Our journey began back in 2004 when two local sides Sandbach Albion and Sandbach Ramblers agreed to a merger with a view to forming one club and securing a central venue to operate from. After several discussions over names, including, Sandbach Park Rangers and Sandbach Rovers, eventually the original committee agreed on the name Sandbach United.
So, with 28 newly formed teams the club was born under the stewardship of chairman Barry Gregson with the men’s first team entering the Staffordshire County League and the youth teams joining the Mid Cheshire League playing at various schools and council pitches around the town. In 2006 Andrew Timms took the reigns as Chairman.
As the club grew and the noughties ended the committee embarked on the ambitious plan of securing their own facility and in 2010 began talks with the council and The Football Foundation. After some fantastic work and dedication from the likes of Ian Dolman, Stuart Jones, Saul Furse and Andrew Timms, the club managed to secure a site off Hind Heath Road and work began in 2011.
On 26th May 2012 the dream became reality as The Sandbach Community Football Centre was opened. Comprising of 22 acres of playing surface including a 3G surface and 11 grass pitches the club finally had somewhere to call home, and what a home it was!
In the summer of 2014, Paul Reel was appointed as Chairman and the club continued to progress both on and off the pitch. In 2016 the men’s first team were accepted into the Northwest Counties league playing at step 6 for the first time in the club’s history. The junior sections grew, and the girls section went from strength to strength. The club installed its first stand named after former President Colin Oakes and the ‘Shed End’ was installed.
The first team under the management of Andy Hockenhull secured their first piece of silverware in 2019 winning the League Cup beating Avro 4-2 in the final and then followed it up in 2020 beating AFC Liverpool on penalties after a 2-2 draw. The club remain one of only two teams to win back-to-back League Cups in its 40-year history.
After 14 years involved with the club Paul Reel made the difficult decision to step down with Peter Colclough taking over the role. After successfully operating as Business Manager prior to his appointment he oversaw one of the final pieces in the facilities jigsaw, The CrossBar. In 2019 the bar was completely renovated and renamed with the addition of the covered seating area the following year. It fills us with pride when we see so many local people enjoying our facility and coming along to enjoy a coffee or a pint and a bite to eat.
In 2020 the club were named National Grassroots Club of the Year beating competition from over 600 entrants nationally. The FA were impressed with the club’s ethos, its inclusivity and army of volunteers that make the club what it is, something we as a club are very proud of.
The 2022-23 season was the clubs most successful season to date, with a team at every competitive age group picking up a League or Cup, as well as several District Cups and more finals than I can list. Our Men’s Reserve team finished in its highest ever league position, as did the First Team finishing 3rd and narrowly missing on promotion after losing to Cheadle Town in the Play Off Final in front of a record crowd of 1465.
So, as we stand in 2026, we are one of the largest clubs in the country, boasting a phenomenal 68 teams, over 1000 players, 180 coaches, countless volunteers, and a strong workforce. The CrossBar has evolved over time and has become the place to be and after 20 years we really are at The Heart of Our Community, and we couldn’t be prouder of our football club.
It would be remise of us not to mention some notable names that cannot be with us today. Some significant figures that we lost along the way. Colin Oakes, Andrew Kimber, Ben Morgan, Connor Ruscoe and Jim Wilson you will forever be remembered.
