Appropriately known as The Club because of their historic standing in football, they played a major role in shaping the modern game through the creation of the “Sheffield Rules”. They are also one of only two teams to receive Fifa’s prestigious Order of Merit, sharing that distinction with 15-time European champions Real Madrid.
Qatari interest in the club is not a recent development, as a delegation from the country visited in 2017 while preparations were under way for the 2022 World Cup.
Yorkshire AI Labs, supported by investment from the Middle Eastern nation, announced proposals for a 15,000-capacity stadium and a football museum. However, Jon McClure, frontman of Sheffield indie group Reverend and the Makers, ultimately became chairman in March.
McClure speaks candidly about his ambitions for a team that may be the world’s oldest but has never competed in the Football League. Its strongest FA Cup campaigns ended in the fourth round in 1879 and 1880.
“This is not another Wrexham story, and I am not Ryan Reynolds. I am simply a member of an indie band, and I understand my position,” McClure said in March.
“I have sought plenty of guidance from experienced figures within the sport. Football operations are not my area of expertise, so I will leave those matters to others.”
In recent seasons, actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac have overseen Wrexham’s remarkable rise from the National League to the Championship.
Although McClure is not trying to replicate Wrexham’s journey, he has ambitious ideas for the club and its fourth-tier women’s team, which he has also taken over. His proposals include creating a football academy, an eSports centre, a nationwide football festival, a clothing label, a visitor attraction and a television series, as well as returning the team to Sheffield, where both the club and the wider sport trace important parts of their origins.
The team has played at the Coach and Horses Ground in Dronfield, North Derbyshire, since 2001, with the stadium situated behind the pub of the same name.
The venue is showing its age, and one female fan described the women’s toilet facilities as being in an unacceptable condition.
“Most people would like to see the club return to the city, but only Sheffield could create football and then turn its birthplace into a B&Q car park,” McClure said, referring to the DIY store now occupying the site of the team’s original ground.
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