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Rushall Olympic
Full name	Rushall Olympic Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Pics
Founded	1893; 131 years ago
Ground	Dales Lane, Rushall, Walsall
Capacity	1,400
Coordinates	52°36′3.128″N 1°57′8.179″W / 52.60086889°N 1.95227194°W
Chairman	John Allen
Manager	Adam Stevens
League	National League North
2023–24	National League North, 19th of 24
Website	http://www.rofc.co.uk/
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

Rushall Olympic Football Club is an English football club based in Rushall, a former mining village that forms part of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth tier of the English football league system.

History

Early years

Although football had been played in the village for at least 20 years previously, the earliest known reference to Rushall Olympic Football Club is in local newspaper reports on matches from the 1893–94 season. The club joined the Cannock & District League in 1895, finishing as runners-up in their first season and later joined the Junior (where they were champions in 1903–04), Amateur, Parks and Senior sections of the Walsall & District League.

During the inter-war years, the team won a number of local honours. At this time, the team comprised mainly local colliery workers and played on a field behind the Miners Arms pub in Rushall and changed in the pub itself. However, some time prior to the Second World War, the club disbanded.

Post-Second World War

In 1951, a group of local young men decided to re-form the club. They approached the proprietor of a local fish and chip shop for permission to use his premises as their headquarters and secured the use of Rowley Place as a home ground. The club joined the Walsall & District Amateur League, where the team won the Second Division championship in 1952–53, and later the First Division championship in 1955–56, after which they gained promotion to the Staffordshire County League (South), where they won the Second Division title at the first attempt.

Following promotion to the First Division, the club won four championship titles between 1960 and 1965. In 1975, in a bid to gain a higher league status, the club decided to move three miles away to the Aston University Sports Ground, just off the main A34 Walsall to Birmingham road. Meanwhile, the club obtained the lease on some land in Daw End, Rushall, and the new Dales Lane ground was officially opened on 14 August 1977.

The club were accepted into the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1978, and won the First Division title in 1980. The club enjoyed 14 seasons of moderate success in the Premier Division, with a highest finish of fifth place achieved in 1988–89. In 1994, the "Pics" became founder members of the new Midland Football Alliance. Although the late 1990s brought only mid-table performances in the league, the Pics did defeat the then-Southern League club Rocester at the Bescot Stadium – home of Walsall – in a penalty shoot-out to lift the Walsall Senior Cup in 2000.

After finishing in second place in both 2000–01 and 2002–03, the Pics finally claimed the league title in 2004–05, and with it promotion to the Southern League Division One West. They were then transferred to the Southern League Division One Midlands for the 2006–07 season, where they stayed for two years, qualifying for the play-offs in their last season by finishing fifth.

Due to the restructuring of Northern Premier League Division One, they were transferred yet again to the NPL Division One South for the 2008–09 season, when they again finished fifth and qualified for the play-offs. They were also unsuccessful in achieving promotion this time. Manager Paul Holleran then left the club to be replaced by Neil Kitching, who started his first season brightly before tailing off to finish in mid-table; the team also reached the final of the Walsall Senior Cup under Kitching.

Despite further budget restriction, Kitching was supported by a relatively youthful backroom staff, including Nick Amos and Ian Cooper, and they went on to finish third in the 2010–11 season, before going on to reach the play-off final, after a 3–0 win over Brigg Town in the semi-final. A 2–0 victory over Grantham Town in the final saw Rushall Olympic reach the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the first time the club had ever reached the seventh level of the English football league system.

The first season at this higher level saw Rushall Olympic finish eighth in the league. They reached the final of three cup competitions: the league cup, where they lost to North Ferriby United after extra time; the Staffordshire Senior Cup, where they lost to Kidsgrove Athletic; and the Walsall Senior Cup, which they retained. Rushall also equalled their best ever performance in the FA Cup, reaching the fourth qualifying round, where they were knocked out by Stourbridge.

In 2012–13, Rushall made their debut in the first round proper of the FA Trophy, having qualified with victories over Woodford United, Chasetown and Droylsden. Their reward was a trip to Wrexham, where they suffered a defeat against a team that went on to win the final of the competition. In the league, Rushall again were on the verge of the play-offs finishing in sixth position, but failed to make the end of season competition.^[2]

In 2013–14, Rushall Olympic made the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup before losing out at Grimsby Town. Rushall eventually finished in seventh place in the league, narrowly missing out on the play-offs. However, there were two cup final appearances, as the Pics lost out in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup but won the Staffordshire Senior Cup, beating Port Vale 2–1 at Vale Park. At the end of the season, the club parted company with manager of five years Neil Kitching; his assistant, Nick Amos, also left the club. Rushall then appointed former West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers midfielder Richard Sneekes as manager, with Steve Hinks as his assistant.^[3]

During the 2022-23 Southern Football League season, Olympic finished 5th in the table and qualified for the playoffs. The Pics defeated Coalville Town on penalty kicks and advanced to the playoff finals, where they defeated Nuneaton Borough, also on penalty kicks. As a result, the club was promoted to the National League North for the first time in club history.^[4]

Players

As of 10 August 2024^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


Pos.	Nation	Player
GK	ENG	Jake Weaver
GK	IRL	Paul White
DF	ENG	Camron McWilliams
DF	ENG	Jaden Charles
DF	ENG	Nathan Cameron
DF	ENG	Brad Bood
DF	ENG	George Wilkinson
DF	ITA	Benjamin Mensah
DF	ENG	Callum Rowe
DF	ENG	Ashton Offler
DF	ENG	Kornell McDonald
MF	ENG	Roddy McGlinchey


Pos.	Nation	Player
MF	ENG	Sam Mantom
MF	ENG	Dempsey Arlott-John
MF	BER	Keziah Martin
MF	ENG	Sam McLintock
MF	GHA	Koby Arthur
FW	ENG	Terell Pennant
FW	ENG	Hayden Campbell
FW	ENG	Danny King
FW	ENG	Luke Benbow
FW	IRL	Gerry McDonagh
FW	IRL	Liam McAlinden

Management and coaching staff

Boardroom

As of 20 September 2021 ^[5]

Position	Name
Chairman	John Allen
Vice-Chairman	Nick Allen

Current staff

Position	Name
Manager	Adam Stevens
Assistant Manager	Steve Hinks
First Team Coach	Richard Sneekes

Honours

Northern Premier League Division One South
- Play-off winners: 2010–11
Midland Alliance
- Champions: 2004–05
West Midlands (Regional) League Division One
- Champions: 1979–80
Walsall Senior Cup
- Winners: 1964–65, 1999–2000, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2022–23, 2023–24
Staffordshire Senior Cup
- Winners: 2005–06, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2023-2024
Southern League Premier Division Central
- Play-off winners: 2022–23

Club records

Best league performance: 6th in Northern Premier League, Premier Division (Step 3) 2012–13
Best FA Cup performance: First round proper, 2024–25
Best FA Trophy performance: First round proper, 2012–13
Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 2000–01