Darlington Town is a football club based in

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington under ...

, in County Durham,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. The club was formed in 2018, taking the place in 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 (or levels 11 to 13) of the National League System and is a feeder to the Northern League Divi ...

of the reserve side for

Darlington F.C. Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth tier of English football. The club was founded in 1 ...

, which itself had formed by the movement in 2016 of

Horden Colliery Welfare F.C. Horden Community Welfare Football Club, usually abbreviated to Horden CW is a football club based in Horden, County Durham, England. The club was formed as Horden Colliery Welfare in 1908 and joined the North Eastern League in 1935, reaching th ...

to Darlington. They are currently members of the Wearside League and play at Eastbourne Sports Complex in

History

Horden Colliery Welfare had been formed in 1908, and had competed from 1975 until 2013 in the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

, but were relegated to the Wearside League at the end of the 2012–13 season. In 2016, Horden Parish Council demanded that the club vacate their ground at Horden Welfare Park (where the club has been based since their inception in 1908). On 29 January of that year, a court case upheld the council's decision and the club has been ordered to vacate by 25 February 2016 as well as awarding them legal costs. In October 2016, in order to save the club, it was announced that Horden would move 30 miles to Darlington to become the Reserve Team of National League North Club

Darlington 1883 Darlington Football Club is an association football club based in Darlington, County Durham, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League North, at the sixth tier of English football. The club was founded in ...

. The changed their name to Darlington 1883 Reserves and play on the 4G Surface at Eastbourne Sports Complex in Darlington. Horden Chairman Norman Stephens said 'If the move had not have happened, Horden would have been dead by Xmas'. Norman Stephens and some of the playing staff have been retained by Darlington who took Horden's place in the

. They played their first game under the new name on 6 October in a 1–0 away defeat to Boldon C.A. and played their first home game against

Annfield Plain Annfield Plain is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated on a plateau between the towns of Stanley, to the north-east, and Consett, to the west. According to the 2001 census, Annfield Plain has a population of 3,569. By the t ...

on 15 October at Eastbourne Sports Complex. The club signed its first international player in January 2018 when Gibraltar under-21 player Richie Parral joined the club. In 2018, the club separated from Darlington 1883, and became known as Darlington Town, taking the reserve team's place in the Wearside League. They won their first championship in 2021, taking the league with a 19–0 victory over

Honours

2021–22.

References

External links

{{Coord, 54, 45, 52.06, N, 1, 19, 01.88, W, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in England Football clubs in County Durham Association football clubs established in 2018 Wearside Football League