Crest of Kidlington Football Club

Kidlington

The Greens

Kidlington Football Club, nicknamed “The Greens,” is a non-league football club based in Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

Established in 1909, they currently compete in the Pitching In Southern Football League Division One Central, which is part of the eighth tier of English football. The team calls Yarnton Road their home ground.

The club initially played local village football until World War II, securing their first trophy in 1929 by winning the Lord Jersey Cup. Post-war, they joined the Oxford City Junior League and, by 1951, moved to the Oxfordshire Senior League, facing stronger competition. In 1954, they transitioned to the newly formed Hellenic League, maintaining a Premier Division spot before spending most of the 1960s in Division One. The 1970s saw a resurgence with epic County Intermediate Cup finals against Peppard and their best FA Vase run in 1976-77, reaching the last 16.

The 1980s and 1990s had ups and downs, with notable performances like reaching near the County Cup final in 1983-84 and a resurgence under manager Karl Grossmann in the late 1990s. The club’s fortunes improved in the new millennium under new leadership, with significant achievements including promotion to the Hellenic Premier Division in 2004-05 and winning the Hellenic Floodlit Trophy in 2007-08. Youth and Veterans teams also excelled during this period, contributing to the club’s overall success.

In the 2010s, the club saw managerial changes and continued progress. Under Martin Wilkinson, they achieved their highest league positions and a league championship in the 2015-16 season. The team also had impressive runs in the FA Vase and FA Cup. Despite Wilkinson’s resignation in 2016, Julian McCalmon led the team to a strong mid-table finish in their first Evo-Stick League season. In 2017-18, Kidlington transitioned to the Evo-Stik League South West, retaining McCalmon as manager, and continued to build on their competitive foundation.