{"id":28339,"date":"2026-09-05T13:24:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/about\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T13:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:24:43","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Club"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Est. 1904 \u00b7 Kingsway Park<\/p>

A club built by the rail yards<\/span><\/h1>

Meridian Football Club was founded by depot workers in 1904 and has played on the same ground since 1928. Three division titles, an academy that supplies the first team, and a membership that owns two seats on the board.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n

1904<\/dt>
Founded<\/dd><\/div>
Kingsway Park<\/dt>
Ground<\/dd><\/div>
16,400<\/dt>
Capacity<\/dd><\/div>
9,240<\/dt>
Members<\/dd><\/div>
3<\/dt>
Division titles<\/dd><\/div>
6<\/dt>
Academy graduates in the first team<\/dd><\/div><\/dl><\/div>\n\n\n

Who we are<\/p>

Identity & Colours<\/span><\/h2>

The crest, the claret and the motto have changed four times in a hundred and twenty years. What they mean has not.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n

<\/linearGradient><\/defs>M<\/text><\/svg>Est. 1904<\/span><\/div>

\u201cNothing without the yards\u201d<\/p>

Club motto, adopted 1919<\/p>

The shield<\/b>A six-sided shield, taken from the shape of the original 1904 club seal.<\/span><\/div>
The letter M<\/b>Set in italic to carry the forward lean the club has used on shirts since 1988.<\/span><\/div>
Est. 1904<\/b>The founding year, restored to the crest for the centenary season in 2004.<\/span><\/div><\/div>

Meridian play in claret at home and midnight navy away, with gold reserved for honours. The combination dates to 1919, when the club took the city livery as its own after turning professional, and it has survived every crest revision since.<\/p>

The shield is the shape of the original club seal, and the italic M has been on the shirt since 1988. The founding year was restored for the centenary and has stayed.<\/p>

<\/span>
Claret<\/b>Worn since 1919, when the club adopted the city\u2019s livery.<\/span><\/div>#8A1538<\/code><\/div>
<\/span>
Midnight navy<\/b>Introduced on the 1972 away shirt and now the club\u2019s second colour.<\/span><\/div>#12213B<\/code><\/div>
<\/span>
Kingsway gold<\/b>Reserved for honours, membership and the centenary crest.<\/span><\/div>#B8944A<\/code><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One hundred and twenty-two years<\/p>

Club History<\/span><\/h2>

From a field beside the depot to a 16,400-seat ground on the same site.<\/p><\/div>

Full club archive<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n
  1. 1904<\/b>Founded as Meridian Athletic by workers at the Kingsway rail yards, playing on a field beside the depot.<\/span><\/li>
  2. 1919<\/b>Claret adopted as the first-choice colour, matching the city livery. The club turns professional the same year.<\/span><\/li>
  3. 1928<\/b>Kingsway Park opens with a friendly against a touring Scottish side in front of 14,000 people.<\/span><\/li>
  4. 1954<\/b>First division title, won on the final day with a 2-1 victory at Northvale.<\/span><\/li>
  5. 1972<\/b>Midnight navy appears on the away shirt for the first time.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>
    1. 1988<\/b>Second title, and the club\u2019s first European campaign the following season.<\/span><\/li>
    2. 2004<\/b>Centenary season. The founding year returns to the crest and the academy is founded at Fairlow.<\/span><\/li>
    3. 2019<\/b>Third division title, with eleven academy graduates in the matchday squad across the season.<\/span><\/li>
    4. 2022<\/b>A four-year redevelopment of Kingsway Park begins with the south terrace.<\/span><\/li>
    5. 2026<\/b>The east stand reopens in September, taking capacity to 16,400.<\/span><\/li><\/ol><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      How we work<\/p>

      Club Values<\/span><\/h2>

      Four commitments, published in the annual report and measured against it.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n

      <\/use><\/svg><\/span>
      01<\/span>

      Of this city<\/h3><\/div>

      The club exists because the Kingsway yards needed a team. Everything we do is measured against whether it serves the people who live here.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

      <\/use><\/svg><\/span>
      02<\/span>

      Bring through our own<\/h3><\/div>

      Six of the current first team came through Fairlow. The academy is not a supply chain; it is how the club renews itself.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

      <\/use><\/svg><\/span>
      03<\/span>

      Earn the shirt<\/h3><\/div>

      Selection is on merit, in every age group, in every department. The badge is not owed to anyone.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

      <\/use><\/svg><\/span>
      04<\/span>

      Open books<\/h3><\/div>

      Accounts, ticket pricing and ownership are published in full every year. Supporters hold two seats on the board.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      The board and executive<\/p>

      Club Leadership<\/span><\/h2>

      A board of eight, including two seats elected by the membership. Coaching staff are listed with the squad.<\/p><\/div>

      Coaching staff<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n
      \"\"

      Chief executive<\/p>

      Helen Ashworth<\/h3>

      Joined from the city council; led the Kingsway Park redevelopment programme.<\/p>

      In post since 2021<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article>

      \"\"

      Chair<\/p>

      Michael Thorne<\/h3>

      Lifelong supporter and former club treasurer; chairs the board of eight.<\/p>

      In post since 2018<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article>

      \"\"

      Finance director<\/p>

      Priya Raghunathan<\/h3>

      Oversees a club that has operated without external borrowing since 2019.<\/p>

      In post since 2023<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article>

      \"\"

      Director of football<\/p>

      Elin S\u00f8rensen<\/h3>

      Responsible for recruitment, the academy pathway and the coaching structure.<\/p>

      In post since 2024<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article>

      \"\"

      Head of academy<\/p>

      Gareth Vane<\/h3>

      Nine academy graduates have made first-team debuts under him.<\/p>

      In post since 2019<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article>

      \"\"

      Foundation director<\/p>

      Yusuf Karim<\/h3>

      Runs the club\u2019s community programmes across fourteen schools in the borough.<\/p>

      In post since 2020<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"

      Membership & governance<\/p>

      Members hold two seats on the board<\/h3>

      Elections are held every two years and open to any member of twelve months\u2019 standing. Accounts and minutes are published in the club archive.<\/p><\/div>

      <\/use><\/svg>Become a member<\/span><\/a>Annual report<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Founded by depot workers in 1904.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"no-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28339","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28339\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preview.sportpulse.anpsthemes.com\/team\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}