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AFC Fylde is a professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club based in Wesham in the
Borough of Fylde The Borough of Fylde is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Lancashire, England. It covers part of the Fylde plain, after which it is named. The council's headquar ...
, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Mill Farm. Originally known as Kirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988, the club adopted its current name in 2008 after winning the
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
. In 2007, the club announced the goal of reaching the
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
by 2017 and the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
by 2022, the latter objective being printed on club shirts. The club won four promotions between 2007 and 2017 to earn promotion to the fifth tier of English football for the first time. The club experienced two play-off campaigns in their first two seasons in the National League, with the second seeing Fylde miss out on promotion to the Football League after losing to Salford City at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in the play-off final. However, ''the Coasters'' returned to Wembley a week after their defeat for the 2019 FA Trophy final as they managed to beat
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
. Although Fylde were relegated back to the National League North after finishing second-from-bottom of the National League the following season, they were National League North champions in 2022–23 and promoted straight back to the National League. They are the first and so far only club to win both the
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
and the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
.


History

The club was formed by the amalgamation of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988, adopting the name of a previous club that had played in the West Lancashire League in the years immediately before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. The new club assumed Kirkham Town's place in Division One of the West Lancashire League. In 1989–90 they finished bottom of the division and were relegated to Division Two. After three seasons in Division Two they were promoted in the 1992–93 season after finishing third, only to be relegated again in 1994–95. The following season they finished as runners-up in Division Two, losing only two league games all season, and were promoted back to Division One. The West Lancashire League was re-structured in 1998 with Division One renamed the Premier Division. After finishing fourth in successive seasons in 1997–98 and 1998–99, the club then dominated the Premier Division for a number of years, finishing as champions in seven out of the eight seasons between 1999 and 2000 and 2006–07, the only blip being 2002–03 when they were runners-up. In the 21 months between January 2003 and October 2004, the club did not lose a match in any competition. The run finally ended when they lost a league match, 1–0 to
Dalton United Dalton may refer to: Science * Dalton (crater), a lunar crater * Dalton (program), chemistry software * Dalton (unit) (Da), a.k.a. unified atomic mass unit * John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist * 12292 Dalton, an asteroid Ente ...
. In April 2006 the club completed a hat-trick of consecutive victories in the Lancashire Amateur Shield cup final when they beat fellow West Lancashire League side
Charnock Richard Charnock Richard is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Chorley, Lancashire, in England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,748. History The village was named in the early 13th century by the local ...
2–0 at the County Ground in Leyland, the club's fourth Shield victory in six years. As the nominated representatives of the Lancashire FA, the club also won the Northern Counties Cup in 2004–05, 2005–06, and 2006–07.


North West Counties League

Following their West Lancashire League championship success in 2006–07, the club were accepted into Division Two of the
North West Counties League The North West Counties Football League is a football league in the North West of England. Since 2019–20, the league has covered the Isle of Man, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, Cumbria, northern Staffordshire, northern ...
for the 2007–08 season. At the club's
annual general meeting An annual general meeting (AGM, also known as the annual meeting) is a meeting of the general membership of an organization. These organizations include membership associations and companies with shareholders. These meetings may be required ...
(AGM) in July 2007, a 15-year plan was put forward with the stated aim of reaching the
Conference National The National League, officially known as Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in England. The National League is the first division of the National League (English football), National Le ...
by 2017, and the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
by 2022. The club's first match in the North West Counties League was a home game on 11 August 2007, against
Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road, A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to ...
in front of 101 fans, which they won 5–0. The following Tuesday they played their first ever home match under floodlights, winning 2–0 at home to Holker Old Boys On 8 September the club played their first ever match in the
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
, beating
Northern Counties East League The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football pyramid respectively. ...
Division One club Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 3–0. The club had also arranged for the FA Vase trophy to be on display before the game. On 26 January 2008 the club reached the last sixteen of the FA Vase when they beat Studley 3–0. On 9 February they reached the quarter-final after they beat
Sussex County League The Southern Combination Football League (named Premier Sports Southern Combination Football League) is a football league broadly covering the counties of East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey and South West London, England. The league consists of e ...
leaders, Crowborough Athletic 2–0 in front of a record crowd of 772 at Crowborough's Alderbrook Recreation Ground. They subsequently defeated
Midland Football Alliance The Midland Football Alliance was an English association football league for semi-professional teams. It covered Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and also southern parts of Derbyshire and No ...
club
Coventry Sphinx Coventry Sphinx Football Club is a football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. They are currently members of the and play at Sphinx Drive. History The club was established in 1946 as a works team for Armstrong Siddeley under the ...
1–0 in a replay after a 3–3 draw. In the two-legged semi-final against Eastern Counties League Premier Division club,
Needham Market Needham Market is a small town in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, set in the Gipping Valley. Nearby villages include Barking, Suffolk, Barking, Darmsden, Badley and Creeting St Mary. The town is located just east of the A14 road ( ...
, Kirkham & Wesham won 4–2 on aggregate. On 11 May, Kirkham & Wesham won the FA Vase in their first season in the competition, beating Lowestoft Town 2–1 in the final at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...
in front of a crowd of 19,537, with about 14,000 from Lowestoft and about 3,500 Kirkham & Wesham supporters. A goal down for most of the game, Kirkham & Wesham scored twice in the last six minutes, both goals coming from seventeen-year-old substitute Matt Walwyn, son of former
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...
player
Keith Walwyn Kenford Keith Ian Walwyn (17 February 1956 – 15 April 2003) was a Kittitian footballer who played as a striker. Career Born in Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Walwyn had trials for Barnsley and Preston North End before playing for Guiseley fr ...
, who only played the last 11 minutes of the game. Kirkham & Wesham secured prize money of £20,000 for their win, although the total amount the club earned was expected to be around £75,000. The season also saw the club win the Division Two knockout trophy with a 1–0 win over
Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...
, as well as securing promotion to the Premier Division when they beat Castleton Gabriels 3–1 on 26 April. For the start of the 2008–09 season, the club changed their name to AFC Fylde. They won the Premier Division at the first attempt, finishing above
New Mills New Mills is a small town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England, south-east of Stockport and from Manchester at the confluence of the River Goyt and River Sett, Sett. It is close to the border with Cheshire and above the Torrs, a ...
on goal difference and earning promotion to Division One North of the
Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. Together with the Isthmian League and the Southern Football League, Southern League it forms levels seven and eight of the English footba ...
.


Northern Premier League

Long-serving manager Mick Fuller was moved upstairs in September 2010 and Kelham O'Hanlon was brought in as first team coach. The club finished in mid-table with a high turnover of playing staff. The following season the club finished fifth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Skelmersdale United 1–0 in the semi-final, they lost 2–1 to
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
in the final. In the 2011–12 season they were installed as early promotion favourites, but O'Hanlon was replaced as manager in November 2011 after a poor run of results and was quickly replaced by a new management team of Dave Challinor and Colin Woodthorpe. Challinor left
Conference North The National League North, officially known as Vanarama National League North for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Association football league in England. National League North is the second division of the National Leagues and step 2 o ...
side
Colwyn Bay Colwyn Bay () is a town, Community (Wales), community and seaside resort in Conwy County Borough on the north coast of Wales overlooking the Irish Sea. It lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (h ...
to drop two divisions to join ''the Coasters'', pointing to the club's ambition and plans for the future as the factor that made them move to the Fylde Coast. The club were 16 points off the top of the table when the new management duo arrived at the club but claimed the title with a 1–0 win over Salford City, earning promotion to the Premier Division. In 2012–13 the club finished fifth, qualifying for the play-offs. However, following a 3–3 draw, they lost out 3–1 on penalties to
Hednesford Town Hednesford Town Football Club is a football club based in Hednesford, Staffordshire, England. They are currently members of the and play at Keys Park. They won the FA Trophy in 2004. History The club was established in 1880 as a merger of t ...
in the semi-final. The 2013–14 season saw the club win the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy (beating Chorley 4–1 at the
Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...
), the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup (with a 1–0 win against Skelmersdale United at
Edgeley Park Edgeley Park is a association football, football stadium in Edgeley, Stockport, England. Built for Stockport RFC, a rugby league club, in 1891, by 1903 the rugby club was defunct and Stockport County F.C., Stockport County Football Club moved i ...
) and gain promotion to the Conference North via the play-offs. After beating Worksop Town 3–1 at home in the play-off semi-final, they defeated Ashton United 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.


National League

AFC Fylde finished their first season in the Conference North in second place with 85 points, losing to
Guiseley Guiseley ( ) is an area in the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated south of Otley and Menston and is now a north-west ...
3–1 on aggregate in the subsequent play-off semi-final. Three Fylde players, Ben Hinchliffe, Josh Langley and Brad Barnes, were selected in the Conference North Team of the Season at end of season AGM awards. Fylde finished the 2015–16 season in third place in the renamed National League North. After beating Harrogate Town 2–1 on aggregate in the two-legged semi-final, they lost 2–1 to
North Ferriby United North Ferriby United Association Football Club was a semi-professional football club in North Ferriby, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. At the time of their demise they were members of the Northern Premier League and played at Grange Lane. F ...
after extra time. In 2016–17 they won the National League North, earning promotion to the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
. In their first season in the National League the club reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time after beating
Kidderminster Harriers Kidderminster Harriers Football Club are a professional association football club based in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. The team competes in the National League North, the sixth level of the English football league system. Formed in ...
4–2 in the first round. In the second round Fylde drew 1–1 at home to
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...
before losing the replay 3–2. They went on to finish seventh in the league, qualifying for the expanded play-offs, but lost 2–1 by Boreham Wood in the quarter-final. In 2018–19 Fylde finished fifth in the National League. They defeated Harrogate Town in the play-off quarter-final and
Solihull Moors Solihull Moors Football Club is a professional association football club based in Solihull, England. The club currently competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system, after achieving promotion from the Na ...
in semi-final to qualify for the final at Wembley against Salford City. Although the final saw them lose 3–0, the club returned to Wembley a week later in the
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
final and won the competition with a 1–0 victory over
Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...
. In October 2019, after eight years with the club, Dave Challinor was sacked with Fylde in the relegation zone. The
2019–20 FA Cup The 2019–20 FA Cup (also known as the Football Association Challenge Cup) was the 139th edition of the oldest association football, football tournament in the world. It was sponsored by Emirates (airline), Emirates and known as The Emirates FA ...
saw the club reach the third round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beating Nantwich Town 1–0 in the first round and Kingstonian 2–0 in the second, they lost 2–1 at
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history ...
in the third round. In 2019–20 Fylde finished second-from-bottom of the division, resulting in their relegation back to the National League North after the season had been cut short due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. They finished third in the National League North in 2021–22 before losing 2–0 to
Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club is known as 'the ...
in the play-off semi-finals. However, in 2022–23 the club were National League North champions, earning another promotion to the National League. In 2024–25 the club finished second-from-bottom of the National League and were relegated back to the National League North.


Stadium

Between 2006 and 2016 the club played home games at Kellamergh Park in the village of Warton, having previously played at the council-owned Coronation Road in Kirkham. In 2005 the club purchased land in Kellamergh and began to develop the facilities at a cost of £150,000 in order to meet the requirement for playing in the North West Counties League. The new ground was officially opened on 5 August 2006, with a £30,000 200-seat main stand with four rows of seating and a designated press box area. Further improvements were made to the stadium in March 2009 to achieve Ground Grading Grade E (step 4), including additional covered seating and a new directors' box. Kellamergh Park eventually had 533 covered seats and could hold just over 3,000 spectators, having been upgraded during the latter part of the 2014–15 season to meet the
Football Conference The National League of English Football Clubs is a professional Association football, football league in England that consists of 72 teams, divided equally between the National League (division), National League North and National League South ...
requirement of 500 covered seats, which were installed in late March 2015 and situated at the south end of the ground behind the goal. On 19 January 2008, the club announced plans for a further move to yet another new stadium at an unnamed site. In February 2010, a charitable trust called the Haythornthwaite Sports Foundation unveiled plans for a new Community Sports Complex in Wrea Green, comprising outdoor sports facilities catering for local junior football, cricket and other sports plus a new 2,500 capacity stadium for AFC Fylde. Consultations took place in 2011 but a planning application was rejected by Fylde Borough Council in spring 2012. On 3 September 2013 it was announced that plans had been drawn up for a new £18m development, Mill Farm Sports Village, on the outskirts of Wesham, close to junction 3 of the M55. This included a distribution centre, an
Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
supermarket, a hotel, a restaurant, a petrol station, community sports pitches, sports science facilities, and a 6,000-capacity
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...
standard football stadium. The stadium plans include a 2,000 capacity all-seater main stand with a supporters' bar, executive boxes and a function room. The planning application for the stadium and associated facilities was accepted by Fylde Borough Council on 4 June 2014, and the ground opened on 13 August 2016 for the club's first National League North match of the season against
Brackley Town Brackley Town Football Club is a Association football, football club in Brackley, Northamptonshire, England. They are currently members of and play at St James Park. The club won the FA Trophy in 2018. History Established in 1890, the club sp ...
.


Current squad


Out on loan


Coaching staff


Honours

*National League **National League North champions 2016–17, 2022–23 *Northern Premier League **Division One North champions 2011–12 **Challenge Cup winners 2013–14 **President's Cup winners 2013–14 *North West Counties League **Premier Division champions 2008–09 *West Lancashire League **Premier Division champions 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 *FA Trophy **Winners 2018–19 *FA Vase **Winners 2007–08 *Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy **Winners 2010–11, 2012–13, 2013–14 *Northern Inter Counties Cup **Winners 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 *Lancashire Amateur Shield **Winners 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06 *Richardson Cup **Winners 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2005–06 *Presidents Cup **Winners 1995–96


Records

*Best
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
performance: Third round, 2019–20 *Best
FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, also known as the Isuzu FA Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after The Football Association (the FA) and competed by mainly National League ...
performance: Winners, 2018–19 *Best
FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, also known as the Isuzu FA Vase for sponsorship reasons, is an annual football competition run by and named after The Football Association (The FA), for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English Nation ...
performance: Winners, 2007–08 *Record attendance: 3,858 vs
Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...
, National League North, 26 December 2016 *Biggest victory: 10–0 vs
Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the mid-19th cen ...
, Northern Premier League Premier Division, 29 October 2013This week in Coasters' history
AFC Fylde


See also

* List of AFC Fylde seasons * * * AFC Fylde Women


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:AFC Fylde Football clubs in England AFC Fylde Association football clubs established in 1988 Football clubs in Lancashire 1988 establishments in England West Lancashire Football League North West Counties Football League clubs Northern Premier League clubs Fylde