Kenilworth Sporting - Kenilworth Sporting Ground

Kenilworth Sporting FC

Kenilworth Sporting Ground

Gypsy Lane

Kenilworth

Warwickshire

CV8 1FA

Official Website

FA Full Time

Twitter

Ground Number: 1515

Saturday 31st January 2026

Kenilworth Sporting 3-1 AFC Birmingham
Midland D3

KENILWORTH SPORTING FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club can trace its lineage back to 2017, when it was formed as Coventry Plumbing, or Coventry Plumbing and Heating FC, to give them their full name. They won the Coventry Alliance Division 3 in their first season before they moved to Kenilworth. A 3rd place finish behind Stockton and RS Sports in Division 2 saw a second consecutive promotion, but they were at the bottom of Division 1 when the pandemic stopped play in early 2020. A rebrand over the summer saw the club renamed Kenilworth Sporting, and they moved to the Midland League Division 3. They were top of the league when the game was once again halted, but this was good enough for promotion to Division 2. They spent two seasons here, finishing 5th and 6th before dropping down to the Stratford-Upon-Avon Alliance, winning Division 1 in 2024. Since then, they've been back in the Midland Division 3, where they finished 4th last season.

There has been non-league football played in the town as far back as 1936, when Kenilworth Town started out playing in the Coventry and District League at the nearby St John's Playing Fields. With no permanent home, they were unable to progress due to not having a home of their own. Despite this, the club was able to continue after the Second World War, and between 1946 and 1962, Kenilworth Town moved home five times. This included stints at The Oval, St John's Junior School, Scott Road, and Thickthorn Manor. During this period, the club also changed its name, becoming Kenilworth Rangers.

A stable residence was finally found in 1962 when they moved to Gypsy Lane. They initially leased the land before purchasing the freehold in the early 1990's. During this time, they changed their name to Kenilworth Rangers, and it was under this name that they joined the Midland Combination Division 2 in 1989. They changed their name back in 1992, shortly after they won promotion to Division 1 following a 3rd place finish. In 1996, they were runners-up to Richmond Swifts, winning promotion to the Premier Division. They spent four seasons here before relegation at the turn of the millennium. Some seasons of struggle followed before the club changed its name to Kenilworth Town KH. The KH in Kenilworth Town KH stood for Kings Heath.

The name change occurred in 2005 following a merger between Kenilworth Town and Kings Heath FC. At the time, Kings Heath was a Birmingham-based club that had lost its home ground, so the two entities joined forces to compete in the Midland Football Combination. In the autumn of 2006, the club resigned from the league after six games and the reserves - effectively the old Kings Heath FC took over, playing in Division 3. A 4th place finish in 2009 and then a runners-up spot behind Hampton in Division 2 saw two promotions in a row. They spent a season in Division 1 before resigning from the league in 2011. They played in the Stratford-Upon-Avon Alliance for a single season before rejoining the Midland Combination at the Division 2 level in 2012, winning the title in 2014. They had a single season in the newly-formed Midland Division 2 but resigned after a single season following relegation.

Kenilworth is a market town in Warwickshire, 5.5 miles southwest of Coventry and 4.5 miles north of both Warwick and Leamington Spa. Situated at the centre of the county, the town lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the River Avon 2 miles north-east of the town. It has a population of around 22,500. The town is home to the ruins of Kenilworth Castle and Kenilworth Abbey. Kenilworth derives from the Old English cynehildworð, meaning 'Cynehild's enclosure'. A settlement existed at Kenilworth by the time of the 1086 Domesday Book, which records it as Chinewrde. During the Blitz in World War II on the night of 21 November 1940, a German aircraft dropped two parachute mines on Kenilworth; the large explosions in the Abbey End area demolished a number of buildings, killing 25 people and injuring 70 more. The bomb damaged area of the town was redeveloped in the 1960s. Kenilworth was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of the record-breaking nationwide outbreak on that day. Kenilworth Wardens FC is based at Kenilworth Wardens, a Community Amateur Sports Club in Glasshouse Lane to the east of the town. They play in the Coventry Alliance Premier Division. Footballers Tim Flowers and Kelvin Langmead hail from the area.

MY VISIT 

Originally, on this day, it was going to be a couple of days in Yorkshire. A few months ago, I noticed that Campion had a Friday-night game in late January. With accommodation in Bradford being well-priced, it would be a great opportunity to visit the excellent Jacobs Well pub. I booked the Travelodge on flexible terms just in case something happened, and made plans for a couple of games at Ripon City and Knaresborough Town on the Saturday. Sadly, that flexibility was needed; every single one of the NCEL midweek games was off, and with snow and rain forecast for Friday, I cancelled a couple of days before. With the Football Traveller not arriving until after 10 pm on Wednesday, I had to make my decision on Thursday. London saw games all in tricky areas to reach, away from the clump of Spoons that I needed to visit. Wimbledon Casuals was the best option, but it was a bad journey by public transport, and outside the TFL zone. Eventually, I found a reasonable double - a revisit to Bedworth United for a Midland U21 game and a decent new ground at Kenilworth Sporting in the afternoon. It wasn't ideal with sporadic social media and poor value train fare, but it did at least have some good pubs. As usual, fellow hopper Daniel kept trying to change my mind to do East Thurrock Community or Corinthians, but they were also poor value on the train, plus in a less interesting part of the country for a day out. In any case, they could be done in midweek towards the end of the season.

It was a long, old journey home from Morpeth, and the journey really dragged. I was glad when Mick dropped us off in Huntington at 8.40. I drove home via Colin's and got in at 10.10. A nightcap of a pint of cider took the edge off an unwanted bedtime before work tomorrow. I only got a few hours of sleep, waking early, but I felt fine. It was a standard Sunday, the public coming out en masse and making it unpleasantly busy, albeit without malice. Monday was calmer, although still busy, and at least I booked my flight out to Dublin for March in the afternoon. I was hoping for a good night's sleep, but didn't get one, waking up at my normal work time on Tuesday. I could hear the rain coming down, and I would have to make a decision about my trip this weekend soon. It was drizzly with heavier rain forecast later, and I couldn't be bothered with my usual walk to town and back. Instead, I stayed in and won the Humber Premier League Division 1 with Hull United on FM17, an old game revived after many years.

Around 4, I headed out with a can in my bag, which was imbibed on the walk to town. Then, a £1.99 pint of Stowford Press at Wetherspoons whilst I started reading Neville Southall's autobiography. £5.60 for a pint of Old Rosie supported my favourite local pub before a new takeaway. Domiza Pizza was excellent for a ten-inch chilli blaze for £6.99, my new favourite pizza place in Wycombe. Finally. A can of Crumpton Oaks ended my excessive pre-match libation, but I was in a good mood. It turned out to be my 1375th first-team Wycombe game, and I made it to my seat bang on kickoff. Within two minutes, Wycombe led Wigan 1-0. A sloppy challenge saw Cameron Boyd Munce convert a penalty. It was pretty turgid for a long time, with Wigan dominating but not threatening. But then Wycombe bundled home through Cauley Woodrow to complete a routine 2-0 win. It was a short day at work the next morning, and I was back home by 11.30 to walk into town and back, getting 15 miles of exercise in. It was during this walk that I decided to pull out of my weekend in Yorkshire, owing to rain and snow on Friday. It gave Colin the chance to sort out alternative transport to Hartlepool on Saturday and saved a wasted journey. As it turned out, I finished work earlier than usual on Friday, and Campion tweeted that it was game on, and it did indeed go ahead. I spent the evening firming up plans and researching club history, which was enjoyable but time-consuming.

It was a sober and early Friday night with me in bed at 9. It took me another half hour to drop off, so it was my normal work time when I awoke naturally. I still had another 90 minutes to go and so went back to sleep, getting up at 05.35. Not the finest night of shut-eye that I've ever had, and it took me a while to get ready, leaving ten minutes late. I noted Campion had won 2-1 in my absence last night, but it'll get done one day. I had to jog some of the four miles to the station and arrived 10 minutes early. The train was semi-busy, surprisingly so for so early in the day. The 07:28 to Birmingham got me to Leamington Spa at 08:28, where I changed onto the 08:40 to Leamington, which was a lot nicer and cleaner than the previous one after a couple of Banbury passengers had left it in a right mess. I was off at Bedworth at 09:09 for my revisit to see their U21 team. Whereas the South West had been wiped out by the rain, the helpful match secretary confirmed game on at Kenilworth during half-time of the Bedworth game. It has been a good day so far and though the 12.45 train was busy, it was on time. I was in Kenilworth just after 1 and walked ten minutes to the Dictum of Kenilworth. Another Wetherspoons, wings, chips and a pint of Stowford Press were £7.47. The visit was as quick as I could make it. It was then 20 minutes walk to the ground, drizzle started just as I arrived. With the game kicking off upon arrival, the bar would have to wait.

 

Kenilworth Sporting sat 8th in the table, having won eight and lost four. They'd won two of their last three, including a 2-1 win at Gornal last week. AFC Birmingham were 12th, having won four, drawn two and lost eleven. They'd not won in ten and had lost 4-1 at Leamington Hibernian last week. The hosts were all in blue, whilst the visitors were in pink and black. With the rain stopping briefly but starting again heavier, it was a wet game. Kenilworth took the lead on 28 minutes, the visiting defence all at sea. A simple loose ball from the left was put home from within the six-yard box. Even heavier rain greeted Kenilworth's second on 43 minutes, the ball lashed into the roof of the net from six yards, this time from a right-sided cross. I went inside at halftime, easily the bar of the season with a fantastic selection. I had a pint of Napton Chisel in a plastic club glass, I think for £4.40. I then queued up to pay for my entry and excellent programme for £4 as I'd arrived late. Kenilworth came close with a great lob on 55, which came from forty yards, but was well saved. A few minutes later, AFC pulled one back with a penalty, but on 70 minutes, it was 3-1, another penalty. That was how it ended. Following this, I had a 25-minute walk back to the station.

THE GROUND

KENILWORTH SPORTING GROUND is a venue fit for step 4 of non-league football. It is fully railed, and there are two covered metal stands, holding 100 each, one seated, the other standing. The latter is used as the dugouts, but could be easily changed. Food is available in breakfast form, and merchandise includes pin badges, cups and programmes. The highlight, though, is the bar, which has five ciders including Rattler, Old Rosie, Napton, Aspalls and Carling Dark Fruits. There's also a great choice for beer drinkers. Parking is plentiful, and the ground is 25 minutes away from both the town and the station on foot.

Bedworth United - The Oval

Bedworth United FC

The Oval

Coventry Road

Bedworth

Warwickshire

CV12 8NN

02476 314852

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 296
Saturday 7th September 2013
Bedworth United 0-1 Halesowen Town
NPL D1 South

BEDWORTH UNITED FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was first established in 1895 as Bedworth Town. They were founder members of the Nuneaton & District League, but had folded by 1900, and the club went into temporary abeyance. The name Bedworth Town was resurrected in 1905 when Bedworth Evening Combination School of the Coventry & North Warwickshire League changed their name, but it too folded in the early 1920s. The name was restored in 1925, when Collycroft United (founded in 1916 and also members of the Coventry & North Warwickshire League) were renamed. In 1936, they joined the Central Amateur League but played only one season. Incarnation number 4 came in 1947, when another Bedworth Town was established. They joined the Birmingham Combination, finishing 3rd in their first season, before winning back-to-back titles in 1949 and 1950. In 1954, the club moved up to the Northern Division of the Birmingham & District League, and were placed in Division 1 the following season after league reorganisation. In 1962, the league was renamed the West Midlands (Regional) League. After several seasons struggling in the league, finishing bottom in 1960 and then finishing in the bottom five every season between 1963 and 1968, the club folded.

The fifth and current incarnation of the club was established in 1968. They picked up where the old club left off and spent four unremarkable seasons in the WMRL before making the step up to the Southern League in 1972. Until 1979, they played in Division 1 North and then for three seasons in the Midland Division. In 1982, the league was restructured, and the club was placed in the Premier Division. In 1983, Bedworth United achieved their best-ever finish of 5th in what was, at the time, the second tier. They remained in the Premier Division until 1989, when they were relegated to the regional divisions. Another demotion of sorts occurred in 2004 when the league dropped a tier following the establishment of the Conference North & South. A 3rd place finish in 2012 saw Bedworth qualify for the play-offs. After beating Uxbridge 2–1 in the semi-final, they defeated Beaconsfield SYCOB 3–1 in the final to earn promotion to the Premier Division. However, the following season saw them finish second-bottom of the table, resulting in relegation, this time to the NPL D1 South. They were transferred back to the Southern League in 2014 and qualified for the play-offs again in 2015 after finishing fourth. A 2–1 win at Aylesbury in the semi-finals and then a 2–0 victory against Barton Rovers in the final saw them promoted back to the Southern League Premier. However, the following season saw them relegated back to the NPL D1 South. They reached the playoffs again in 2018. After beating Chasetown 2–1 in the semi-finals, they defeated Stamford 2–1 after extra time in the final to earn promotion to the Southern League Premier South. However, the club finished bottom the following season and were relegated to D1 Central. At the end of the 2020–21 season, they were transferred to the NPL D1 Midlands, where they remain to this day.

Bedworth United reached the 4th Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in 2009, losing 2-0 at York City. They have also reached the FA Trophy 2nd Round on a number of occasions. Local cup wins include three Birmingham Senior Cups and two Midland Floodlit Cups. Between 1911 and 1939, the club played at the British Queen Ground, after which they moved to their current home. The record attendance of 5,147 came in 1982 against local rivals Nuneaton Borough, whilst the record appearance and goals contributor is Peter Spacey, who played for the club between 1949 & 1969. They received £30,000 when prolific scorer Peter Landon joined Plymouth Argyle in 1994. Other famous players to have turned out for the club include Keith Scott, who played for the club as a youngster before going on to have a good Football League career, including spells at Wycombe Wanderers.

MY FIRST VISIT

After leaving Sutton Coldfield, the destination of my morning game, I made my way back to Birmingham New Street station, where I then caught a train to Coventry. It was then that I discovered that the train service to Bedworth was utter rubbish, only running once every hour. The most I had to wait for a train was 10 minutes so far, so 45 minutes wasted time in Coventry was not welcome. I killed it by going in search of some lunch, in my case, a very good value 99p Chicken Donner Baguette with salad and chilli sauce. Despite the price, the portion of chicken was generous, and it tasted as good as anything from Subway or the like. Eventually, just after 2.40, I finally caught the train to Bedworth. After a short journey, it arrived at 2.53. I didn't bother with Google Maps, instead. relying on a site called 'Getting To Football' to get me there. Despite the design looking like it was made in the 1990s, it does the job excellently. The information was spot on, and I just made kick off after a quick jog, getting there with minutes to spare. I hadn't seen either team before, though I had been to see a game at Halesowen's ground. It was back in 2005 when I was aiming to do a game in every round of the FA Cup. The first one of the lot was in August in the extra preliminary round. It was Stourbridge v Glossop North End, and it was only being played at Halesowen due to Stourbridge's ground being used for the cricket club who they share with. 



It was an enjoyable game, finally won in the 66th minute by Ben Haseley. I have included a match report below, from the non-league paper. I was still quite full from lunch, but I managed to squeeze in a big portion of faggots, mushy peas and chips, which a mate had recommended on Facebook. They turned out to be every bit as good as suggested, and this has to be one of the better tea bars in non-league. I also went into the club shop and bought a pen, as pennants were £7 as opposed to the pens that were £1.50. I have started collecting pens more lately, but I only have five at present. The reduced cost, along with my ever-decreasing wall space for pennants, makes them a decent option. After the game, I made my way back to Coventry, after waiting for around 25 minutes at the station. I had soon changed trains and was on my way back to Birmingham. I had been recommended a pub, the Post Office Vaults, before, but had never actually got round to visiting it. I had searched for it with no luck last time I was in Birmingham, probably due to the fact that Google Maps had it in the wrong place. It was only a small door anyway, the entrance no bigger than a standard house door, but as I was to find out, it would be a good find.

 

I got there around 6.15, meaning I had just over an hour drinking time, as I didn't want a repeat of last time I was in Birmingham. That time, I was on my way back from Telford, spent a minute too long in the pub, and got to the station just as my train was pulling off. The next one was cancelled, which means I had to wait for 2 hours. Luckily, there were no inspectors on that journey, as I had a timed ticket for a certain time. On this occasion, I was more careful but still managed to have a few pints of cider, lucky that I wouldn't have to drive for 3 hours. The pub turned out to be a real cracker, with 13 ciders on. I had halves of Border Orchards cider and Pennalt Capsy Wennet. To finish it off I had a pint of Hogan's Hazy Daisy, which was 3.9% and the lightest of the lot. It also turned out to be the nicest, a really pleasant tasting one which was a bit like some of the French ones I have had, which are amongst my favourites. I shall most certainly be returning, should I get the chance. I got to the station with 10 minutes to spare. I grabbed myself a can of Irn Bru and a chocolate bar and waited for the train home. On the way home, I hadn't got much to read, so I was glad I had bought my headphones. I listened to some music, which made the journey pass a bit quicker. I was back in Wycombe at 9.30, and after the walk to my car, back home by 10PM. Sadly, there was no Match Of The Day, owing to the international weekend. But even more pathetically, there was no Football League show either, despite all of League One and Two playing. Instead, I had a curry out of the freezer, and a fairly early night for a Saturday, falling asleep just before 11.

MY SECOND VISIT

1-0 v Stafford Rangers, Midland U21 League, 31/01/26

As with a lot of grounds I had been to in the early days of hopping, I was always open to a revisit under the right circumstances. This happened on what was a weekend with a lack of variety due to the dodgy weather and the fact that all the grounds that I needed at step 6 and above were miles away. I also needed the Wetherspoons in the town, so a morning game in the Under-21 League was ideal before heading elsewhere in the afternoon. I was in Bedworth at 09:10 and headed to the Bear and Ragged Staff, my 475th Wetherspoons. It was nice and busy, and the people were friendly, in contrast to the gloomy town centre. Breakfast Muffin, haggis, energy drink and pints of Stowford Press and Old Rosie came in at under a tenner. Great prices and food, the service was first class too.

Bedworth was created in Victorian times, from weaving and coal-mining. The town centre was redeveloped in the 1960s and early 1970s, when the centuries-old and well-known King’s Head and the Old Pheasant both disappeared. So, too, did Bedworth’s status as an urban district, in Warwickshire. The Bear and Ragged Staff is the county emblem of Warwickshire, and also the name of a public house swept away in the redevelopment of Bedworth’s town centre, but the name lives on in this Wetherspoon pub. In a good mood, I left at 10:15, frustrated by Simplenote not working properly. It was less than ten minutes walk to the ground, where £4 was handed over in lieu of entry. The only goal of the game came after five minutes, a cross bundled home from close range to give Bedworth the win. The second half was more equal and Bedworth Town hit the bar on 65 minutes. The Bedworth keeper lost the ball in a challenge and the #6 bailed him out. The resulting corner came to nothing, but Stafford will rue their missed chances. It was a deserved win for Bedworth mind and despite the match not being a thriller, it'd been a great revisit.

Bedworth United sat 12th in the table, having won five, drawn one and lost four of their games so far. They had won three in a row, including last week when they beat Boldmere St Michaels 4-0. Stafford Rangers were 16th and had won two, drawn one and lost nine. They were on inconsistent form but had won 3-2 at Mercia Athletic last week. Bedworth were in their usual home kit, Stafford Rangers in a snazzy purple and pink combo. It was the hosts who took the lead after five minutes when they converted from a right-wing cross. 

THE GROUND

THE OVAL is set in nice green surroundings and makes for a pleasant place to watch football. The main stand usually holds around 300, but with part of that covered over, probably only holds around 200 now. Apart from that, the only area of cover is a small bit on the clubhouse side, whilst the rest is open standing. As mentioned before, the tea bar is excellent, with a wide range of nice stuff and big helpings. The club shop too has a fair few things and even has a small selection of old programmes and books for sale. The bar does the standard range of drinks, but looked pretty nice with TV's to watch the football on. All in all, I enjoyed my visit here; it's a nice place to watch football at and is a short distance from the train station for those who don't have a car or find it cheaper on the train, as I did on this occasion.

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