association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
club based in
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its e ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...
Macclesfield Town F.C.
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and ...
founded in 1874, which was
wound-up
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...
National League system
The National League System comprises the six levels of the English football league system immediately below the level of the English Football League. It comes under the jurisdiction of The Football Association. The National League System has a h ...
(ninth tier in the
English football pyramid
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
), in August 2021, and currently competes in the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...
following two successive promotions.
History
Macclesfield F.C. is a successor to
Macclesfield Town
Macclesfield Town Football Club was an English professional football club based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, that was wound-up after a High Court ruling on 16 September 2020.
Initially known as Macclesfield F.C., the club was formed in 1874 and ...
. Founded in 1874, Macclesfield Town was liquidated and expelled from the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
in 2020 because of debts of over £500,000. Its assets were put up for sale, including the
Moss Rose
Moss Rose, known as The Leasing.com Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, which is the home ground of Macclesfield F.C., and the former home of Macclesfield Town, a club wound up in September ...
stadium on the
Rightmove
Rightmove plc is a UK-based company which runs rightmove.co.uk, the UK's largest online real estate property portal. Rightmove is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
Rightmove was incorporat ...
property website. In October 2020, the stadium and all available assets were purchased by Robert Smethurst, the owner of Stockport Town, with the aim of returning professional football to Macclesfield by creating the phoenix club as Macclesfield F.C. Smethurst appointed the Welsh former professional footballer
Robbie Savage
Robert William Savage (born 18 October 1974) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, now a football pundit and director of football at club Macclesfield.
During his career he played predominantly as a midfielder, ...
as a member of the board for the new phoenix club with
Danny Whitaker
Daniel Phillip Whitaker (born 14 November 1980) is an English former professional football player and manager who was recently the player-manager of club Macclesfield.
A former Manchester United Academy player, Whitaker turned professional wi ...
as manager. He also invested in upgrading the stadium to improve the commercial viability of the new club.
In May 2021, it was announced that Macclesfield would be placed in the NWCFL Premier Division for their first season. Savage announced that the club would be joining with his foundation to offer free tickets to foundation participants to encourage youth attendance at the club's matches. Macclesfield entered the
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
On 31 July 2021 Macclesfield played their first competitive match, a 1–0 win at home against
Burscough
Burscough () is a town and civil parish in West Lancashire in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. It is located to the north of Ormskirk and northwest of Skelmersdale.
The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin ...
in the NWCFL Premier Division played in front of a restricted capacity sell-out crowd of 2,018; Leon Arnasalam scored the only goal. The club's first away match was on 3 August, a 4–4 draw at
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
, also in the NWCFL Premier Division, with Tom Clare scoring all four Macclesfield goals. On 7 August Macclesfield played their first
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
match, beating Burscough 4–0 in the Extra Preliminary Round, but were then knocked out of the FA Cup in the Preliminary Round losing 6–4 at Squires Gate.
On 30 August Macclesfield defeated local rivals
Congleton Town
Congleton Town Football Club is an association football club based in Congleton, Cheshire, England. They currently play in the and are full members of the Cheshire County Football Association. The club have played in a number of regional league ...
1–0 in the NWCFL Premier Division in front of a record crowd of 3,502, James Berry-McNally scoring the only goal. The match was suspended for several minutes late in the second half due to crowd trouble. It was the first time the neighbouring towns had met in a league match since the 1964–65 season.
On 11 September, Macclesfield played in the
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
for the first time, losing 3–2 at
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 football pyramid respectively.
History
...
Premier Division side Winterton Rangers in the first qualifying round.
Macclesfield F.C. was featured in a
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside ...
documentary film, ''Robbie Savage: Making Macclesfield FC'', broadcast on 13 November 2021, which followed the launch of the new club following the collapse of Macclesfield Town.
Despite a relatively poor run of form at the start of the new year (L2, D1, W2 in January), a run of ten consecutive wins followed, in which 37 goals were scored and only four conceded. On 12 March 2022, Macclesfield secured the North West Counties Premier Division title and promotion to the NPL Division One West after a 4–0 win against
Ashton Athletic
Ashton Athletic Football Club is a football club based in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England. They are currently members of the and play at Brocstedes Park. They are full members of the Lancashire County Football Association.
...
, becoming the first club in England's top nine tiers in 2022 to guarantee promotion. Macclesfield finished their league campaign on 2 April, 15 points clear of second-placed
Skelmersdale United
Skelmersdale United Football Club is a football club from Skelmersdale, Lancashire. They are currently members of the and play at The Community Ground, Burscough. The club is a member of both the Liverpool F.A. and the Lancashire County Footba ...
.
2022–23 season
In October 2022, with the club three points clear at the top of the NPL West Division,
Danny Whitaker
Daniel Phillip Whitaker (born 14 November 1980) is an English former professional football player and manager who was recently the player-manager of club Macclesfield.
A former Manchester United Academy player, Whitaker turned professional wi ...
was replaced as Macclesfield manager by David McNabb. McNabb stepped down in December 2022, with midfielder
Neil Danns
Neil Alexander Danns (born 23 November 1982) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Macclesfield and the Guyana national team. In December 2022, Danns was also appointed interim manager at Macclesfield. He began his ca ...
being appointed interim manager. A 3–1 win against
Trafford
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, ...
on 1 April 2023 saw the club crowned champions and achieve back-to-back promotions.
2023–24 season
During the summer of 2023, manager Neil Danns left to take up an assistant role at
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
, and his assistant Mark Duffy was named as the new head coach. Record goal-scorer James Berry departed for a club record fee to join
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
side
Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
*Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constituenc ...
. Luke Duffy joined for a record fee from
Warrington Town
Warrington Town Football Club is an association football club based in Warrington, Cheshire. They were established in 1949 under the name of Stockton Heath, adopting their current name in 1961. They currently compete in and play at Cantilever P ...
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while ...
's younger brother, returned to the Silkmen having started his career with 41 league appearances for Macclesfield Town.
Macclesfield entered the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
in the
first qualifying round
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
. Victories over
Whickham
Whickham is a village in Tyne and Wear, North East England. It is in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. The village is on high ground overlooking the River Tyne and south-west of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was formerly governed under the histo ...
,
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Warrington Rylands secured a place in the fourth qualifying round against
Alfreton Town
Alfreton Town Football Club is a football club based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. The club are currently members of and play at North Street.
History
The club was formed in 1959 following the merger of Alfreton Miners Welfare and Alf ...
. After four defeats in five games, including a 3–1 FA Cup defeat at Alfreton, Duffy was sacked as head coach on 27 October 2023, and was replaced by Alex Bruce. The Silkmen entered the
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
in the third qualifying round; in the fourth round proper they defeated
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
opposition
Dorking Wanderers
Dorking Wanderers Football Club is a professional football club based in Dorking, Surrey, England. Affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association, they are currently members of and play at Meadowbank.
History
The club was formed in 199 ...
5–0. Macclesfield were the only side outside of the National League to reach the semi-finals, but were knocked out of the competition in a 2–1 defeat at Gateshead on 7 April.
On 21 February 2024, Bruce stepped down as Macclesfield manager to take up a coaching role at
Salford City Salford City may refer to:
*The City of Salford
*Salford City F.C., an association football club from the city
*Salford Red Devils
The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play i ...
, and was replaced by Michael Clegg, previously manager at Warrington Rylands. Under Clegg, Macclesfield finished second, qualifying for the NPL play-offs, but lost the play-off final 2–1 to
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
. On 17 June 2024, Clegg left his role as manager by mutual consent; Robbie Savage was appointed head coach.
2024–25 season
Savage steered Macclesfield to promotion to the
National League North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
with six matches still to play after defeating
Bamber Bridge
Bamber Bridge is an urban village in Lancashire, England, south-east of Preston, in the borough of South Ribble. The name derives from the Old English "bēam" and "brycg", which probably means "tree-trunk bridge". The population was 13,945 at ...
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English Association football, football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division ...
Premier Division champions, and ending two seasons in the sixth tier.
Shirt sponsors and manufacturers
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Player of the Season Awards
Management
Team management and coaching staff
Macclesfield NWCFL.com. Retrieved: 15 November 2021.
Club management and staff
Managerial history
:''As of 2 March 2025''
Seasons
''As of 19 July 2024''
Club records
Attendance
* Highest home attendance (Top 3):
::5,329 v
Marine
Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean.
Marine or marines may refer to:
Ocean
* Maritime (disambiguation)
* Marine art
* Marine biology
* Marine debris
* Marine habitats
* Marine life
* Marine pollution
Military
* ...
, 6 May 2024 – NPL Premier Division play-off final
::4,720 v
AFC Liverpool
Affordable Football Club Liverpool is a semi-professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club were formed in 2008 by 1,000 supporters of Liverpool Football Club; a not-for-profit organisation, it is run on a one-member, one-vote ...
, 2 April 2022 –
NWCFL
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 ...
Premier Division
::4,701 v
Prescot Cables
Prescot Cables Football Club is a supporter-owned football club based in Prescot, Merseyside. It was established in 1884 and has also been known as Prescot and Prescot Town. They compete in the and play their home games at Valerie Park. They ...
, 15 April 2023 – NPL Division One West
* Lowest home attendance:
::340 v
Tranmere Rovers
Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...
, 5 December 2023 –
Cheshire Senior Cup
The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. I ...
second round
* Highest away attendance (Top 3):
::3,031 v Gateshead, 6 April 2024 –
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
semi-final
::2,342 v
FC United of Manchester
Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park.
Founded ...
Leek Town
Leek Town Football Club is an English association football, football club based in Leek, Staffordshire, Leek, Staffordshire, currently playing in the . The team, nicknamed "The Blues", play their home games at Harrison Park.
The club was found ...
, 16 August 2022 – NPL Division One West
* Lowest away attendance:
::181 v
Northwich Victoria
{{Infobox UK place
, static_image_name = Northwich - Town Bridge.jpg
, static_image_caption = Town Bridge, the River Weaver and the spire of Holy Trinity Church
, official_name = Northwich
, country ...
, 16 November 2022 –
Cheshire Senior Cup
The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. I ...
first round
Results
* Biggest home win:
*
:: 7–0 v
Tadcaster Albion
Tadcaster Albion Association Football Club is an association football club in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. Formed in 1892, their ground is situated behind the John Smith's brewery in Tadcaster, thus the reason for their nickname "The Br ...
, 13 September 2022 -
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
first qualifying round
* Heaviest home defeat:
:: 2–5 v
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
, 30 January 2024 –
Cheshire Senior Cup
The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. I ...
quarter-final
* Biggest away win:
:: 0–6 v
Vauxhall Motors
Vauxhall Motors LimitedCompany No. 00135767. Incorporated 12 May 1914, name changed from Vauxhall Motors Limited to General Motors UK Limited on 16 April 2008, reverted to Vauxhall Motors Limited on 18 September 2017. () is a British car compa ...
, 22 February 2022 –
NWCFL
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 ...
Premier Division
* Heaviest away defeat:
:: 3–0 v
Lancaster City
Lancaster City Football Club is an English semi-professional non-League football club based in the northern city of Lancaster, Lancashire. They currently compete in and play at Giant Axe. They are full members of the Lancashire County Footba ...
, 22 August 2023 – NPL Premier Division
* Highest scoring draw:
:: 4–4 v
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
(A), 3 August 2021 –
NWCFL
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 ...
Premier Division
* Highest aggregate score:
:: (10) 6–4 v
Squires Gate
Squires Gate is a district and an electoral ward in South Shore, Blackpool on the Fylde coast in the county of Lancashire, England. It is located at the south of the town near the boundary with Lytham St Annes. The population of the ward taken a ...
* Most appearances (All comps):
:: 137 – Laurent Mendy, 31 July 2021 – ''present''
* Goals scored (All comps):
:: 53 – James Berry, 7 August 2021 – 22 April 2023
* Goals in a season (All comps):
::33 – James Berry, 2022–23
* Goals in a season (League):
::24 – James Berry,
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
* Goals scored in a match:
:: 4 – James Berry v Avro (H), 19 March 2022 –
NWCFL
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 ...
Premier Division
:: 4 –
Tom Clare Thomas Clare may refer to:
* Thomas Clare (cricketer) (1883–1940), English cricketer
* Thomas Clare (monk), medieval English Benedictine monk and university chancellor
* Tommy Clare (1865–1929), English international footballer
* Tom Clare ( ...
v
Winsford United
Winsford United Football Club are a football club based in Winsford, Cheshire, England. The club was founded in 1883 and are nicknamed ''The Blues''. The club is currently a member of the , with home matches played at The Barton Stadium. Thei ...
(A), 3 August 2021 –
NWCFL
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 ...
Premier Division
:: 4 – Kane Drummond v Atherton Collieries (H), 21 November 2023 – NPL Premier Division
Cup performances
* Best
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competit ...
performance:
:: Fourth qualifying round, 2023–24, 2024–25
*Best
FA Trophy
The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...
FA Vase
The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footb ...
performance:
:: First qualifying round, 2021–22
*Best
Cheshire Senior Cup
The Cheshire County Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the Cheshire Senior Cup, is a football knockout tournament founded in the 1879–80 season and involves teams from Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, England. I ...
2022–23
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
''Macclesfield F.C. players who have attained at least one international cap during their career.''
* Alex Bruce
*
Neil Danns
Neil Alexander Danns (born 23 November 1982) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Macclesfield and the Guyana national team. In December 2022, Danns was also appointed interim manager at Macclesfield. He began his ca ...
Oumar Niasse
El Hadji Baye Oumar Niasse (born 18 April 1990) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a forward for League One club Morecambe.
Niasse has played top-flight football in Senegal, Norway, Turkey, Russia and England. He won the 2011 ...