RAIDERS HAVE BIG AMBITION
AN extraordinary journey has commenced at Worcester Raiders FC of the Hellenic League Division One. Despite currently playing at Step 6 of the Non-League Pyramid, Raiders have ambitious plans to reach League Two within a decade. This might sound like total pie in the sky but I can assure you that the necessary infrastructure is already in place.
In July 2020, Raiders were purchased by Worcester Warriors Rugby Club. As a result, they have moved into the magnificent 11,500 capacity Sixways Stadium that the Premiership Rugby team have developed right next to the M5 motorway.
I visited Sixways to find out more. After watching a 6-1 hammering of Bourton Rovers on the stadium’s 3G pitch, I chatted to Raiders chairman Steve Harris about his club’s envisaged route map of progression.
He told me: “We have big aspirations to achieve Football League status. Our previous ground at Claines Lane could not have been improved enough to play at the higher levels that we want to get to. To compound matters, we were held back there by building delays regarding a new clubhouse and changing rooms whilst the pitch is prone to flooding.
“So Worcester Warriors bought our club. However, Raiders retain a shareholding and I still make the day to day decisions as football chairman.
“We have a link with newly promoted League One members Morecambe FC, who Warriors owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham also own as part of their Bond Group Investments company. In fact, Morecambe did their pre-season training at Sixways to take advantage of the excellent set-up we have on offer.
“Personally, I am very pleased with the move to Sixways. We have marched forward rapidly from being a team struggling on a boggy pitch with a small stand to where we are now playing at a modern all-seater stadium featuring top class amenities.”
As I listened to these enthusiastic words from Harris, it occurred to me that his club have to compete with Worcester City who have always been the locality’s biggest football team.
“So I asked him how Raiders’ imminent progress might impact on City with regard to attracting supporters in their area.
“Only time will tell,” he said. “We are one level below Worcester City in the Pyramid. If we move up the divisions as we intend to do then it will be interesting to see how things pan out.
“People might be surprised but we have a good relationship with City. They actually had the chance to join Worcester Warriors at Sixways in 2019 but discussions broke down.
“I met up with the City chairman Steve Goode numerous times last year when they were moving to our old ground at Claines Lane. Steve is a great bloke and he has been passionate about bringing his club back home to Worcester after playing in exile for a number of years.
“At Raiders though, we are working hard to build up our support. We enjoyed home gates around the 300 mark last season and hope to top that in the 2021-22 campaign.
“It will take time but I believe in a few years we will generate a significant increase in our fanbase. We are in discussions with local radio stations to advertise fixtures and broadcast match reports.
“Our community programme will help the club’s profile too. We are engaging with youth teams and schools and we have started a girls’ development team.
“In addition, we are working with a charity called ASPIE who have a disability football team in Worcester. We have given them an autistic friendly section of the stadium on matchdays.
“For me, the best way to grow our club is to get all the community involved here at Sixways.”
The population of Worcester is 101,000. So there is huge potential for a successful football club in the city. But it is clear that Raiders will need to vastly inflate playing budgets to climb the leagues.
I queried if their big money owners are prepared to help with this. But Harris answered with an alternative vision on how he sees his club’s future.
“We plan to keep Raiders self-sufficient for the time being by exploring our newfound income streams. Greater sponsorship opportunities have opened up since we moved to Sixways. More companies want to get involved and back us. Then we also have superb bar and catering outlets which are generating a lot more revenue for Raiders.
“Worcestershire as a county has a population in excess of half a million people. Therefore we are in a great catchment area. Nearby clubs like Cheltenham Town, Hereford and Kidderminster Harriers have all reached the Football
League in the past and it is about time a team from Worcester followed in their footsteps.
“It’s my dream to take Worcester Raiders right up to League Two in 10 years. It’s a long way off but I’m confident we can get there with the facilities and business framework that we have in place.
“We have very passionate owners. You only have to look at what they have achieved at Morecambe in the last couple of seasons to realise that anything is possible if you have the desire and ambition to succeed.”
I very much enjoyed visiting Sixways. In my opinion, it is a better stadium than some of the current EFL Championship grounds.
So it will be fascinating to follow Worcester Raiders on their impending path. The club will have a very bright outlook indeed if they can assemble a team of players to match their palatial surroundings.