The first meeting in 2016/17 will be in December
Name: Swindon Town Football ClubFounded: 1879
Stadium: The County Ground
Capacity: 15, 278
Manager: Luke Williams
Last season: 15th in League One
A mid-table finish concluded a frustrating campaign for Swindon Town at the County Ground, so the Robins will be hoping for a more fruitful year in the third-tier come the start of August.
Swindon’s indifferent form near the lower reaches of the division forced a managerial change at the club in March, with Andy Williams coming in following the departure of Martin Ling.
Williams, a former first-team coach and assistant manager at the Wiltshire outfit, managed to stabilise Swindon by securing a 15th place finish, having been officially appointed as manager in March, following a caretaker position.
The recently appointed manager had a brief playing career in the game, coming through the youth sides of Norwich City and Bristol Rovers, before a stint at non-league side Ashford Town in Surrey.
Williams later moved into coaching with the Football Association, prior to moving to help coach the youth academies of East London sides’ Leyton Orient and West Ham United.
In 2010, Williams became a development coach at Brighton and Hove Albion, where in his three years in Sussex, he managed the Seagulls’ U21 and reserve squads.
Williams then joined Swindon Town as a first-team coach in 2013, and was instrumental in recruiting Yaser Kasim and Raphael Rossi Branco to the club, both of whom have gone onto become key players at the Robins.
He then became assistant to former manager Mark Cooper, and served as a caretaker manager following Cooper’s sacking early last season, before taking up the same role when Ling left at the turn of the New Year.
Williams was subsequently named as permanent manager at Swindon in March, after guiding Town to six victories in ten games. His reward was a five-year contract, which was awarded by Lee Power, the Club’s owner.
FTFC make the trip to the County Ground on Saturday 17th December, before hosting Swindon at Highbury for the return fixture on Saturday 1st April 2017.