Birtley Town Football Club is a
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
Birtley, Tyne and Wear, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Birtley Sports Complex.
History
The original Birtley Football Club were founder members of the
Northern League in 1889. However, they left after finishing second-from-bottom of the league in its
inaugural season. The club then joined the
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...
, again leaving after a single season.
[Northern Alliance 1890–1915]
Non-League Matters They rejoined the alliance in 1895 and finished bottom of the league in 1897–98, before leaving again in 1900. The club returned for a third spell in the league in 1909, and were runners-up in 1913–14.
[ After ]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 ...
, they were champions in 1923–24,
In 1926 the Northern Alliance merged into the North Eastern League
The North Eastern League was an association football league for teams in the North East of England.
The league was founded in 1906 and was initially successful, with teams defecting from the rival Northern Football Alliance to play. Although ...
, with Birtley becoming members of Division Two. They remained in the North Eastern League until transferring to the Wearside League
The Wearside Football League is a non-league football competition based in northern England. It consists of three divisions which sits at steps 7 to 9 of the National League System (levels 11 to 13 of the Football pyramid) and is a feeder to the ...
in 1935. Following World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the club was renamed Birtley Town, and went on to win the Wearside League in 1945–46.[Wearside League 1919–1960]
Non-League Matters However, after finishing bottom of the league in 1949–50, 1950–51 and 1951–52, the club dropped out of the league.[
A new Birtley Town was established in the early 1990s and joined Division Two of the Wearside League in 1992.][ In 1997–98 the club won the League Cup, and in 2001–02 they won both the League Cup and the Monkwearmouth Charity Cup. The following season saw the club win the Wearside League title.][ After finishing as runners-up in 2003–04 and 2004–05 and winning the League Cup for a third time in 2005–06, they were champions again in 2006–07, resulting in promotion to Division Two of the Northern League.][
In 2009–10 Birtley finished bottom of Division Two, but were not relegated. However, in 2015–16 the club finished second-from-bottom of the division and were relegated to the Premier Division of the Northern Alliance. They were Premier Division runners-up and League Cup winners in 2017–18,Roll of Honour]
Northern Alliance and were promoted back to Division Two of the Northern League.[ The 2022–23 season saw the club finish fifth in Division Two, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After defeating Horden Community Welfare 5–4 on penalties (after a 2–2 draw) in the semi-finals, they won the final against Billingham Town on penalties after another 2–2 draw, earning promotion to Division One.][ ] The club went on to finish fourth in Division One the following season, qualifying for the play-offs again. However, they were beaten 1–0 in the semi-finals by Heaton Stannington.
Honours
*Wearside League
**Champions 2002–03, 2006–07
**Division Two champions 1994–95
**League Cup winners 1997–98, 2001–02, 2005–06
*Northern Alliance
**League Cup winners 2017–18
*Monkwearmouth Cup
**Winners 2001–02
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: First qualifying round, 2024–25[
*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: Second round, 2021–22[
]
See also
*
References
External links
*
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Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Tyne and Wear
Wearside Football League
Northern Football Alliance
Northern Football League