Stratford Town Football Club is a football club representing the town of Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England, but currently based in nearby Tiddington. They are currently members of the and play at Knights Lane.
The club was formed in 1941 as Stratford Rangers, changing their name in 1949. After playing in various local leagues, they joined the Worcestershire Combination (which later became the Midland Football Combination) in 1954. In 1957, they switched to the Birmingham and District League, which became the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1962, but rejoined the Combination in 1970. In 1975, they took the unusual step of joining the Hellenic League, which does not normally include teams from Warwickshire. After two unsuccessful seasons, they rejoined the Midland Combination once again, where they remained until becoming founder members of the Midland Football Alliance in 1994.
The club entered financial difficulty in 1998 and were reformed to become Stratford Town F.C.
On 20 April 2013, a 1âÂÂ1 draw with Stourport Swifts sealed the Midland Alliance title and promotion to the Southern Football League for the first time in the club's history, where they initially played in Division One South & West. After two seasons in the Division One South & West, Stratford Town earned promotion to the Premier Division via the play-offs with a 3âÂÂ2 win against Larkhall Athletic on 4 May 2015. They successfully retained their status the following season.
The 2021âÂÂ22 season saw The Bards reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, defeating National League North side Boston United 3âÂÂ2 in a fourth qualifying round replay after an initial 1âÂÂ1 draw at the Boston Community Stadium. Stratford were drawn at home to League One side Shrewsbury Town, with the match televised on ITV4. Despite scoring first, they were eventually defeated 5âÂÂ1 in front of a sell-out 2,800 spectators at Knights Lane.
Stratford Town moved into the Knights Lane ground, Tiddington in the 2007âÂÂ08 season. They played their first league match there against Barwell on 16 February 2008, losing 1âÂÂ0 to a Stuart Spencer goal.
The record attendance is 2,800 for the FA Cup first round match against Shrewsbury Town on 7 November 2021.
<small>The Southern Football League does not use a squad numbering system.</small>