subject: United Football Clubs [print this page] United Football Clubs United Football Clubs
In the top four tiers of English professional football there are fourteen teams which have adopted the name United' after the city/ town where the football club is based. The fourteen teams are Manchester United FC, West Ham United FC, Newcastle United FC, Peterborough United FC, Scunthorpe United FC, Sheffield United FC, Carlisle United FC, Colchester United FC, Hartlepool United FC, Leeds United FC, Southend United FC, Hereford United FC, Rotherham United FC and Torquay United FC. Other teams throughout the world that have taken on the name include DC United, Sydney United FC and Dundee United FC.
In many cases the reason why many football clubs are called United' dates back to the when the Football League was initially founded. Many teams in the olden day played football locally and there would be several clubs located in each major town or city. As the English Football League grew, many local football clubs would combine to create a team which was big enough to represent the city in the national leagues.
The first club to adopt the word United' in their name was Sheffield United Cricket Club who was formed before any football teams were in existence. Sheffield United FC was formed in 1889 by the Sheffield United Cricket Club as a way of keeping members together during the winter close season. Many other teams that use the name were influenced by Sheffield United. In nearby Rotherham, smaller clubs Rotherham County and Rotherham Town merged to form Rotherham United FC, whilst Newcastle Westend and Newcastle Eastend joined forced to become Newcastle United FC.
