Willow Wanderers FC was formed in 2015 when the chairman and club secretary felt their approach to kids' football was at odds with the club they were then working with.  The U9 and U6 groups they coached followed them almost unanimously to create a distinctive new club with a clear philosophy of putting the enjoyment of football above the desire to win games.  The choice of kit colour, bold logo, and alliterative name were all deliberately chosen to form a recognisable look which was intended to become synonymous with the values we feel so passionately about.  We want players, coaches and supporters from all backgrounds to look forward to their games against our teams, knowing they'll be played in the right spirit and that our members will make them feel welcomed when they travel to Carlton le Willows Academy.

As well as achieving the FA Charter Standard in our first year as a club, our U7 group were voted by their peers as winners of the League's Fair Play Award - the perfect accolade to reflect our approach to the game.  The team spirit we foster has also helped us collect further silverware, with our Warriors team becoming divisional winners in back to back seasons in 2017 at U11/U12 age groups; our Wildcats team also topped their division at U9 in autumn 2017; our Rockets team finished runners-up at U9 in spring 2018, as did both Wildcats and Dragons in spring 2019.  And, because of our approach, every player in each of those teams can feel they've had a full role in achieving those awards.

Having moved to Carlton le Willows Academy in 2016, we are proud to have formed a long-term partnership with the school and have helped build their business case for FA funding for a new 3G facility, which we will be using for all of our training when it is completed in February 2020.  The Academy will also continue to host our matches in the long term as we grow from the ten teams we have in September 2019 to a target of 20-30 teams covering U6 to U18.