Cheadle Town F.C.

History

The club originated in 1961 when 14-year-old Barrie Dean asked his neighbour Chris Davies to help form a team, named Grasmere Rovers after Grasmere Avenue. Davies managed the side, which lost its first match 0–5 to Sutton Boys on 3 September 1961. Grasmere Rovers began in the Manchester Junior Football League, winning it in 1967–68, and joined the Manchester League in 1972. Under manager Albert Pike and chairman Chris Davies, the team played at Surrey Street in Glossop and achieved a quadruple in 1979–80: the Manchester League, Gilchrist Cup, Manchester County Amateur Cup and Derbyshire Junior Cup, with striker Peter Tilley scoring 43 goals.

The club moved to Park Road for 1982–83, losing 1–4 to Al Sadd in the first match there. That season was the last as Grasmere Rovers. Entering the NWCFL in 1983–84 as Cheadle Town under Gerry Clewes, they finished 15th in Division Three and were promoted by default in 1986–87 when Division Three merged into Division Two. After a three-year stint in Division One from 1998, they were relegated in 2001. They remained in Division Two until 2022–23, with a promotion in 2008–09 due to league renaming.

Club colours and badge

Cheadle Town have worn various colour combinations, including white and black, yellow and blue, sky blue and white stripes, and all-red. For the 50th anniversary in 2011 they reverted to Grasmere Rovers' original green and white. From 2018–19 they adopted red-and-white striped shirts with red shorts and stockings. The club badge was also changed for 2018–19; the old badge derived from the coat of arms of Cheadle & Gatley Urban District Council from December 1955.

Stadium

The Ground Up Solutions Stadium, formerly Park Road Stadium, has an official capacity of 2,000 and a record attendance of 1,700 for a friendly against Stockport County in August 1994. During the 1966 World Cup it served as a training ground for the Portugal national team, and in summer 1993 it hosted a soccer school run by Brazilian legend Jairzinho. The west side has a covered main stand seating about 250 with changing rooms underneath; the other three sides are uncovered with railing.

Facilities include a clubhouse, a portable building used as a refreshments kiosk and hospitality room, and a second pitch for reserve and junior teams. In April 2014 a £5,000 Capital One grant funded new dugouts, hard-standing from tunnel to dugouts, and storage. Recent work includes installing seats in the main stand, rebuilding the clubhouse after demolition in November 2014, and building an FA-standard 5-a-side pitch. A £50,000 Buildbase bursary in summer 2018 refurbished the clubhouse and changing rooms and opened a new external cafe.

Foreign tours

Cheadle Town are known for foreign tours, travelling as AFC Manchester. They have accumulated over 200,000 airmiles, 96 games in 30 countries, a total aggregate crowd of 312,000 and 111 goals. Opponents have included seven national teams; they were the first and only English club to play in and against Cuba in 1975, a match shown on Cuban national television. They played at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City before 65,000 and met Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ronnie Biggs and Rajiv Gandhi. In 1991 in Rio de Janeiro they expected to face Bangu under-19, but Bangu thought they were Manchester United and won 18–0. In October 2014 they hosted the Russian under-19 team, losing 0–22.