If you want to build a club then you have to be at the centre of the community and that’s exactly where Coventry United have positioned themselves.
Founded four years ago after Coventry City fans were left raging at the club’s temporary move to Northampton Town’s Sixfields Stadium, United won three promotions on the spin and now find themselves in the Buildbase FA Vase third round, the furthest the club has gone.
But perhaps the biggest step in their brief history was moving to the Butts Park Arena, a 5,000-seater stadium in the centre of Coventry, and United manager Terry Anderson believes the only way is up for his side.
He said: “The club’s growth and development has been brilliant, we are four or five years old and we average 250 fans, Bromsgrove average 700 so we could get 1,000 there, which is a massive crowd at this level."I believe we will keep growing and people are more interested now we are in the city centre. We moved at the start of this season, we ground share with Coventry RFC at Butts Park Arena. It's a 5,000-seater stadium which is huge for our level of football.
"We doubled our fan base this season moving to the city centre and if the team progress on the pitch I can see us getting a lot more fans, a cup run will only advance that.
"The club was formed to be a club for Coventry, the local support is brilliant, the fans want to support a team from Coventry and we are right in the middle of it and it’s great for them.”
United will face midlands rivals Bromsgrove Sporting, who themselves were only formed in 2009, and were promoted to the Midland League Premier Division last season.
And Anderson isn’t underestimating the importance of the competition and believes it could be an opportunity to go all the way to Wembley.
He said: "Our league is the highest ranked in the FA Vase so there’s a very good chance for us and Bromsgrove could get there too, there’s tough games left in the cup but we take Saturday and see how we get on.
"Obviously as players, they want to get to Wembley it would be great to lead the team out there.
"It’s five or six games away so it’s do-able and it’s a great thing for the lads at this level to do. It’s a huge thing and they will be fired up for it - we will go all guns blazing.”
Buildbase FA Vase history
Before this season, United had only made it as far as the second round in the 2015-16 season where they were dumped out by Uttoxeter Town 2-1.
As for Bromsgrove Sporting, their best outing came last season when they made it all the way to the semi-finals before losing 2-1 on aggregate to Cleethorpes Town.
Did you know?
Both sides have been formed in the past ten years, with Coventry United founded in 2013 and Bromsgrove Sporting in 2009.
The prize
The winning side will receive £1,125 for their efforts in the third round, but the loser will still get £375 for making it this far.
