The Club – Maine Road FC

Our Story

Born From a
Passion for Football

Maine Road FC was founded in 1955 as City Supporters Rusholme — a name that said it all. A group of Manchester City fans, led by future club chairman Frank Thompson, simply wanted to play football together. They entered the Rusholme Sunday League and never looked back.

In the late 1960s, under the influential stewardship of Ronnie Meredith, the club made two decisions that would define its future. First, they moved their headquarters to the newly built Maine Road Social Club in Moss Side — the supporter hub sitting in the shadow of Manchester City's famous ground. Second, they rebranded as Maine Road FC, a name that bound them to the community, the street, and the stadium forever.

It was Meredith who truly transformed the club's ambitions. After winning the Manchester County Sunday Cup and the league title in 1971–72, he made the bold call to switch from Sunday to Saturday football, joining Division Two of the Manchester League — and winning the title at the very first attempt.

Photo: Unsplash — Royalty-free

Our Heritage

The Maine Road
Connection

To understand Maine Road FC, you have to understand the street it's named after. Maine Road, Moss Side was home to Manchester City Football Club from 1923 to 2003 — eighty years of history, drama, and the kind of fierce local pride that only a proper football neighbourhood can produce.

When City first played at Maine Road in August 1923, 58,159 fans packed in to watch a 2–1 win over Sheffield United. The ground would go on to set an English club attendance record of 84,569 for an FA Cup tie against Stoke City in 1934 — a record that still stands today.

The Maine Road Social Club, where our founders headquartered the club in the late 1960s, sat in the beating heart of that world. It was a place where City supporters gathered before and after matches, where the love of the game was woven into everyday life. When the club took the name Maine Road FC, it was a conscious tribute to that identity — a declaration that this was a club of the people, shaped by the same streets that shaped Manchester City.

In 2003, City left Maine Road for the City of Manchester Stadium and the old ground was demolished, replaced by housing. But on Brantingham Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, the name — and everything it represents — lives on.

Photo: Unsplash — Royalty-free

Club History

70 Years of
Milestones

Club Timeline

1955

Founded as City Supporters Rusholme

Frank Thompson and fellow Manchester City fans form the club, entering the Rusholme Sunday League.

Late 1960s

Renamed Maine Road FC

The club relocates its HQ to the Maine Road Social Club in Moss Side and adopts the Maine Road FC name.

1971–72

Sunday League Double

Win the Manchester County Sunday Cup and the league title. Ronnie Meredith's vision moves the club to Saturday football.

1975–76 & 76–77

Manchester Premier Cup (×2)

Back-to-back Manchester Premier Cup victories establish Maine Road as a major force in Manchester football.

1980

Brantingham Road Becomes Home

After years of moving grounds, the club settles at Brantingham Road, Chorlton-cum-Hardy — their home to this day.

1982–86

Manchester Premier League Dynasty

Four consecutive Manchester Premier League championships, cementing the club's dominance of local football.

1987–88

Manchester Premier Cup (×3)

Third Manchester Premier Cup in their debut NWCFL season. A unique record: the first club ever to win all five County Cups.

1987

Join the North West Counties League

32 years after their founding, the club enters the NWCFL — a major step up in the non-league pyramid.

1989–90

NWCFL Division Two Champions

Win the NWCFL Division Two title and earn promotion to Division One, where they stay for over a decade.

2007–08

NWCFL League Challenge Cup

Cup glory at the highest level of the club's history, completing a remarkable cup honours list.

2013–14

NWCFL Premier Division Runners-Up

The closest the club has come to the top of the NWCFL pyramid — a season to remember.

2025–26

Fighting for Survival

A challenging season in NWCFL Division One North. The community rallies as the club battles to preserve its place in the pyramid.

Honours

🏆

NWCFL Division Two Champions

1989–90

🏆

NWCFL League Challenge Cup

2007–08

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NWCFL Premier Division Runners-Up

2013–14

🏅

Manchester Premier Cup

Winners: 1975–76, 1976–77, 1987–88

🏅

Manchester Premier League

Champions: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86

⭐

All Five County Cups

First club in history to win all five County Cups

🏅

Manchester County Sunday Cup

1971–72 (alongside the league title)

The Ground

Brantingham Road
Our Home Since 1980

After years of playing at various pitches across South Manchester, Maine Road FC found their permanent home at Brantingham Road in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in 1980. Situated just a short distance from the site of the old Maine Road stadium, the ground reflects everything the club stands for — unpretentious, community-focused, and alive with atmosphere on matchday.

Brantingham Road has witnessed some of the club's greatest moments, from league title celebrations to cup runs, and has been the backdrop for over four decades of grassroots football. It remains a proper non-league ground — the kind of place where you can hear the banter from the dugouts, smell the half-time Bovril, and feel part of something real.

Ground Brantingham Road

Location Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester

At This Ground Since 1980

Current League NWCFL Division One North

Reserve League Cheshire Football League, League 1

Typical Kick-off Saturday, 15:00

Colours Blue & White

Nickname The Road

Stadium Heritage

Maine Road:
A Street, A Stadium, A Name

The street that gave this club its name is one of the most storied addresses in English football history.

1923

Manchester City's First Maine Road Match

58,159 fans witnessed City beat Sheffield United 2–1 on 25 August 1923 — the beginning of an 80-year story.

84,569

Record Attendance (1934)

An FA Cup sixth-round tie against Stoke City set the English club ground attendance record — one that still stands.

2003

The Final Season

City's last goal at Maine Road was scored by Marc-Vivien Foé in a 3–0 win over Sunderland on 21 April 2003. The stadium was demolished that autumn.

Photo: Unsplash — Royalty-free

Manchester City occupied the Maine Road ground from 1923 until 2003, when they moved to what is now the Etihad Stadium. During those 80 years, Maine Road hosted not just City matches, but FA Cup semi-finals, the Charity Shield, a League Cup final, and several England internationals.

The ground held a unique place in the landscape of South Manchester. The Maine Road area — and Moss Side in particular — was shaped by the culture and community that grew up around the stadium. When our founders chose to base the club at the Maine Road Social Club in the late 1960s, they were planting their flag in that community.

Today, the street where the old stadium stood is lined with housing. But Maine Road FC carries the name forward — a living, breathing connection to that extraordinary football heritage, played out every Saturday at Brantingham Road.

Rooted in the Community

For over 70 years, Maine Road FC has been more than a football club. We are part of the fabric of Moss Side and South Manchester — a club that represents everyone who has ever pulled on a blue shirt and taken to the pitch for the love of the game.

🏘️

Community First

Founded by neighbours for neighbours, the club has always prioritised its roots in Moss Side and the wider South Manchester community.

⚽

Grassroots Football

From Sunday league beginnings to the NWCFL, Maine Road FC has provided a pathway for local players to develop and compete at a high non-league standard.

💙

Manchester City DNA

Born of Manchester City supporters, the club shares the blue and the belief — that football belongs to the people who live and breathe it.

Roll of Honour

The People Who
Built This Club

Maine Road FC is nothing without the people who give their time, passion and energy to keep it alive. This page honours the individuals — past and present — who have served the club off the pitch.

⬥ Current Committee 2025–26 ⬥

🪑

Chairman

Position Vacant

2025–Present

The club is currently seeking a new Chairman. Contact the club if you'd like to get involved.

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⬥ Past Chairmen & Committee ⬥

Founder · Chairman

Frank Thompson

1955 – c.1968

Founded the club in 1955 as City Supporters Rusholme. Led Maine Road's first chapter and assembled the group of Manchester City fans who started it all in the Rusholme Sunday League.

Chairman

Ronnie Meredith

c.1968 – c.1985

The most transformative figure in the club's history. Moved headquarters to the Maine Road Social Club, rebranded to Maine Road FC, won the Manchester County Sunday Cup in 1971–72 and oversaw the switch to Saturday football.

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