Walsall FC: the Saddlers, their Bescot home and a fresh start

In the heart of the Black Country, few things bring a town together quite like a match day at the Bescot Stadium. Walsall Football Club, known to everyone as the Saddlers, carry a nickname that celebrates the town's long history as a centre of saddle making.

The club was formed in 1888 as Walsall Town Swifts, through the merger of Walsall Town and Walsall Swifts, and took the name Walsall FC in 1896. That same year it moved to the ground that became Fellows Park, named in 1930 after club director H. L. Fellows. It was home for almost a century, and its record crowd of 25,453 squeezed in to see Newcastle United in August 1961.

In 1990 the Saddlers moved a short distance to the new Bescot Stadium, built at a cost of £4.5 million and opened on 18 August 1990 by Sir Stanley Matthews. It holds 11,300, and the record attendance of 11,049 came against Rotherham United in May 2004. In December 2022 the club bought the stadium, now known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium.

Walsall's history is full of cup magic and memorable seasons. Their 2-0 FA Cup win over Arsenal in 1933 remains one of the great upsets, and in 1983-84 they reached the League Cup semi-finals, losing to Liverpool. The club won the Fourth Division in 1959-60 and the League Two title in 2007.

Recent seasons have brought hope. In 2024-25 Walsall reached the League Two play-off final at Wembley, narrowly losing 1-0 to AFC Wimbledon, and in 2025-26 they finished 13th. In May 2026 the club appointed Lee Grant as head coach, opening a fresh chapter for supporters.

Fellows Park's name has lived on at Bescot too, as the main stand was long known as the H. L. Fellows Stand, a link between the Saddlers' past and present.

For families across Walsall and the wider Black Country, a Saturday at Bescot remains one of the great sporting days out in the region.

Fixtures, tickets and club news are available on the Walsall FC website.