Worcester City Football Club to Relocate Home Matches to Sixways

Sixways, the venue for the former rugby club Worcester Warriors, is set to host non-league football team Worcester City starting next season. The facility originally opened in 1998 and underwent renovations in 2008. Worcester Warriors, which entered administration in 2022, is also slated to return to its previous home in the 2025-26 season, following its application to participate in English rugby union’s restructured second division. However, the venue will feature a different football tenant, as City, currently playing at Claines Lane on the outskirts of Worcester, will commence a five-year lease, taking over from another local non-league team, Worcester Raiders. Simon Lancaster, owner of Worcester City, informed BBC Hereford & Worcester: “We’ve signed with effect from next summer.” He added, “We recognise that this is quite a big and controversial move for some fans. But we’re halfway though a 10-year clause at Claines which has a break clause that had to be activated now if we wanted to move.” Lancaster further explained, “The main piece in the jigsaw has always been about finding our own home and we’re still working hard on that. But we have to simultaneously look after the short term too. The board weighed up both options and concluded that this was by far the best move.” Laura Napper, commercial director for Warriors, stated: “They’ve got huge plans for promotion and growth themselves, and moving to a site with our infrastructure will give them that opportunity. “We’ve obviously got a larger stadium, purpose built for sport of all types so it should really suit.” Worcester City, a founding member of the initial national non-league when the Alliance Premier launched in 1979, has descended to the eighth tier of the English football pyramid, though they are presently ranked third in the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. The club has experienced a challenging and itinerant existence since vacating its long-standing home at St George’s Lane in 2013 due to financial difficulties, leading to its sale for housing redevelopment. When the proceeds from the ground’s sale proved insufficient to finance a proposed new facility at Nunnery Way, located on the city’s south side, the club was compelled to share grounds. This began at Aggborough, home of Kidderminster Harriers, followed by the Victoria Ground in Bromsgrove. City currently plays near the location of a proposed new permanent home, the Worcestershire Community Sports Park at Fernhill Heath, which the club announced in November 2023. Worcester Raiders, a ninth-tier team, have utilized the artificial Sixways pitch since 2020. The Raiders, who compete in the Hellenic League Premier, released a statement indicating: “It has become inevitable that we will need to find a permanent home for all of our teams. With this in mind we will not be renewing our lease at Sixways after being tenants for five years.” Worcester City owner Simon Lancaster and Warriors commercial director Laura Napper provided their comments to Trevor Owens, sports editor for BBC Hereford & Worcester.