As Reading’s second-biggest football team, second only to Sky Bet League One outfit Reading Football Club we want to help our smaller grassroots clubs thrive and use our platform to be a voice for grassroots football in Reading.

This new initiative will see us welcome our first partner club RG4 FC to the Rivermoor Stadium, the hub of Reading’s football community throughout the season where their youngsters will have the opportunity to walk out our first team squad, our Youth Section will also play their counterparts at RG4 FC in a pre-season friendly and the two clubs will generally support one another with initial discussions between representatives of both clubs being very positive.

Reading City Football Club Chairman and Director of Grassroots Football at Berks & Bucks FA, Martin Law had this to say:

“This is a brilliant project which has been implemented by our Marketing, Communications and Community Engagement Executive, Ryan Sheehan. I have personally been involved in the local grassroots football scene for 33 years and having become the Director of Grassroots Football at Berks & Bucks FA during the 2023/24 Season I am very keen to ensure that grassroots football continues to thrive, as it’s the lifeblood of the game so I’m looking forward to working with RG4 FC and seeing how this project progresses as it has potential to make a real difference to grassroots football locally.”

Ryan Sheehan, Reading City Football Club’s Marketing, Communications and Community Engagement Executive had this to say:

“I’d personally like to thank RG4 FC for agreeing to be our ‘Pilot Club’ for this exciting new initiative. We may sit on opposite banks of the River Thames but after finding out about RG4 FC I soon discovered how much the two clubs have in common, with both clubs having their local community at the heart of everything they do and promoting a fun, safe and inclusive environment for players, they were a perfect fit to be a part of ‘The Pride of Reading’. I’m excited to see how this project progresses.”

In a joint statement RG4 FC Club Secretary, Hazel Bingham & RG4 FC Club Welfare Officer, Martin Bingham had this to say:

“RG4 FC are extremely excited to be the pilot team for this great scheme.  We feel that working with Reading City FC our players and coaches will gain a lot of valuable experiences and knowledge.   The children will also hopefully gain amazing memories that they will remember for a lifetime.”

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Note to Editors

About RG4 FC:

RG4 FC is a community football team based in Caversham, Reading. The club was set up to make football accessible to all children in the area is run by the local community centre, known as the ‘Weller Centre’ which provides a lifeline for some residents, offering free clothes and services such as therapy and advice and during the coronavirus pandemic gave out food parcels.

for more information about RG4 FC, visit https://wellercentre.co.uk/rg4-fc-news