Glantraeth Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Glantraeth) is a
football team, based on the island of
Anglesey
Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...
, Wales. They play in the
North Wales Coast West Football League
The North Wales Coast West Football League is a football league in Wales, at tiers 4 and 5 of the Welsh football league system in North Wales, founded in 2020. The league is under the control of the North Wales Coast Football Association. The l ...
Premier Division (part of the
Welsh football league system
The Welsh football league system (or pyramid) is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them.
While most Welsh clubs play in the Welsh pyramid and most clubs in that pyramid are Welsh, five Welsh clubs play ...
).
Formed in 1984, the club began competing in the
Anglesey League
The Anglesey Football League was a football league in Anglesey, Wales, and was equivalent to the sixth level of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The champions were promoted to the Gwynedd League.
The league also runs five cup co ...
before progressing into the
Gwynedd League
The Gwynedd Football League was a football league at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system in north-west Wales.
The league folded in 2020 due to a reorganisation of the Welsh football league pyramid, with many teams joining the N ...
and the
Welsh Alliance League
The Welsh Alliance Football League (formerly the ''Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league formed in 1984, and discontinued in 2020 following the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid fo ...
. The club achieved its highest ever finish during the 2005–06 season by winning the
Cymru Alliance but were denied promotion to the
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to ...
, the highest tier of Welsh football, as their ground did not meet league requirements. They resigned from the Cymru Alliance four years later and reformed several tiers below. After reaching the First Division of the Welsh Alliance League and winning the division in 2017, the club were again forced to resign their position after being unable to find sufficient players. They reformed again for the 2018–19 season, returning to the Gwynedd League.
History
The club was founded in 1984 and established a base on a piece of land provided by a local resident. They entered Division Two of the
Anglesey League
The Anglesey Football League was a football league in Anglesey, Wales, and was equivalent to the sixth level of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The champions were promoted to the Gwynedd League.
The league also runs five cup co ...
and finished as runners-up in the 1985–86 season.
The following season, the club won promotion to the First Division of the Anglesey League and reached their first cup final in the Dargie Cup. In 1990, the club gained promotion to the
Gwynedd League
The Gwynedd Football League was a football league at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system in north-west Wales.
The league folded in 2020 due to a reorganisation of the Welsh football league pyramid, with many teams joining the N ...
and, four years later, reached the
Welsh Alliance League
The Welsh Alliance Football League (formerly the ''Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league formed in 1984, and discontinued in 2020 following the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid fo ...
for the first time.
In the
1996–97 season, Glantraeth finished as champions of the Welsh Alliance League, winning 20 of their 26 league matches and scoring 96 goals.
They achieved consecutive fifth placed finishes during their first two seasons before ending the
1999–2000 season as runners-up to
Oswestry Town
Oswestry Town Football Club was a football club from Shropshire, playing at Victoria Road. They joined the Birmingham League in 1924 and switched to the Cheshire County League in 1959. In 1975 they made the move to the Southern League before ...
.
In 2001, the club merged with fellow Cymru Alliance side
Llangefni Town to form Llangefni Glantraeth. The new side remained in the Cymru Alliance and recorded a second and fourth placed finish. However, the two clubs decided to split, with Llangefni remaining in the Cymru Alliance and Glantraeth dropping into the Welsh Alliance League to reform. In their first season back, Glantraeth finished as champions of the Welsh Alliance and returned to the Cymru Alliance.
After finishing as runners-up again in the
2004–05 season, Glantraeth achieved their highest ever finish by winning the Cymru Alliance in 2006. However, the club were denied promotion to the
Welsh Premier League
The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to ...
, the top tier of Welsh football as their ground did not meet league requirements and they were unable to finance the necessary improvements.
The club struggled to match their achievements in the following seasons and, in 2009, after finishing 16th the club resigned their position in the Cymru Alliance and did not field a team for the 2009–10 season.
During their break, Glantraeth undertook an improvement in facilities at their ground and applied to the
Football Association of Wales
The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...
(FAW) to return, being placed in the Gwynedd League. They achieved consecutive promotions to reach the First Division of the Welsh Alliance League. In February 2016, actress
Naomi Watts
Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama ''For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...
agreed to become the honorary president of the club, replacing Sir George Meyrick. Watts had lived on the island of Anglesey as a child, her maternal grandparents had owned a farm in the village of
Llangristiolus
Llangristiolus is a village and community in the middle of Anglesey, Wales, southwest of Llangefni, and is named after Saint Cristiolus. The River Cefni flows through the village. The village is within a mile of the A5 and A55 roads. The v ...
near the club's hometown of
Bodorgan
Bodorgan is a village and community on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 Census, there were 1,503 residents in the now former electoral ward, 72.7% of them being able to speak Welsh. This increased to 1,704 at t ...
, before moving to Australia in her teens.
In the 2016–17 season, Glantraeth won a league and cup double by finishing as champions of the First Division and winning the Cookson Cup however, their promotion success proved disastrous as the club were unable to meet new ground requirements for entry into the Cymru Alliance,
claiming the cost of renovating their ground would be "absurd". As such, they rejected promotion which led the majority of the club's players to move on, leading the team to resign their position in the league after they were unable to find enough players to start the new season.
After missing the 2017–18 season, Glantraeth reformed and entered a team in the Gwynedd League for the 2018–19 season.
The club was chosen to host several matches during the
2019 Inter Games Football Tournament
The 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament was an association football tournament which was held between 15 and 22 June 2019 in Anglesey, Wales. It was organised due to the hosts of the 2019 Island Games, Gibraltar being unable to run a tournament ...
.
Honours
As of June 2018
League
Anglesey League
The Anglesey Football League was a football league in Anglesey, Wales, and was equivalent to the sixth level of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The champions were promoted to the Gwynedd League.
The league also runs five cup co ...
Division One
* Runners-up: 1987–88
Anglesey League Division Two
* Runners-up: 1986–86
Cymru Alliance League
* Winners: 2005–06
* Runners-up: 2000–01, 2004–05
Gwynedd League
The Gwynedd Football League was a football league at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system in north-west Wales.
The league folded in 2020 due to a reorganisation of the Welsh football league pyramid, with many teams joining the N ...
* Winners: 1993–94
* Runners-up: 2010–11
Welsh Alliance League
The Welsh Alliance Football League (formerly the ''Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league formed in 1984, and discontinued in 2020 following the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid fo ...
* Winners: 1996–97
Welsh Alliance League Division One
* Winners: 2016–17
Welsh Alliance League Division Two
* Winners: 2011–12
Cup
Barritt Cup
* Finalists: 1994–95, 2002–03
Cookson Cup
* Winners: 2015–16, 2016–17
* Finalists: 2002–03
Cymru Alliance League Challenge Cup
* Winners: 2005–06
Dargie Cup
* Finalists: 1986–87
Elias Cup
* Finalists: 1988–89
Eryri Shield
* Winners: 1992–93
Gwynedd League Cup
* Winners: 1993–94, 2010–11
Gwynedd Shield
* Winners: 2010–11
North Wales Coast FA Challenge Cup
* Finalists: 1999–2000, 2011–12
North Wales Coast FA Intermediate Cup
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
* Winners: 2010–11
Welsh Alliance Division Two League Cup
* Winners: 2011–12
Records
* Record victory: 19–0 vs
Glan Conwy
Llansanffraid Glan Conwy (), usually shortened to Glan Conwy, is a village, community and electoral ward in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The name translates from the Welsh as ''Church of St Ffraid on the bank of the River Conwy''. The village ...
(2002–03)
* Record defeat: 0–7 vs
Holywell Town (2012–13)
References
External links
Glantraeth Football Club Website
{{Authority control
Football clubs in Wales
Association football clubs established in 1984
1984 establishments in Wales
Bodorgan
Cymru Alliance clubs
Gwynedd League clubs
North Wales Coast Football League clubs
Welsh Alliance League clubs