Darwen F.C.

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Darwen F.C.
AFC Darwen badge.png
Full nameDarwen Football Club
Nickname(s)The Salmoners [1]
Founded2009
GroundAnchor Ground, Darwen
Capacity4,000 [2]
ChairmanSarah Hindle
ManagerKenny Langford
League North West Counties League Division One North
2022–23 North West Counties League Division One North, 8th of 18
Website Club website

Darwen Football Club is a football club from Darwen, Lancashire, England. The club was formed in 2009 as A.F.C. Darwen, a successor to the original Darwen club, which had been wound up. They currently play in the North West Counties League Division One North and are based at the Anchor Ground.

Contents

History

On 22 December 2003 Carlsberg Tetley tried to wind up Darwen Football and Social Club. Although the club, then playing in Division One of the North West Counties League, avoided liquidation on that occasion, another winding up petition was brought by The Bee radio station on 14 April 2008 in respect of £8,000 owed for advertising. Plans were made for Blackburn with Darwen Council to buy the Anchor Ground. However, following two further petitions for liquidation brought by Thwaites Brewery and ING Lease UK and their refusal of an offer of 25p in the pound, the 134-year old Darwen Football Club was wound up in the High Court on 14 May 2009. [3]

Almost immediately, there were plans for a new Darwen football club to be formed. This was achieved before the start of the 2009–10 season, with AFC Darwen created, taking over the Anchor Ground from the dissolved club. However, the new club had to start at step 7 (level 11) of the football pyramid. They successfully applied for admission to the West Lancashire League, and were placed in the Premier Division. After finishing eighth in their first season, they were promoted to Division One of the North West Counties League. [4] In 2014–15 the club won the Division One Trophy with a 3–1 win over Atherton Collieries in the final, also finishing third in Division One and qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Chadderton 2–1 in the semi-finals, they defeated Hanley Town 5–3 in the final, earning promotion to the Premier Division. [4] [1]

The 2017–18 season saw AFC Darwen finish bottom of the Premier Division, resulting in relegation to Division One North. In June 2022 the club was renamed Darwen Football Club. [5]

Honours

Records

See also

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Darwen Football Club was an association football club from Darwen in Lancashire, England. The team, formed in 1870, was an early pioneer of professional football in Northern England, reaching the semi-finals of the 1880–81 FA Cup. They were a Football League member from 1891 to 1899. Darwen joined the Lancashire League in 1900 and remained in regional football afterwards. They last played in the First Division of the North West Counties Football League in 2008–09, when the club was wound-up. A successor team, AFC Darwen, was founded soon after. Darwen played their home games at the Anchor Ground.

References

  1. 1 2 BIG SATURDAY INTERVIEW: Chairman Wayne Wild reflects on AFC Darwen’s sensational season Lancashire Telegraph, 6 June 2015
  2. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2023). Non-League Club Directory 2023/24. p. 590.
  3. Final bid to save Darwen FC fails after High Court hearing Lancashire Telegraph, 14 May 2009
  4. 1 2 3 4 AFC Darwen at the Football Club History Database
  5. Darwen days are here again The Non-League Football Paper, 12 June 2012
  6. Thank You to all who attended yesterday. Your support was massively appreciated AFC Darwen on Twitter

53°42′42.38″N2°28′38.25″W / 53.7117722°N 2.4772917°W / 53.7117722; -2.4772917