The Reverend Becomes Surprise Sheffield F.C. Chairman!

Photography by Steel City Snapper

He could’ve been the Heavyweight Champion of the World, but instead became the singer in a rock band. Now Jon “The Reverend” McClure has been named the new Chairman of Sheffield F.C., the world’s oldest football club and one of only two clubs alongside Real Madrid to receive the FIFA Order of Merit.

McClure has been the charismatic frontman of local indie favourites Reverend and the Makers, known for singles like “Heavyweight Champion of the World”, “Silence Is Talking”, and “Bassline”, since 2002. He also co-founded the hugely popular DayFever daytime disco that has taken the country by storm over the last couple of years. His love of football is well known (he co-stars with his brother Chris, aka Steve Bracknall, in BBC Sounds’ “Games’s Gone” podcast), but this is the first time he’s taken a management position at a football club, despite being a dead ringer for Royal Oak manager Paul Sampson.

Together with performing arts firm IAV Holdings Limited, McClure has bought a stake in the historic club. Andrew Ford and Alexis Krachai join McClure and his manager David Bianchi on Sheffield F.C.'s new-look board, alongside the existing owner Jeremy Levine, and his son Jack.

The focus in Sheffield is normally on Wednesday or United, but Sheffield F.C. predate them having been founded in October 1857. They initially played games amongst each other under the “Sheffield Rules” before finally adopting the new FA Rules in 1878 (some of the Sheffield Rules were incorporated into the FA Rules which are still used today).

Sheffield F.C. are widely considered to be the world's first football club, and are recognised by FIFA as the oldest existing club still playing football in the world. The club still competes in the “Rules derby” with nearby Hallam F.C., the second oldest club in the world.

The club currently play their home games at “The Home of Football” ground near Dronfield in Derbyshire, just outside the Sheffield border after their original ground was built on. “I think everybody wants the club back in the city,” McClure told BBC Radio Sheffield after the announcement, “but there's only Sheffield that could invent football and build a B&Q car park on it."

As well as returning the club back to Sheffield, McClure says they also have plans for a football academy, eSports hub, national football festival, clothing brand, visitor centre and even a TV show. Where that might be is still under discussion.

The Sheffield F.C.’s men’s side compete in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, the ninth level of the English football pyramid after being relegated last year, while the more successful women's side plays in the fourth-tier.

McClure acknowledges there will be skepticism around his involvement in Sheffield F.C. saying in his BBC interview, "this is not Wrexham. I'm not Ryan Reynolds. Let's get it clear, I'm in an indie band. I know my place in this world. I've taken a lot of advice from football people. I'm not a football person, and I won't be involved in football stuff."

"There's a limit for Sheffield F.C. It's a non-league club. This is not me talking now. This is Chris Wilder, Vill Powell and others. These are people who care about the club. They're saying to me, it can't ever compete with Wednesday or United. That's not what it's there to do."

"On the women's side, I think there's less of a ceiling. I think the women could be very successful, and we want to prioritise that, but it has to be done by engaging actual football people." McClure remains realistic but optimistic about the challenge. “Judge it in a year. If it's not tangibly in a better place than it is now, come and see me at a match and discuss why you think that's not the case. But give me a year to just do some stuff, because I think we're going to move the dial on this considerably.”

Finally, McClure summed up his feelings to the BBC about the club and the city as a whole. “We're trying to build a community here, and we're trying to do something for the city, because this city is amazing. For far too long now this city has not shouted about itself. It's enough now. Now's our time to stand up and say this city's brilliant.”

As well as joining the board of Sheffield F.C., McClure and his band Reverend and the Makers release their eighth studio album Is This How Happiness Feels on 8 May, with a special homecoming launch gig at the Foundry on the same day. He may not be the Heavyweight Champion of the World, but things are looking good for Jon McClure right now, and few would doubt his drive and determination to succeed at this new challenge.