Oxford United F.C.

Oxford United
Full nameOxford United Football Club
Nickname(s)The U's, Yellows
Founded1893 (1893)
(as Headington United)[1]
GroundKassam Stadium
Capacity12,500
OwnerErick Thohir
Anindya Bakrie
ChairmanGrant Ferguson
Head coachDes Buckingham
LeagueEFL League One
2022–23EFL League One, 19th of 24
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Oxford United Football Club is a professional association football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson,[2] Des Buckingham is the head coach[3] and Elliott Moore is the captain.[4]

The club was founded on 27 October 1893 as Headington Football Club. Headington merged with local rivals Headington Quarry on 25 July 1911 and was renamed Headington United. The club adopted its current name in 1960. It joined the Football League in 1962 after winning the Southern Football League, reaching the Second Division in 1968. After relegation in 1976, between 1984 and 1986 the club earned successive promotions into the First Division, and won the League Cup in 1986. However, Oxford were unable thereby to enter the 1987 UEFA Cup because of the UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions. Relegation from the top flight in 1988 began an 18-year decline which saw the club relegated to the Conference in 2006, becoming the first winners of a major trophy to be relegated from the Football League. After four seasons, Oxford returned to League Two in 2010 via the playoffs, and six seasons later achieved promotion to League One, after finishing second in League Two in 2016.

Ron Atkinson holds the club record for the most overall appearances with 560, John Shuker holds the record for the most appearances in the Football League with 478 and Ron's late brother Graham Atkinson holds the record for the most goals scored with 107. In total, nineteen players have made international appearances while playing for the club. United's home ground is the Kassam Stadium in Oxford and has a capacity of 12,500. United moved to the stadium in 2001 after leaving the Manor Ground, their home for 76 years. Swindon Town is the club's main rivals.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference founded was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Club Statement: Board Changes". Oxford United F.C. 27 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Des Buckingham confirmed as Oxford United head coach". Oxford United Football Club. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  4. ^ Rice, Liam (10 March 2023). "Elliott Moore to remain Oxford United captain under Craig Short". Oxford Mail. Archived from the original on 10 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.