Sporting Club Inkberrow F.C.

Sporting Club Inkberrow

Full name	Sporting Club Inkberrow
Nickname	The Eagles
Founded	1978;47 years ago (1978)
Stadium	Sands Road
Chairman	Neil Guy
Manager	Umit Eminoglu, Neil Guy
League	Southern League Division One South
2024–25	Hellenic League Premier Division, 3rd of 20 (promoted via play-offs)
Home colours

Sporting Club Inkberrow Football Club (SC Inkberrow FC) is a football club based in Inkberrow, Worcestershire, England. They are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and play at Sands Road, Inkberrow. The Football Club forms part of the wider Inkberrow Football Club, and the Sporting Club Inkberrow charity.

History

Inkberrow FC was formed in 1978, initially providing senior men's football and playing from the Inkberrow playing fields. ^[1] In 2016, the club entered the Stratford Alliance League as Inkberrow Colts. In 2019, the club joined the Midland League but were required to register as a separate club to the wider Inkberrow FC, due to an Inkberrow team already competing in the league setup. The club chose to adopt the name of the wider charity the club is associated to, and adopted the original playing colours of the founding team of 1978. After a season in the system and winning Division Four of the Midland Football League, the club joined the Hellenic League Division Two West in 2020 where they again won the league at their first attempt. In 2021, Sporting Club Inkberrow joined the Herefordshire Football League, winning the Premier Division at the end of the season. ^[2]

In 2023, the club was admitted into the Hellenic League Division One, marking the first time an Inkberrow team became part of the football pyramid, entering at step 6. ^[3] In their first season at this level, Inkberrow reached the play-off final after beating Clanfield 3-0 in the semi-final, but lost to play-off winners Malmesbury Victoria 2-1. Despite this, Inkberrow were still promoted to the Hellenic Premier division for the 24/25 season, entering step 5 football for the first time in their history, and one of only two teams to achieve back to back promotions from step 7 to step 5 in the 23/24 season.

Ground

The club currently play at Sands Road in Inkberrow, ^[4] where Sir Bobby Robson officially launched the clubs new facilities in 2008^[5]. The site at Sands Road consists of a large pavilion with bar, café and changing facilities, four full-size football pitches, two junior pitches, grass training areas, and also two cricket squares with the facilities being mixed use with Inkberrow Cricket Club.

Records

• Best FA Cup performance: Preliminary round, 2025–26
• Best FA Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 2025–26
• Best FA Vase performance: Second qualifying round, 2024–25

Playing kit

Upon the incorporation of the men’s Inkberrow FC and junior Inkberrow Eagles section in 2005 and with the former having played in yellow and blue in the years prior, the club adopted kit colours inspired by the Brazil national football team of yellow shirts with green trim and blue shorts. This reflected the club’s development strategy which emphasised fun and enjoyment, a style of play that promoted a high level of technical skill and a competitive spirit and will to win as a team. Colours broadly returned to plain yellow and blue in the 2010s, but as part of the requirement from the FA in 2019 to officially register two separate clubs, the newly formed Sporting Club Inkberrow FC adopted the colours of the original founding team from 1978. The current primary sponsor for both the home and away kits is supported by Heddleworth Amusements.

References

1. "Football club". Sporting Club Inkberrow F.C. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
2. "Sporting Club Inkberrow FC". Inkberrow F.C. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
3. "National League System club allocations – steps 5/6, season 2023–24" (.pdf). The Football Association. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
4. "Sporting Club Inkberrow". Hellenic Football League. Retrieved 6 June 2023.

52°13′11.37″N1°58′51.93″W / 52.2198250°N 1.9810917°W / 52.2198250; -1.9810917