OXFORD City have announced a new partnership which will see the University of Oxford sponsor the front of the club’s shirts.

The Hoops are set to benefit from a range of educational and sporting programmes, while the team will also train one day a week on the university’s grass pitches.

Of course, there is a history between the club and the university, with Brasenose College evicting the Hoops from their former White House Ground in 1988, leaving City homeless.

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Those wounds have long healed though, says Hoops co-owner Justin Merritt.

He said: “There’s obviously a lot of history but in recent years, we’ve collaborated on a lot of different projects.

“We’ve done some research work and shared facilities. Over the last two and a half years, that’s grown and flourished, and here we are today, where it’s really exciting to formally sign a partnership with the university.

“We’ve got some of the best students in the world on our doorstep, and if we can harness some of their knowledge and expertise, and help them as well, the club’s going to be in a stronger place.”

Alexander Betts, the university’s local and global engagement officer, and a professor of forced migration and international affairs, said: “We really believe that sport is an important bridge between the university and the wider community.

“We’ve been trying to work with schools and sports clubs, and now we’ve got this really exciting partnership with Oxford City.

“As a club and as a university, we want to open doors to young people across the city, to connect in whatever way we can, to raise educational aspiration, and this is a route through which we think as a university, our local engagement goals are supported.

“We can connect with kids, older people, and the whole community through this relationship.

“In terms of this partnership with Oxford City, there are a range of things we want to do. We’re trying to think about ways which we can do joint community activities, develop educational programmes for the men and women first teams, develop football programmes that build in both the sport and educational side.

“We’re trying to do more to use sport school programmes, where we bring more kids to our facilities.”

Betts, who also coaches the Hoops Under-9s side, added: “This is a collaboration in which we recognise the mutual benefit of coming together, working on joint programmes around education, research and community engagement.

“The shirt aspect of that is a very visible side of that partnership, and it’s something we see as mutually beneficial.”