On behalf of everyone at Reading City Football Club i’d like to wish our loyal supporters, managers and coaches, club directors and officials, players, parents/carers, our hardworking volunteers who do so much behind the scenes, club partners and the wider Reading community that we’re proud to be at the heart of a very Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year.
However you’re celebrating, stay safe and we look forward to seeing you again in 2025.
I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved as a club this year, since rebranding to Reading City Football Club this was our most historic year and everyone connected to the club has been a part of that success, so a heartfelt thank you to everyone for choosing the Pride of Reading.
After one of the wettest winters on record and the River Thames reaching historic heights, the start of 2024 was extremely challenging for the club as we unfortunately suffered severe flooding here at the Rivermoor and meant we didn’t play a home game for around 2 and half months, after 80 long days we eventually kicked our first ball of 2024 in RG30 on the 19th March. A big thank you must go to Club Treasurer Victoria Pyke and Head Groundsman Dave Wyeth and his team at C&D Facilities for their efforts in getting the Rivermoor ‘match ready’ as soon as it was physically possible.
With the Combined Counties Football League adamant they wanted the league finished by the end of April, we had one of the craziest fixture schedules in recent history as we went on to play 17 games in 15 days which saw us go unbeaten and from 14th to 4th, securing a place in the Combined Counties Football League Premier Division North Play-Offs at the first time of asking. This gruelling run of fixtures demonstrated the teamwork, togetherness, desire and passion of everyone at the club. The First Team Squad, Simon Johnson and his management team, backroom staff, ground staff and our loyal supporters were juggling their full-time jobs, precious time with their families and football for the love of the club and I couldn’t have felt more proud or humbled.
May saw us end the 2023/24 season, which had been a rather special season for both our Senior Squads and Youth Academy. We decided to celebrate this historic season by combining our Senior and Youth End of Season Awards for the first time, signing off an incredible season for the club.
Some of the highlights from our Youth Academy included our Under 8 Hoops becoming Berkshire Youth Development League Cup Final Runners Up, Under 13s winning the Oxfordshire Youth Football League Under 13 KO Shield, Under 16s Athletic becoming East Berkshire Football Alliance Division 7 League Champions and our Under 16s Royals who finished as Runners-Up in Division 3 of the East Berkshire Football Alliance.
The end of our Youth Academy’s season also saw us sadly bid farewell to Phil Cripps who after 8 years hung up his boots. The term legend is often used in football, but that’s exactly what Phil is, he showed amazing dedication to his role and we’ll forever be grateful for that.
Phil helped to inspire and empower our youngsters, leaving a lasting impact for many years to come. Thank you for everything that you done to support the club and our youngsters.
With the season in the final stages, plans were afoot for next season and we were pleased to extend our successful charitable partnership with Reading’s homeless prevention Launchpad for the 2024/25, making it a second consecutive season that we would support their vital work in preventing homelessness.
Thanks to our partnership with Launchpad Reading, we were invited to participate in this year’s annual Reading Pancake Race with our loveable mascot Lawsey the Lion featuring as part of their team. This was a huge honour for the club as the Reading Pancake Race is one of the biggest events in the town’s calendar and it was a pleasure to be a part of it. All money raised is a huge help to Launchpad and their life-changing work to prevent homelessness here Reading.
As part of our preparations for the new season, we also launched our brand new Community Partner Club Programme with Caversham based RG4 FC being the ‘pilot club’ for this exciting new initiative. 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.
To celebrate the launch of our our Community Partner Club scheme, RG4 were invited were invited to be our guests of honour at our Southern Combination Cup Final. A memorable night for all involved.
May was also a month of mixed emotions for everyone here at Reading City Football Club as we went from narrowly missing out on promotion to Step 4, having lost the Play-Off Semi Final to Bedfont Sports to picking up our trophy since rebranding as Reading City in 2018 as Simon Johnson’s side secured the Southern Combination Challenge Cup.
A perfect end to a historic campaign! The 2023/24 Season saw us achieve a record FA Cup Run, record FA Vase run, record League Cup run, record County Cup run as well as reaching the Play-Off Semi’s and being crowned Southern Combination Cup Winners.
An unbelievable group of people worked hard on and off the pitch to help us achieve some great moments and I cannot thank them enough for their hardwork and support.
The First Team weren’t the only City side to have a historic campaign, as our Under 18s many of whom were only aged 15 and 16 at the time defied expectations by becoming the League Cup Quarter Finalists, County Cup Semi-Finalists and narrowly missing out on the league title with a 3rd Place League Finish having narrowly lost at home to League Leaders who they also held to a draw away from home!
With the season finally over, we were able to make a start on our next phase of Ground Improvements here at the Rivermoor to prepare the 2024/25 Season.
May also saw the start of a new chapter for our Under 23s side, with the appointment of Sheldon Baptiste as manager ahead of the 2024/25 Season. Sheldon would later be joined by Mimi Olaide who was appointed as our Under 23s Assistant Manager as part of an exciting new chapter.
The summer months always sees our youngsters participate in annual football tournaments and June brought lots of success. At the Burghfield tournament our Under 12s teams ended up in an unexpected ‘City Derby’ as our Royals side faced our United Side, both sides reached the semi finals where they were unfortunately knocked out, but everyone was a fantastic representative for the club and made us so proud. It was lovely to see both teams supporting each other demonstrating that we are One City, One Club!
At the Westwood Wanderers Tournament our Under 8s reached the Quarter Final of the Europa Cup, our Under 10s reached the Semi Final of the Champions League, Under 13s reached the Quarter Final of the Champions League, Under 14s (Blue Team) reached the Semi Final of the Champions League but narrowly lost 1-0 and our Under 14s Yellow Side won the ‘Europa League’ Trophy.
Our Under 14s played in the Sandurst Town tournament, Reading City Yellow’s won their group and the Blue’s come second in their group. Both our sides then met in the Semi final with the blues winning, before losing to a very strong Sandhurst Town team to finish runners up.
Our Under 12s had the honour of representing Reading on a national stage having been invited to participate in the prestigious invite-only ACES National 2024 tournament which is hosted in the City of Nottingham at the superb facilities of the University of Nottingham’s Riverside Sports complex. Our youngsters opted to play a year up in the tournament, and will therefore play 11-A-Side in the Under 13s category.
The invite only tournament sees the best teams and players from across the nation represent their towns and cities and compete to become ACES National Champions and 2024 is the second consecutive year that a Reading City team has had the honour of representing Reading at the ACES National Tournament as last summer our Under 9s were invited to do so.
The event carried a message of ‘Unity is Power’ which resonates with all of us here at Reading City Football Club as we work hard each and every day to strengthen the connection between the club and the wider community of Reading, as together we are stronger.
We were very proud to play our part in celebrating the resilience of refugees who are living in Reading by participating in this tournament, here at Reading City Football Club we’re proud to provide an environment that is safe, fun and inclusive for everyone involved and we therefore welcome everyone irrespective of their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ability or disability, faith or age.Our Cityzens recieved their runners up medals from Deputy Mayor of Reading, Alice Mpofu-Coles.
Ahead of the 2023/24 Season we launched a new club identity titled ‘The Pride of Reading’ where we pledged to be a force for good within the Community and contuining our work in the community during the summer break we were very honoured to be invited to the Reading Buses Annual Open Day. We are very proud to be partnered with Reading Buses and cannot thank them enough for giving us the oppurtunity to attend our first Community Event, hopefully the first of many.
June also saw our Community Partner Club expand with the announcement that we’d partner with Reading XL FC. Reading’s first men’s football club which is dedicated to Weight Loss and Mental Health Support, by helping players lose weight and improve their mental wellbeing. As a Club, we strive to offer a safe & welcoming environment to everyone irrespective of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, ability or disability, faith or age. A value we’re proud to share with our friends at Reading XL FC.
Since launching our Partnership we continue to work closely with Reading XL FC and held a joint pre-season training session to raise awareness of our working relationship. We look forward to working more closely in 2025.
July us saw us welcome the Right Worshipful Mayor of Reading, Councillor Glenn Dennis to officially open our new kitchen, delivered as part of the Howdens’ Game Changer programme here at the Rivermoor.
It was a real honour to have our kitchen officially opened by the Mayor of Reading on momentous day for everyone connected to Reading City Football Club, from our junior players to parents, supporters and to our volunteers who give up their time each week to support us, and I can’t say it enough, this latest upgrade to our facilities really is game-changing as it means that the clubhouse can continue to serve the whole community for many more years to come. It’s been great to see the impact the Game Changer programme is having on grass roots football first-hand.
In another historic milestone for the club, in what has been a truly historic year for the club already. Our Under 18s faced off against Club Partner, John Madejski Academy’s Football Performance Programme in a pre-season friendly which took place at John Madejski Academy to help our youngsters prepare for their inaugral season in the Allied Counties Football League and strengthen our partnership.
As a victim of our own success in the 2023/24 Season, a vast number of our first team squad moved on to higher levels in the non-league pyramid! As a club we have a proven record of pushing players on to higher levels in the non-league pyramid and are very proud to act as a stepping-stone for players who have the potential to progress. This meant that Simon Johnson would have to rebuild his squad in what he described as ‘the most stressful pre-season’ he’s ever experienced.
We also recieved exciting news that Emil Mursalov who made twelve First Team appearances this season would undergo a trial with Sky Bet Championship outfit Burnley Football Club. News of the trial comes after a series of visits from scouts to watch the seventeen-year-old forward. Mursalov has been playing for City thanks to the assistance of the Club’s partners at John Madejski Academy. Emil then went on to have a trial at Premier League outfit Crystal Palace.
August saw our Under 18s who had a fantastic 2023/24 Campaign, continue to impress as they narrowly missed out on silverware having finished as runners up in the Under 19s Royal Pre-Season Cup, a tournament which they have competed in for three consecutive years.
Our First Team kicked off their 2024/25 Campaign at home with a new-look side following Johnson’s rebuild in the summer and City Youngster, Charlie Gmiterek was named as a substitute, 2024 has been a fantastic year for youth development here at Reading City.
Our Under 13s also represented the club in the inaugral ‘Blow The Whistle’ tournament. The ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign aims to empower people to take a stand against racism in football, both on and off the pitch and the tournament was organised by Elite Sport Events in partnership with ‘Blow the Whistle’ creators Rio Ferdinand and the team at WeAre8. Although the event and campaign are about much more than football, we are proud that our youngsters came away as winners.
August also saw our Development Squad be renamed the Cityzens Squad, earning the honour of officially playing under the club’s nickname, ‘Cityzens’.
As Simon Johnson continued to rebuild his side following last season’s history makers moving on up the football pyramid, homegrown talent Harlen Lewis who joined the club at the age of 10, signed for the first team completing his pathway to excellence at the age of 17. A proud day for everyone involved in our Youth Academy who has helped Harlen get to this point.
Speaking of rebuilds, we ended August with the beginning of a New Chapter for our Under 23s as Sheldon Baptiste and Mimi Olaide took charge of their first competitive fixture since taking charge earlier this summer.
It was very promising to see our new look Under 23s squad feature so many of our Under 18s who defied expectations last season and deservedly earnt their chance to play men’s football, city youngsters Charlie Gmiterek, Finley Meikle, Reiss Baker and Keigan Allen all featured in Sheldon and Mimi’s inaugral matchday squad and have gone on to feature for our Under 23s ever since.
Our FA Youth Cup campaign got underway and was another moment to celebrate, prior to the 2024/25 Season our FA Youth Cup squad had been made up of members of John Madejski Academy’s Football Performance Programme but due to the ongoing success of our own Reading City Football Club Youth Academy, this season saw us achieve another historic milestone by fielding a combined Reading City Football Club and John Madejski Side, made up of members from our Under 18s Allied Counties side and members of John Madejski Academy’s Football Performance Programme.
September saw our Under 18s kick off their inaugral Allied Counties Youth Football League Central Division campaign, having made the switch from the Combined Counties Football League Tony Ford Under 18s Division West.
Our player pathway was continuing to go from strength to strength as City youngster Louis Eade also made his Under 23s Debut from the bench in our 0-0 draw at home to Newbury Town clocking up a respectable 41 minutes and very nearly scored, not bad having also played the night before in our FA Cup Win the night before. Louis has gone on to feature in our Under 23s ever since.
September also saw us make a massive statement to the rest of the league, as five months on from having our hearts broken in the play-off semi final on the road to Bedfont Sports, Johnson’s side came away with all three points in a seven goal thriller, winning 3-4.
If we hadn’t made enough history already this year, October saw Simon Johnson put an end to his sides poor league record on the road to Virginia Water as our last recorded league win away from home was 2022, with a hat-trick from Ewan Lynch and a goal from Luke Donville to win 1-4 at Arbour Park which The Waters currently call home.
October saw the Rivermoor host a showcase of the exceptional young talent that Reading produces as we took on North Leigh, who are partnered with Procision Reading in the Second Round Qualifying of the FA Youth Cup in a fiercely contested derby which we won 2-0, demonstrating that our pathway to excellence is the best choice for talented youngsters in Reading.
October also saw our Under 18s compete in the inaugral Berks & Bucks FA Under 18s Midweek Cup campaign, unfortunately going out to Bracknell Town in the First Round after an 8-1 defeat.
Also making County Cup history this year was our Under 23s who would once again compete in the Charles Twelftree Trophy, the County Cup for Step 7 and 8 clubs in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire ending a three year hiatus. Unfortunately we were beaten in the Second Round by Shrivenham.
This Season’s FA Youth Cup Campaign took us to Forest Green Rovers in October having drawn them in the Third Round Qualifying.
With this season’s FA Youth Cup Squad being a combined squad formed of representatives of our own Under 18s and students of Club Partner John Madejski Academy’s Football Performance Programme, this was a fantastic experience for our youngsters as they get the oppurtunity to play against a pro club and enjoy their outstanding facilities. Unfortunately, we lost 3-0 to our professional counterparts.
The trip to Gloucestershire also coincided with the announcement that local coach company, Your Coach Hire who we had developed a strong relationship with over the past eighteen months had agreed to become our Official Travel Partner.
November saw us suffer a record 0-7 defeat to Egham Town here at the Rivermoor, but Johnson’s side soon bounced back picking up a possible 7 points from 15 available in their remaining 5 games.
November also saw City youngster Harlen Lewis make his much anticipated First Team Debut having progressed to our senior team earlier in the summer. He made his debut from the bench in our 1-2 win on the road to Wembley, later on in the month he would gone on to earn his full debut as he started in our 1-1 draw on the road to Wallingford & Crowmarsh.
November also saw the emergence of our official Reading City Groundhoppers who proudly fly the flag for the Cityzens home and away. We are extremely grateful for their incredible support.
As we end 2024, December was a fantastic month for our player pathway with City Youngsters Aarnav Thapa signing for Oxford United and Millie Warwick signing for Chelsea Women.
We also saw Finley Meikle and Reiss Baker two players who have been on our books since the age of Under 7s feature in Simon Johnson’s First Team Squad for the first time for our trip to Edgware and Kingsbury, becoming the third and fourth City youngster respectively to be called up to the first team this season, joining fellow youngster Harlen Lewis on the bench, who was officially signed as a first team player this summer and Charlie Gmiterek who was named on the bench for our first game of the season. Reiss Baker had the oppurtunity to make his first team debut from the bench with 78 minutes played.
December also saw the annual Reading Sport Awards take place and whilst we weren’t shortlisted, I’m very proud that the club and members of the City Family received several nominations.
Let’s raise a glass to 2025! Which I know will be another exciting year for our great club.
Thank you again to each and every one of you for your hard work and support this year.
Kindest Regards,
Martin Law
Club Chairman
