In 1970, there was no organised football in the local area and the boys of Thatcham were left to organise themselves on the Memorial Playing Fields. During the next year following the formation of an Under 14 league in Newbury the boys approached Roy and Debbie Read and persuaded them to form a Club. Bill Gabriel, a former Tornadoes Secretary and Fred Richardson, a former Tornadoes Chairman also joined the Club and Thatcham Tornadoes were born in 1971. Within a few years there were teams starting as young as Under Nines right through to Under Fifteens and in those early years Tornadoes played their home matches in Newbury, Cold Ash, Midgham and as far away as Padworth due to the lack of suitable facilities in Thatcham at that time.By the mid eighties Tornadoes had grown into West Berkshire’s largest boys’ football club, providing football for over 250 boys and it was also one of the most respected boys’ football clubs in the South of England. Once The Moors playing fields off Lower Way became available for use it became the home of Thatcham Tornadoes and remains so to this day for our younger teams playing small sided football and also to our youngest eleven a side teams. Other eleven a side home matches are now played at Henwick Worthy and the Club also has exclusive use of one pitch on Sundays and a second pitch for Sunday afternoons at The Park, Douai Abbey for the older teams. There are also four small sided pitches at The Park. During the Club’s history the prestigious Hampshire Youth Cup has been secured on no fewer than four occasions. This is no small achievement as normally well over one hundred teams enter each age group per season from all Clubs affiliated to the Hampshire Youth Football Association. The Cup was first secured in the 19851986 season by Dave Beasleys Under Sixteens. The second occasion was in 19921993 Season when Dave Campions’ Under Tens triumphed. During the 19961997 Season there were two successes with both Graham Bartlett’s Under Twelves and Mick Field’s Under Tens lifting the trophy within weeks of each other. The 19992000 Season saw Tony Lawsons Under Sixteens win the Berks & Bucks Cup for the first time in the Clubs history. Congratulations to all of the players involved in those squads The Club has achieved League Title and League Cup successes on too many occasions to mention here but congratulations go to all of those players also In 1991 Thatcham Tornadoes Boys F.C. became Thatcham Tornadoes Boys and Girls F.C. with the formation of the first all girl squad within the Club. Sadly there is no longer an all girl squad in the Club although there are girl members amongst our smallsided squads. In 1995 Tornadoes resurrected their annual Sixaside Tournament which with thanks to Thatcham Town F.C. for allowing them to use their fine facilities, has become one of the best tournaments in the area accepting entries from Under Sevens through to Under Fourteens. In the Summer of 1997 the Club introduced a Nursery squad for boys and girls of Under Seven allowing them to participate in weekly skills training which culminated in their participation in Sixaside competitions during the Summer of 1998. This proved to be a huge success with over forty members enrolling during the first season and the trend continues. Since then the local leagues have introduced small sided football for teams as young as Under Sevens with the emphasis on fun allowing them to experience matches. With the introduction of the younger age group Tornadoes now boasts in the region of 300 members with teams from Under Seven to Under Eighteen. In 2003 Thatcham Tornadoes Boys & Girls F.C. became Thatcham Tornadoes Football Club. This change of name was made for simplicity. Girls are very welcome at the club, as members of our smallsided mixed squads they play in mixed teams up to the age of Under Eleven, after which they can form their own teams. Late 2003 we set about an improvement program which culminated in us achieving the FA Charter Standard Award as a Development Club. The award was granted in June 2004 with the presentation taking place at the Madjeski Stadium in front of a crowd of 20,000. Further progress in 2005 saw the club attain Charity Status.

Telephone: 01635 871112
Website: http://thatchamtornadoes.intheteam.com/