CAUSEWAY UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB
Club History
The Club, which derived its name from the Causeway Green area of the then Oldbury, now Sandwell Borough, was formed in 1957 and joined the Oldbury and District AFL which subsequently became known as the Warley Combination AFL. Player personalities included Kevin Palmer, later an Alvechurch legend, and Leo Sharpe, the father of Lee Sharpe, the former Manchester United and England player.
In 1972 the Club joined the Birmingham and District AFA and remained a member for 25 years, winning its Intermediate Cup in 1990/91 and its Premier Division in both 1996/97 and 1997/98. The Club regularly entered the Wednesbury Junior Cup and reached the final of that competition in both 1989/90 and 1995/96.
With membership being increasingly recruited from the Halesowen region, the Club secured the use of Somers Sports Ground, Halesowen until 1998 when a ground sharing agreement was negotiated with Halesowen Town F C, of the Southern Premier League, to play at The Grove, Halesowen. In the same year the Club gained admission to the West Midlands Regional League, Division 1 (South).
A successful first season, finishing as runners-up to Wellington FC, resulted in promotion to the Premier Division. The Clubs performance in the 1999/2000 season at this higher level, amassing 104 points and finishing second to Stafford Town FC, exceeded all expectations. In addition, the Club defeated a strong Brookvale FC side to win the Birmingham Saturday Junior Vase. Although the 2000/01 campaign resulted in a relatively disappointing 5th position the Club responded magnificently in 2001/02 to become the Premier Division Champions whilst also narrowly losing in the final of the League Cup. In 2002/03, following promotion to the Midland Football Alliance, the Club competed superbly to finish 11th (mid-table) in the league in addition to reaching the final of the Polymac League Cup only to lose 1-0 in extra time to a strong Stratford Town side. The Club also had a reasonable run in the F.A. Cup and the F.A. Vase, being eliminated from the latter after three memorable games with Pickering Town FC.
The 2003/04 season proved to be a hard slog after the loss of successful coach Steve Derham and similarly, seasons 2004/5 and 2005/6 saw the Club fighting for survival but included a magnificent unbeaten 8 match finish at the end of 2004/05.
During season 2006/07, the clubs 50th, the club moved its home to Tividale F C and enjoyed the season with their new landlords. On the pitch, the team started very slowly but improved to enjoy the clubs most successful season in the F A Cup and F A Vase, reaching the last 16 in the latter. In the league, the club finished in a disappointing 17th position, falling away after the Vase defeat.
At the start of season, 2007/08, the club again moved to a new home at Stourbridge
FC. During its first two seasons at Stourbridge and under new manager Carl Burley, Causeway achieved its best finishing positions since joining the M. F.A., finishing 6th in 2007/08 and 9th in 2008/09.
The team made a magnificent start to the 2009/10 season winning its first nine matches prior to subsequently reaching the last 32 in the F A Vase. Unfortunately, following injuries to key players, the team was not able to sustain its early success and finished the season in 12th position. Season 2010/11 started slowly, without too much success in cups, but built to a very successful conclusion in the league, finishing in 10th position the team amassed the best number of points (80) in a season since joining the MFA.
During the 2009/10 season a restructuring of the clubs committee saw Steve Hulston, who had overseen the Club's progress from the West Midlands League to the MFA, replaced by long serving former player Eddie Russell.
The committee includes several individuals who have also served as players and officials for most of the club’s history and is very committed to ensuring the future development of the club.