MP launches petition to bring 137-year-old football club back to Dudley

Dudley Town FC, which plays in the Premier Division of the Midland Football League, has been without a permanent home since 1996, when financial difficulties forced it to leave the Round Oak stadium in Brierley Hill. In recent years it has been playing outside the borough at Willenhall Town's ground.

Dudley MP Sonia Kumar has now launched a petition, which will be presented to Dudley Council, calling for a ground to be found within the town.

hereMiss Kumar said bringing the club back to its home town would reinvigorate local pride, boost community engagement, and support grassroots football.

“Dudley Town FC is part of our heritage,” she said.

“Bringing the club back to Dudley is about more than football, it’s about community, identity, and opportunity.

"I urge everyone who cares about our town to sign the petition and help us make this happen.” 

Dudley Town, known as the Robins, were founded in 1888 and in their early days played at Shaver's End in the town, before moving to the county cricket ground in Tipton Road in 1911. In 1932, Dudley Council created a purpose-built football stadium next to the cricket ground, known as the Sports Centre, with a lavish 1,800-seat grandstand. More than 6,000 fans watched the club's saw the club's opening game at the new ground, a 5-5 draw against Darlaston on September 3, 1932.

A high point in the club's history in came in 1977 when 5,000 fans watched the Robins hold York City to a 1-1 draw in the FA Cup, but throughout most of its life the ground was plagued by subsidence caused by the limestone workings beneath.

On May 25, 1985, days after being promoted to the Southern League Premier Division, a 40ft crater opened up on the cricket pitch, forcing the council to close the ground.

The Robins built a new, purpose-built stadium on the site of the former Round Oak steelworks sports stadium in Brierley Hill ,where they played until the club hit financial difficulties in 1996, forcing them to quit the league and sell the ground for redevelopment. 

The club were reformed in 1997 by president Nevil Jeynes, and over the years that followed have variously played in at Gornal Athletic's Garden Walk ground, at Stourbridge FC's War Memorial Athletic Ground, and The Dell Stadium in Brierley, before moving to Willenhall in recent years.

The petition can be signed here https://survey.labour.org.uk/bringhomedudleyfc