Swindon is a place that gets a bad reputation. Supposedly, when Ricky Gervais was scripting The Office, the writers wanted to base the show in a town bleak and ordinary enough to fit their depiction of office life. I was strangely honoured to hear the shortlist reportedly came down to Ipswich (my hometown), Swindon, or Slough. Slough got the nod in the end, while Swindon became home to the rival branch office in the series. For American readers, think of how The US Office is

Yesterday, the Kidderminster Harriers F.C. won promotion to the National League, defeating South Shields F.C. 2-0 and moving back up the pyramid. The Harriers have enjoyed success in their past as an established EFL side, with a highest-ever finish of 10th in League Two in 2002. They have also built up quite a trophy cabinet, including an FA Trophy win and a remarkable 27 Worcestershire Senior Cups. The team have spent their entire history playing at Aggborough Stadium, a ver

Next up on our tour of Italian cities and their football teams is the ancient city of Padua. Nestled a few miles inland from Venice in the north-east corner of Italy, it has a remarkable history. They are represented on the pitch by Calcio Padova who are currently plying their trade in Serie B amongst the likes of Ashley Cole’s Cesena. Formed in 1910, their best days came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, recording a third-place finish in Serie A. Since then, they have bounc

Mainz, Germany. Located on the west bank of the Rhine River – Northern Europe’s most important trade route. It sits opposite Wiesbaden and close to Frankfurt, making it an important transport hub for the wider region. Its football team, FSV Mainz 05 (founded in 1905 – hence the 05, as many German teams do), has in recent decades cemented itself in the Bundesliga without really challenging for the top positions. A few Europa League forays and a quarter-final appearance in the

A club founded in 1904 (hence of 04), with a huge history, a massive fan base, and one of the strongest traditions of supporter involvement in European football. Relegated recently, yes – but back again now in the Bundasliga and ready to mix it with the big boys of the continent. They have a proud history, able to boast 7 league titles, five German Cups and a UEFA Cup win. They are the 6th biggest club in Europe if using club membership as a metric. To understand Schalke, th

Hamburg SV (Sport-Verein = Sports Club) is a German Bundesliga team from the large and important port city of Hamburg. It is, like many European and Asian teams, a multi-sports club, but its most famous and biggest team by far is its football club. Since their foundation in 1919 they’ve had some remarkable success down the ages: six-time German league champions and winners of the German Cup three times. Last season, they won promotion back to the top division, and this seaso

This is a glorious badge, for a club representing a town with a glorious past. Did Darlington build the modern world single-handedly? If they didn’t, they gave it a damn good go. So, let’s do the National League North outfit the honour and #GetTheBadgeIn. Firstly. The team. The club. The Darlos. Founded in 1883, they initially played in local leagues until becoming one of the founding members of the Third Division North in 1921. In 1925, they won that league and were promoted