[10][11], City remained in the top flight in the period up to the First World War and for three seasons afterwards, but were relegated in 1921–22 along with Manchester United. [7] Having narrowly avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight, City recorded their highest finish of 5th in 1910–11. He cleared the debts and after four months sacked manager Frank Stapleton to appoint his own manager, Lennie Lawrence. City scarves have also sold in large numbers in recent years to fans of Harry Potter, because the colours are the same as Harry's house scarf at Hogwarts School. Email: info@bradfordbulls.co.uk The policy for travel assistance from home to school changed on 1 September 2015. Bradford City currently play in the English Football League's Sky Bet League 2 Proud Finalists in 2019 Football Blogging Awards for Best Forum They spent £1,400 erecting a ground with a capacity of 20,000, club facilities and levelling the land. [87] Joint-chairman Mark Lawn announced in November 2008 that season tickets in the Bradford End for the 2009–10 season would be available for just £99 and £138 for the rest of the ground if bought in December 2008. [33][34] Paul Jewell took over, initially on a temporary basis, before he was given a permanent contract. [56] They beat Sunderland, another Premier League club, 2–0 at home in the next round on 15 February 2015. Telephone: 0333 323 5075. [88] On 6 July, the club announced a record-breaking 18,000 tickets had been sold following a successful campaign. They include Scottish club Motherwell, who originally wore blue and white until they wore claret and amber for the first time on 23 August 1913, against Celtic. The reason Manningham chose claret and amber is not documented but it was the same colours of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment, which was based at Belle Vue Barracks on nearby Manningham Lane. They defeated three Premier League sides en route to the final â€“ Wigan Athletic 4–2 on penalties in the fourth round, Arsenal 3–2 on penalties in the quarter-finals and Aston Villa 4–3 on aggregate over the two legs of the semi-final. [67] Its first game against Bristol City on Christmas Day attracted a crowd of 36,000. [24], City failed to win promotion for three successive seasons, until the board appointed former England centre back Roy McFarland as manager in May 1981. The replay was played on 16 March 2015 at the Madejski Stadium, where Reading won 3–0[58] and knocked the third-tier division club out of the competition. [9] City's defence of the cup, which included the first Bradford derby against Bradford Park Avenue, was stopped by Barnsley after a run of 12 consecutive clean sheets. [68][71] However, twice during the next decade, the club's Midland Road stand had to be demolished. [7][15] O'Rourke left for a second time after one more season, and although City spent a total of eight seasons back in Division Two, they rarely looked like earning promotion back to the top flight. The fire destroyed the main stand in just nine minutes. We have quickly grown into the largest and most active independent Bradford City Association Football Club site on the internet. His assistant Chris Hutchings was promoted to the manager's position,[38] and despite a series of new expensive signings,[39][40] he was sacked by November 2000, with City second from bottom of the league. [69], Until 1952, by which time Bradford City had bought the remaining two-thirds of the ground to own it outright,[70] the ground remained virtually unchanged. [20] Layne left for Sheffield Wednesday,[22] and without him City finished second from bottom of the league and had to apply for re-election. They were relegated in 1922 and again in 1927, before winning the Third Division North title in 1928–29. [174], "BCAFC" redirects here. [20] Bradford City just failed to win promotion in 1963–64, winning more games than any other team in the division that season, twenty five, with Rodney Green top scoring with 29 league goals. McFarland won promotion in his first season, but was poached by his former club Derby County just six months later. [72], On 11 May 1985, Valley Parade was the scene of a fatal fire, during which 56 supporters were killed and at least 265 were injured. We employ more than 5,500 staff, all of whom are dedicated to providing the best possible healthcare to a population of 500,000. [4] Peter O'Rourke took over as manager in November 1905, and he led City to the Division Two title in 1907–08 and with it promotion to the Division One. [62] The club's away shirt has traditionally been white and to a lesser extent also blue, but there has been a profusion of other colours and designs particularly in more recent years. at home, in a game that ended in a goalless draw. They defeated Notts County 2–0 in the final to earn promotion to Division One. It is erroneously believed that Motherwell chose the claret and amber colours because they were the racing colours of Lord Hamilton; it is more likely that Motherwell were influenced by Bradford City's English FA cup win in 1911.[64]. 50M+ authentic stock photos from Twenty20 are now included in Envato Elements subscriptions. [89] The campaign was repeated for the 2016–17 season, where the club sold in excess of 17,000 tickets. In 1996, following City's promotion to Division One, club chairman Geoffrey Richmond announced the construction of a 4,500 seater stand on the Midland Road side. They are the only professional football club in England to wear claret and amber, and have worn these colours throughout their history. Create professional websites faster than ever. Bantam Talk launched in 2018 after Claret & Banter shut down. [2], Robert Campbell was appointed the club's first manager and with the help of the new committee, he assembled a playing squad at the cost of £917 10s 0d. Bradford City have one official mascot, Billy Bantam. [52], In January 2013, City became the first club from the fourth tier of English football since Rochdale in 1962 to reach the Football League Cup final, and the first fourth tier club ever to reach a major Wembley Cup Final. Bradford City have had a number of nicknames during the history. City played games away from Valley Parade for 19 months. Valley Parade was the site of a quarry on the hillside below Manningham, Bradford, owned by Midland Railway Company, in 1886, when Manningham RFC bought one-third of the land and leased the remainder, because they had been forced to find a new home. Season ticket prices were set at £149 for adults, senior citizens and students, while admission for under-11s was free when purchased with an adult ticket. Adults prices are £199, senior citizen and student tickets priced at £149 and juniors £99. Supporters hold West Yorkshire derby rivalries with Huddersfield Town and Leeds United, as well as an historic Bradford derby rivalry with the now non-league side Bradford (Park Avenue). [28] But just ten days after the new £2.6 million ground was opened, Cherry was sacked. Form, team news, odds, past meetings, the ref - all the key details are in our preview of Carlisle United v Bradford City [93], According to a survey conducted in August 2019, Bradford City fans also see Burnley, Barnsley and Oldham Athletic as rivals. Offrande Zanzala scored a brace as Carlisle ended their eight-game League Two winless run with an impressive win against mid-table rivals Bradford. It featured biographies of 100 players and staff members from the history of the club. Another relegation in 1937 did allow the club to go on to win the Third Division North Cup in 1939, however a further relegation followed in 1962 to leave the club in the newly created Fourth Division. The crest maintains the club colours and also includes the words The Bantams. [37], However, Jewell left shortly afterwards. Bradford City have participated in the Bradford derby with city rivals Bradford Park Avenue. An initial campaign target of 15,000 was set with a deadline for the reduced tickets of 31 July 2015. The following is a list of the officially appointed captains of the Bradford City first-team. Download All 360 “free” WordPress themes unlimited times with a single Envato Elements subscription. Bradford City is the only professional football club in England to wear claret and amber. [75], In 1991, the Bradford end of the ground was the next to be redeveloped, and was converted into a two-tier stand with a scoreboard. They met Premier League side Swansea City in the final at Wembley, but lost 0–5. In January 1994, Geoffrey Richmond came from Scarborough to take over as chairman,[32] and promised to guide City to the Premier League within five years. The away kit for the 2008–09 season was all white. Nineteen-year-old local lad Reece Staunton was a first-team regular before picking up a bad hamstring injury in November, while Finn Cousin-Dawson, 18, had a lengthy spell as first … The club and Bradford Bulls would share the new £50m complex, which would also feature cricket, cycling and athletics facilities. [1] The Football League saw the invitation as a chance to promote association football in the rugby league-dominated county of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Weber also was disheartened freshman forward Davion Bradford didn’t find a spot on the team. See supported browsers. They entered Europe and reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000–01, but ended the campaign with relegation out of the Premier League. The journey to school. [57] In the Quarter Finals, The Bantams faced Reading F.C. [84] The scheme enabled the club to top the average league attendances for Football League Two during the 2007–08 season, attracting more than three times more than any other club. The run to the final is thought to be worth at least £1.3 million to the club, with the club's joint chairman Mark Lawn stating that the final itself could be worth an additional £1 million, taking the club's total earnings to £2.3 million during their 2012–13 Football League Cup campaign. Hull City and Bradford City players shine in Yorkshire’s Team of the Week Yorkshire Post 12:16 29-Mar-21 Find out which City player has made the League Two Team … It was a display that was bad enough to have Bradford City fans taking to Twitter at half-time. [76] A corner stand between the Kop and main stand was opened in December 2000, taking the capacity to 20,000 for the first time since 1970. Contact the School Admissions Team. [65] When Bradford City were formed in 1903, they took over the ground Valley Parade, which was also at this time the headquarters of The 2nd West Riding Brigade Royal Field Artillery (Territorial Force), playing their first home game on 5 September 1903 against Gainsborough Trinity, drawing a crowd of 11,000. They suffered a second relegation to Division Three (North) in 1926–27. 1903–1991, Andy Myers wipes board at Player-of-the-Year Awards, Paul Heckingbottom gets Player-of-the-Year Award, James Hanson lands Player of the Year title, "Bradford City bin awards night after rubbish season", "DARBY DOMINATES PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS", "McARDLE DOMINATES PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS", "KILGALLON DOMINATES PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS EVENING", "CITY TEAM-MATES: The 1911 FA Cup winners – and the maverick winger banned for the final", "Bruce Stowell, an amateur turned professional", "Former Bradford City captain dies, aged 74", "Footballer gives Asian youths a helping hand", "What former Bantams skipper will take into management from Stuart McCall", "Ricky Ravenhill and Ritchie Jones close to Bradford City return", "Torquay were tougher opponents than Arsenal, says Bradford captain", "New Bradford City captain Stephen Darby signs for three more years", "Remain Vincelot: Bradford City skipper stays put at back", "Darby aiming to give Bradford City boss more headaches", "Bradford City: O'Connor admits "some games we're better off not being there, "Bradford City: Akpan out to lead by example in survival bid", "Leeds United confirm first summer departure as Paudie O'Connor joins Bradford City", "James Vaughan: Bradford City loan top scorer to Tranmere Rovers", "Bradford City name O'Donnell as captain", "Novak: Why it was important for Bradford City to speak their minds", "Paudie O'Connor Revels in his Pride of Captaining Bradford City for the First Time", "Bantams won't let Twitter trolls affect Sutton, says skipper O'Connor", "TEAM NEWS: O'Donnell back in goal for Bradford City", "Captaincy not up for debate as bosses defend O'Donnell decision", http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14806162.Bradford_City__Peter_Horne_was_thinking_football_to_the_very_end/, "Work underway for January window as Bantams officially unveil Turnbull", "Nevison back at Bradford City to nurture youngest talent in the area", "Walsall chief scout heading for Bantams", "Bradford City boss won't make coaching changes", "New 'keeper coach Vaughan excited by City challenge", "Interview: Bantams academy boss Matthews on his playing journey", "NIGHTINGALE ARRIVES AS ACADEMY HEAD OF COACHING", "West Riding County Football Association Ltd Official Handbook 2011–12", "Bradford City stalwart Jack Tordoff happy to be back as kit sponsor", "Bradford motor firm JCT600 sign up for three more years with the Bantams", "BRADFORD CITY AND AVEC SPORT UNVEIL NEW KITS", Site of Bradford City's bantamspast museum, Chelsea F.C. [76] The following year, Valley Parade was sold to Gibb's pension fund for £5 million, with the club's offices, the shop and car park sold to London-based Development Securities for £2.5 million,[78] but these (club offices, shop and car park) were bought back by the club's joint chairmen in the summer of 2011. Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire.The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.The club's home ground is the 25,136-capacity Valley Parade, which was the site of the Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May 1985, which took the lives of 56 supporters. Bradford City has worn claret and amber, with either white or black, since it was founded. The game was the final match of the 1984–85 season, before which City were presented with the Division Three championship trophy. For three seasons, City finished mid-table in the third tier, which was renamed Division Two following the advent of the Premier League. We also have the third-largest membership base in the country. The club's crest combines a series of logos from over the years. They found success in the 1980s under the stewardship of first Roy McFarland and then Trevor Cherry, winning promotion in 1981–82 and following this up with the Third Division title in 1984–85, though they were relegated out of the Second Division in 1990. Promotion to the top tier followed as they won the 1907–08 Second Division title and then they went on to win the 1911 FA Cup Final, which remains the club's only major honour. However, City's triumph was overshadowed by the fire disaster, which killed 56 people when Valley Parade caught fire in the final game of the season.[27]. City's stay in Division Three lasted just three years, when they finished bottom in 1971–72. Levi Sutton (Bradford City) Influential as City made it four wins in a row for the first time in five years. Elphick started his second game for the B Team since returning from a long-term knee injury, having featured in Town’s 3-1 win against Halifax Town last Friday. At the time, the new logo maintained the previous nickname of the Paraders. Alternatively, please email ifollow@efl.com - note that live chat is recommended for the quickest response on a matchday. A succession of financial crises followed as the club entered administration twice in two years and further relegations followed in 2004 and 2007 to leave the club back in the fourth tier. 3–0 in the League Two Playoff Final to secure a place in League One for 2013–14. It was a quickfire double from Rhys Bennett (37′) and Offrande Zanala (39′) that was City’s undoing late in the first half. It duly elected the new club into Division Two of the league, in place of Doncaster Rovers. Having originally worn black shirts with white shorts, the club's first game in claret and amber was against Hull on 20 September 1884, at Carlisle Road. Scored another cracker to get them on their way at Walsall and then assisted in the second. Here is a selection of their comments as these fans faced up to a second, consecutive loss to dent their play-off charge. Since the fire in 1985, the club has used black on the kit as a memorial to the 56 supporters who died. [32] City avoided relegation the following season by winning their last two league games 1–0 against Charlton and then beating Queens Park Rangers 3–0 on the final day of the season, but Kamara was sacked in January 1998. [79] Valley Parade has had several other names under sponsorship naming deals. Our site is great except that we don‘t support your browser. In July 2016 it became the Northern Commercials Stadium,[80] and in July 2019 it became the Utilita Energy Stadium.[81]. [35][36] The following season, Jewell continued to defy the critics, who labelled his team Dad's Army, by avoiding relegation again on the last day with a 1–0 victory over Liverpool, with a goal from David Wetherall. Odsal Stadium, Odsal, Bradford. [51], In September 2011 the club became linked with American amateur side SC United Bantams. Jasmin Atker is a Bradford student who captained the first England team in the international Street Child Cricket World Cup, and was named one of the BBC 100 top inspiring women in 2019. The club was saved by former chairman Stafford Heginbotham and former board member Jack Tordoff, but to ensure the club could start the new season, prize asset, striker Bobby Campbell was sold to Derby. [41] Jim Jefferies took over but could not save the club from relegation. [31] Two years later City were relegated back to Division Three. Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust became a foundation trust on April 1, 2004 – one of the very first in the NHS to do so. Although they missed out on promotion, City won the league the following season 1984–85, to return to the second tier of The Football League. [32] Lawrence left after little more than a year to join Luton Town but his successor, Chris Kamara took City to the play-offs and their first game at Wembley Stadium. They have though been known by various nicknames, with the "Bantams" being the most commonly used nickname as it appears on the current club crest. players with fewer than 50 league appearances, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "McCall: I'll Have Failed If We Don't Go Up", "Final 2007/2008 Football League Two Table", "Bradford City's historic win 'worth £1m, "Bradford City smash Northampton Town in half an hour in play-off final", FA Cup: Reading 3–0 Bradford City highlights, "Coventry City 2–0 Bradford City: Bantams relegated from League One", "BBC on this day â€“ 1985: Fans killed in Bradford stadium fire", "BRADFORD CITY ANNOUNCE NORTHERN COMMERCIALS AS NEW STADIUM SPONSORS IN LANDMARK DEAL", "Valley Parade becomes Utilita Energy Stadium with new power partnership", "Bradford City Set to Offer Cheapest Season Tickets in the UK", "City break 12,000 Season Ticket barrier", "Pioneering City honoured with trip to parliament", "Jamie Lawrence: I know what beating Leeds would mean to Bradford City fans", "Huddersfield Town: Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson gears up for derby", "Shay-me that friends will be foes this Sunday â€“ Wayne Jacobs on Halifax v Bantams FA Cup clash", "The top five rivals of English football's top 92 clubs have been revealed", "From the Vault: Bradford City's adventure in the 2000 Intertoto Cup", "A potted history of Bradford City #1: The Intertoto Cup", "THE RICHMOND YEARS: Unchartered territory for City with European adventure", "BBC SPORT | BRADFORD CITY | Bradford gain Intertoto advantage", "Football: Intertoto Cup: RKC Waalwijk 0 Bradford City 1", "InterToto Cup: Bradford adventure ends with tame defeat", Wolves 1999: The History Of Bradford City F.C. [17], After the war, City went through two managers in the first two seasons,[18] and were consistently in the bottom half of the Division Three (North) table until 1955–56. [91][92] A "friendly" rivalry also existed with now-defunct club Halifax Town. (2015), West Yorkshire Association Football League, Halifax and District Association Football League, Huddersfield and District Association Football League, Wakefield and District Football Association League, Bracken Hall Countryside Centre and Museum, Keighley and District Local History Society, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bradford_City_A.F.C.&oldid=1015692889, Association football clubs established in 1903, Companies that have entered administration in the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2011, Articles to be expanded from January 2011, Articles needing additional references from May 2013, All articles needing additional references, Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, City's youngest captain (started at 21 years old), Became captain after Vaughan left the club on loan in January 2020, Announced as temporary captain in January 2021 whilst O'Donnell was injured (for 3 months), Announced as temporary captain following an injury to Novak, O'Donnell returned to first-team action - and as captain - on 20 March 2021, Head of foundation phase coaching and recruitment, Spen Valley and District Association Football League, This page was last edited on 2 April 2021, at 23:20. Bradford spent just three seasons in Division Three, but during their relegation season in 1960–61,[20] they upset Division One side Manchester United in the inaugural season of the League Cup. By December 1981, the club relaunched the Bantams as the official identity with a bantam on the new crest. [12][13] Back in Division Two, attendances dropped and City struggled for form,[14] with five consecutive finishes in the bottom half of the table. In their early years, they were referred to as the Robins or Wasps, taking over the nickname of Manningham FC, as a result of Manningham's claret and amber hoops. Tommy Elphick got on the scoresheet as Huddersfield Town’s B Team produced a dominant performance to beat Bradford City 3-0 at Canalside on Wednesday afternoon. “The best thing I can say about Harry is that when I was at the game he looked like a first team player playing Under-23s football,” he said. Ahead of promotion to the Premiership in 1999, Richmond spent another £6.5 million to convert the Kop into a two-tier 7,500-seat capacity stand. [42][43] At the end of the first season back in Division One, City were placed in administration with debts of nearly £13 million. All from independent designers. They secured promotions back into the third tier in 1969 and 1977, but were relegated in 1972 and 1978. [77] The following summer, the main stand was also converted into a two-tier stand, taking the capacity to 25,136. [70] Six years later, the new stand was itself demolished, and Valley Parade remained a three-sided ground until 1966, when the pitch was moved, and a new stand built. The club was founded in 1903 and immediately elected into the Football League Second Division. phlox pro - elementor multipurpose wordpress theme. [8] The same season they won the FA Cup, when a goal from captain Jimmy Speirs won the final replay against Newcastle United. [16] City won their third piece of silverware two seasons later, when they lifted the Third Division North Challenge Cup, but they were unable to defend the trophy because competitive football was suspended for the Second World War. City went top of the table in September 1987, but fell away during Christmas and missed out on promotion on the final day of the season. official website. 2–4 Bradford City A.F.C. [53] Ticket Line: 0333 323 5075 - option 1. The club won the Perform Best Fan Marketing campaign category in The Football League Awards for the scheme and earned them an invitation to the Houses of Parliament.