Hayes & Yeading United Football Club was created in May 2007 when the two clubs respective Chairmen, Derek Goodall and Phillip Spurden agreed that the only way either club could continue, long term, at the level they were playing would be to join forces as a single entity.

Hayes FC was founded in 1909 when Eileen Shackle, the teenage daughter of a wealthy land agent, encouraged the local youngsters to form a football team. The team was originally known as Botwell Mission, after the mission church that was built in memory of her grandfather, and that still stands today as part of the Hayes Library in Golden Crescent.

Yeading FC was also founded with youth in mind beginning their existence in 1960 as Yeading Youth Club, started by brothers Ray and Carl Gritt.

By the time the two clubs were both in existence, Botwell Mission had changed its name to Hayes FC in 1929 where having progressed through the Great Western Suburban League and the Spartan League they were then accepted into the Athenian League. In their first season at this level they reached the final of the FA Amateur Cup.

This was notable for the fact that the club had started at the 1st qualifying round stage, and had played all its nine matches away from home, travelling an estimated 1,500 miles to places as diverse as Wisbech, Trowbridge, Stalybridge (where Northern Nomads played), and York for a semi-final against Bishop Auckland.

The final was lost to Wycombe Wanderers by one goal to nil. The Athenian League was won for the only time in season 1956-57 on goal average over Finchley and the semi-final of the Amateur Cup was reached, losing to Bishop Auckland before a crowd of 32,000 at St James Park, Newcastle.

While the sixties were pretty lean for Hayes FC, the newly formed Yeading FC were starting to get noticed at a junior level, having moved to Warren Park in 1965. As Uxbridge League Premier Division Runners up in 1967 Yeading moved into the newly formed West Middlesex Combination Premier Division and having notched a league and couple double that same season joined the South West Middlesex League.

That first season (1968/69) Yeading won the West Drayton Charity Cup, and more prestigiously the Middlesex Junior Cup for the first time while also securing the Division One Title. Further promotion led to back-to-back South West Middlesex Premier Division titles and in 1970/71 Yeading also won both the Middlesex Junior and Intermediate Cups. During the 1970s they won the latter five times and the former twice.

In 1971/72 Hayes FC were elected to the Isthmian League while Yeading FC earned promotion to the Middlesex League seeing Championship success in their first season (1971/72), scoring a record 122 goals in the process. Season 1972/73 saw Yeading sweep all four trophies - League and Cup - in the Middlesex League while over at Church Road Hayes FC hit the headlines with an FA Cup first round defeat of Football League side Bristol Rovers before taking Reading to a second round replay.

The eighties saw Hayes FC maintain their Isthmian League status year on year without much danger of movement up or down while Yeading FC had started their climb upwards at no mean rate of knots. The Ding moved from the Middlesex League to the Spartan League going unbeaten through 1986/87 and earning promotion to the Isthmian League Division Two South in the process.

The turn of the decade saw Yeading hit the national headlines when they became the first Middlesex side to lift the FA Vase, having drawn at Wembley, they travelled to Leeds’ Elland Road where they secured a 1-0 victory over Bridlington Town.

Season 1992/93 saw Yeading’s meteoric rise through the leagues reach the Isthmian Premier, the first time neighbours Hayes FC and Yeading FC were to become rivals. This rivalry was to last until 1996 when Hayes FC reached the pinnacle of non-league football by winning the Isthmian League championship by one goal in a nail-biting finale which also involved Enfield, Yeovil Town and Boreham Wood.

The club maintained a presence at this level for six seasons, including finishing in 3rd place in 1998-9, before suffering relegation for the first time in 2002 at which time Yeading FC had dropped out of the Isthmian Premier so the renewal of rivalries would have to wait.

Hayes FC were to become one of the founder members of the Conference South League and were soon joined by neighbours Yeading FC, renewing the rivalry for a couple of seasons before the biggest sporting news the area had seen for many years.....

Hayes and Yeading United FC – Merged rivals

After a season of consolidation, the newly merged side took many people by surprise in 2008/09 when a late season Conference South record equalling run of 10 consecutive victories saw a play-off place earned. Looking dead and buried at 4-0 down after 50 minutes of the semi-final first leg, only a dreamer would have predicted a place in the final.

Dreams do come true though and two late first leg goals and a 4-0 extra time victory in the second leg at Eastleigh saw the final reached. A tight final ensued but Hampton & Richmond Borough were seen off by the odd goal in five and promotion was achieved to the pinnacle of non-league football, the Blue Square Premier.

United more than held their own in the top flight for the first two seasons but with a much reduced budget and a ground share due to the late completion of the Club’s new stadium, United hit the relegation trap-door in April 2012 and now find themselves back in the Blue Square Bet South where the new club began it's life.

Famous players to have worn the red and white stripes of Hayes FC include Freddie Knight, Leslie Smith, Hayes' first full international, Len Townsend, George Wilkins, Johnny Gregory, Jimmy Bloomfield, amateur internationals Frank Bridges, Ron Gadsden, Jack Rawlings and Les Champelovier, Derek Neate, Robin Friday, Cyrille Regis, Les Ferdinand and Jason Roberts. Yeading FC have also provided the football world with Andy Impey, Lee Charles, Charlie Oatway and most recently DJ Campbell.