Middlewood Rovers JFC
Club Ambassador - Billy Sharp (ex-Sheffield United FC)
Our Club
Founded in 1963, Middlewood Rovers Junior Football Club has spent over six decades helping young people fall in love with football. From its grassroots beginnings to its status today as one of Sheffield’s most respected junior clubs, our mission has never changed: to provide a safe, welcoming, and developmental environment for players of all abilities to learn, grow and thrive.
​
We started life playing friendly matches on local parks, and in 1969 became founder members of the Sheffield & District Junior Football League, one of the region’s most enduring competitions. As the popularity of youth football grew in the 1970s, so too did our reputation – and we were soon invited to become the official nursery team for Sheffield Wednesday FC, playing our home games at their Middlewood Road training ground.​
This prestigious link helped launch the careers of several future professionals.
England international Mel Sterland, Sheffield Wednesday regulars Mark Smith and Charlie Williamson, and top-flight players Carl Bradshaw, Chris Bart-Williams, and legendary Wednesday goalkeeper Kevin Pressman were all part of the Middlewood setup in their formative years.
The nursery relationship formally ended in 1983 following FA reforms, but the club’s reputation for player development had already been cemented.
In 1984, we moved to our permanent home at Waverley Lane in Handsworth – a facility that has supported our growth ever since.
With the introduction of the FA Charter Standard programme, we became an FA Charter Standard Club in 2007, and were proudly voted Sheffield & Hallamshire County Club of the Year in both 2008 and 2009.
​
In later years, we achieved the FA’s highest grassroots accreditation as a 3-Star England Football Accredited Club, reflecting our commitment to excellence across coaching, safeguarding, and community delivery. Girls’ football was formally introduced in 2007, followed by the launch of our Soccer School in 2012.
Today, Middlewood Rovers is home to over 30 teams, including boys’, girls’, and adult teams, with age groups ranging from Under 7s to senior football. In 2022, we opened our long-planned new clubhouse, thanks to successful fundraising, generous community support, and a memorable charity match led by club alumnus Billy Sharp.
Taking place in May 2019, the match saw Billy Sharp (at the time, captain of newly promoted Premier League side Sheffield United), Jonathan Forte (then of Exeter City) and the rest of their 1995/96 Middlewood Rovers Under 10's team take on a combined team of managers, coaches and parents from the current generation of junior sides.
Finishing 7-0 to Billy's "U-33s" team, it was clear to see why all of that team went on to have brilliant careers at different levels of the professional and non-League game.
Billy is just one of many who began their journey at Middlewood Rovers. Alongside him, names like Jonathan Forte and Ryan France represent a modern generation of professionals who started out in our blue and black.
Off the field, our community efforts include hosting the annual LJS Cup in partnership with the Luey Jacob Sharp Foundation, as well as a variety of grassroots tournaments, charity events and mental health initiatives that reflect our club’s role far beyond football. Middlewood Rovers is built on the hard work of volunteers, the loyalty of families, and the belief that grassroots sport changes lives. Whether you’re playing your first game, cheering from the sidelines, or giving something back as a coach, this club always has been - and always will be - for everyone.
