Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One in the 2026/27 season, following relegation from the Championship in April 2026. Current club details below were checked on 3 November 2026.
The club was founded on 27 October 1893 as Headington Football Club, merged with local rivals Headington Quarry on 25 July 1911 and was renamed Headington United.
Oxford United adopted its current name in 1960. It joined the Football League in 1962.
Trivia
Oxford won consecutive Third Division and Second Division titles in 1983/84 and 1984/85 under Jim Smith, reaching the top flight.
Oxford United Details
| Full name | Oxford United Football Club |
| Also Known As | OUFC |
| Nicknames | The U’s, Yellows |
| Founded (as Headington United) | 1893 |
| Current Stadium | Kassam Stadium (OX4 4XP) |
| Capacity | 12,500 |
| Rivals | Swindon Town, Reading |
| Current League | EFL League One |
| Head coach | Aaron Ramsey |
| Chairman | Dusan Bogdanovic |
| Owner (since Sept 22) | Erick Thohir & Anindya Bakrie |
| Previous Owner | Sumrith Thanakarnjanasuth |
Oxford United Honours
Oxford also won the 2023/24 League One play-offs: two Josh Murphy goals secured a 2–0 win against Bolton Wanderers at Wembley on 18 May 2024, returning the club to the Championship after 25 years.
| League | ||
| Second Division (Tier 2) | Champions | 1984–85 |
| Third Division (Tier 3) | Champions | 1967-68, 1983-84 |
| Fourth Division (Tier 4) | Promoted (3rd) | 1964-65 |
| Division Two (Tier 3) | Runners Up | 1995-96 |
| League Two (Tier 4) | Runners Up | 2015-16 |
| Conference (Tier 5) | Play-off Winners | 2009-10 |
| Southern League | Premier Division Champions | 1952-53, 1960-61, 1961-62 |
| Southern League | Premier Division Runners-Up | 1953-54, 1959-60 |
| Cups | ||
| League Cup | Winners | 1985-86 |
| Football League Trophy | Runners Up | 2015-16, 2016-17 |
| Southern League Cup | Winners | 1952-53, 1953-54 |
Team Records
| Record | Against | Date | |
| Highest Attendance (Manor Ground) | 22750 | Preston North End | 29/02/1964 |
| Highest Attendance (Kassam Stadium) | 12243 | Leyton Orient | 06/05/2006 |
| Biggest FA Cup home win | 9-1 | Dorchester Town | 11/11/1995 |
| Biggest League Win | 7-0 | Barrow | 19/12/1964 |
| Biggest Football League defeat | 0-7 | Sunderland/Wigan | 1998/2017 |
| Longest League Unbeaten Run | 20 Games | 1984 | |
| Longest League Winning Run | 9 games | 2020-21 | |
| First FA Cup Game | L 2-8 | Hounslow | 05/09/1931 |
| First League Cup Game | D 1-1 | Torquay United | 03/09/1962 |
| First Football League Game | L 2-3 | Barrow | 18/08/1962 |
Player Records
| Record | Player | Date | |
| Most Football League Appearances | 473 | John Shuker | 1962-77 |
| Most Appearances | 562 | Ron Atkinson | 1959-71 |
| Most League Goals | 77 | Graham Atkinson | 1959-74 |
| Most Goals | 107 | Graham Atkinson | 1959-74 |
| Most Caps while playing for OUFC | 18 (Northern Ireland) | Jim Magilton | |
| Highest Scorer In A Season | 43 | Bud Houghton | 1961/62 |
| Highest Football League Scorer In A Season | 30 | John Aldridge | 1984/85 |
| Youngest Football League Player | 16 years 149 days v Mansfield Town | Jason Seacole | 07/09/1976 |
| Oldest Football League Player | 44 years 176 days v Southend United | Alan Judge | 06/11/2004 |
Oxford United Managers
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win % | Honours |
| Harry Thompson | English | 01-Jul-49 | 06-Nov-58 | 466 | 210 | 87 | 169 | 45.06% | Southern League champions: 1952–53 |
| Southern League runners-up: 1953–54 | |||||||||
| Southern League Cup winners: 1952–53, 1953–54 | |||||||||
| Board members | 06-Nov-58 | 01-Jan-59 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 54.50% | ||
| Arthur Turner | English | 01-Jan-59 | 28-Feb-69 | 504 | 218 | 119 | 167 | 43.30% | Southern League runners-up: 1959–60 |
| Southern League champions: 1960–61, 1961–62 | |||||||||
| Fourth Division promotion: 1964–65 | |||||||||
| Third Division champions: 1967–68 | |||||||||
| Ron Saunders | English | 01-Mar-69 | 30-Jun-69 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50.00% | |
| Gerry Summers | English | 01-Jul-69 | 01-Oct-75 | 293 | 93 | 89 | 111 | 31.74% | |
| Mick Brown | English | 01-Oct-75 | 22-Jul-79 | 187 | 53 | 61 | 73 | 28.34% | |
| Bill Asprey | English | 22-Jul-79 | 26-Dec-80 | 82 | 23 | 20 | 39 | 28.05% | |
| Ian Greaves | English | 26-Dec-80 | 30-Jan-82 | 50 | 23 | 16 | 11 | 46.00% | |
| Roy Barry (caretaker) | Scottish | 03-Feb-82 | 28-Feb-82 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 33.33% | |
| Jim Smith | English | 01-Mar-82 | 11-Jun-85 | 167 | 89 | 42 | 36 | 53.29% | Third Division champions: 1983–84 |
| Second Division champions: 1984–85 | |||||||||
| Maurice Evans | English | 11-Jun-85 | 26-Mar-88 | 140 | 41 | 41 | 58 | 29.29% | League Cup winners: 1986 |
| Mark Lawrenson | Irish | 26-Mar-88 | 25-Oct-88 | 23 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 17.39% | |
| Brian Horton | English | 25-Oct-88 | 27-Aug-93 | 251 | 79 | 65 | 107 | 31.47% | |
| Maurice Evans (caretaker) | English | 27-Aug-93 | 10-Sep-93 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.00% | |
| Denis Smith | English | 10-Sep-93 | 24-Dec-97 | 247 | 99 | 60 | 88 | 40.08% | Second Division runners-up: 1995–96 |
| Malcolm Crosby (caretaker) | English | 24-Dec-97 | 24-Jan-98 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.00% | |
| Malcolm Shotton | English | 24-Jan-98 | 25-Oct-99 | 88 | 26 | 22 | 40 | 29.55% | |
| Mickey Lewis (caretaker) | English | 25-Oct-99 | 02-Feb-00 | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 27.27% | |
| Denis Smith | English | 03-Feb-00 | 02-Oct-00 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 19 | 26.67% | |
| Mike Ford (caretaker) | English | 03-Oct-00 | 31-Oct-00 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0.00% | |
| David Kemp | English | 31-Oct-00 | 30-Apr-01 | 31 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 22.58% | |
| Mike Ford (caretaker) | English | 01-May-01 | 08-May-01 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Mark Wright | English | 08-May-01 | 22-Nov-01 | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 18.18% | |
| Ian Atkins | English | 23-Nov-01 | 21-Mar-04 | 122 | 47 | 35 | 40 | 38.52% | |
| Graham Rix | English | 22-Mar-04 | 14-Nov-04 | 29 | 6 | 8 | 15 | 20.69% | |
| Darren Patterson (caretaker) | Northern Irish | 14-Nov-04 | 09-Dec-04 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% | |
| Ramón Díaz | Argentine | 09-Dec-04 | 04-May-05 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 40.00% | |
| David Oldfield (caretaker) | English | 07-May-05 | 07-May-06 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Brian Talbot | English | 06-May-05 | 14-Mar-06 | 44 | 10 | 16 | 18 | 22.73% | |
| Darren Patterson | Northern Irish | 14-Mar-06 | 22-Mar-06 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% | |
| Jim Smith | English | 22-Mar-06 | 09-Nov-07 | 82 | 34 | 26 | 22 | 41.46% | |
| Darren Patterson | Northern Irish | 09-Nov-07 | 30-Nov-08 | 59 | 24 | 11 | 24 | 40.68% | |
| Jim Smith (caretaker) | English | 30-Nov-08 | 21-Dec-08 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 50.00% | |
| Chris Wilder | English | 21-Dec-08 | 26-Jan-14 | 269 | 121 | 70 | 78 | 44.98% | Conference Premier play-off winners: 2009–10 |
| Mickey Lewis (caretaker) | English | 26-Jan-14 | 22-Mar-14 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 25.00% | |
| Gary Waddock | Irish | 22-Mar-14 | 04-Jul-14 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 12.50% | |
| Michael Appleton | English | 04-Jul-14 | 20-Jun-17 | 173 | 78 | 46 | 49 | 45.09% | League Two runners-up: 2015–16 |
| Football League Trophy runners-up: 2015–16, 2016–17 | |||||||||
| Pep Clotet | Spanish | 01-Jul-17 | 22-Jan-18 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 33.33% | |
| Derek Fazackerley (caretaker) | English | 22-Jan-18 | 22-Mar-18 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 25.00% | |
| Karl Robinson | English | 22 March 2018 | 26 February 2023 | — | 2020 League One play-off finalist | ||||
Recent head coaches and the return to League One
Liam Manning succeeded Robinson in March 2023 before leaving for Bristol City that November. Des Buckingham took over and led United to promotion in May 2024. Gary Rowett followed in December 2024 and secured Championship survival in 2024/25 before departing in December 2025.
Matt Bloomfield was appointed in January 2026. United were relegated in April, and Aaron Ramsey became head coach on 23 June 2026 following Bloomfield’s departure.
For current club information, see Oxford United’s club directory. Historical milestones are recorded in the official club timeline; see also the relegation announcement and Ramsey appointment report.
