Telford - Sport

Sport

Telford is home to a variety of established amateur, semi-pro and professional sports clubs. AFC Telford United Football Club are currently playing in Blue Square Premier League after a successful play-off campaign in 2011, and their current manager is Andy Sinton, who as a player was capped by England and played for clubs including Queen's Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur.

AFC Telford's achievements include Best Shropshire Senior Cup Performance: Final - 3 Times, and Promotion to Conference North in 2007, after beating Witton Albion in the play-offs 3-1. Also, they won the Setanta Shield Trophy by beating Forest Green Rovers on penalties in 2009. They were formed in 2004 on the bankruptcy of the previous Telford United club, who had competed in the Football Conference - the highest level of football outside the professional league - for 25 years since its inception in 1979 as the Alliance Premier League. AFC Telford have now regained a place in the top flight of non-league football.

Ice hockey in the town is represented by 2 teams. One is the Telford Tigers, an English Premier League (EPL or EPIHL) ice hockey team originally formed in 1985. The other are the Telford Titans, an ENL Team, which represents development hockey feeding from the excellent youth development and were last year crowned league champions.

There have been many American football teams in the town, although presently Shropshire Revolution a British American Football League, founded in 2006, is the only club in the town and the county of Shropshire. Previous clubs include Wrekin Giants (1985–1989), Shropshire Giants (1989), and Cannock Chase Giants (1989-1993/4).

Telford Raiders are the town's Rugby League club, although there have been other Rugby League Clubs in Telford historically, such as the Telford All Blacks and Shropshire Scorpions. Telford Hornets represent the town at Rugby Union.

Telford also hosted the UK Snooker Championship, from 2007 to 2010. The championship moved from York in 2007 but will return to the re-furbished Barbican Centre in York for 2011.

The Shropshire Golf Centre is located near Muxton, to the northeast of Telford. This has three nine hole courses, a 13 hole par three academy course and driving range. Other courses include the Municipal course at Horsehay, The Wrekin Golf Club and Telford Golf and Country Club.

There are also several local cricket clubs, many of whom compete in local leagues and some in the Birmingham league. The largest of these is Wellington where many Shropshire County matches are also played but St Georges, Madeley and Lilleshall also run cricket clubs in or on the outskirts of the town.