk
