Wythenshawe F.C.

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Wythenshawe
Wythenshawe Amateurs.png
Full nameWythenshawe Football Club
Nickname(s)The Ammies
Founded1946
GroundHollyhedge Park, Wythenshawe
Capacity1,500 [1]
Chairman Sacha Lord
ManagerDanny Moss
League Northern Premier League Division One West
2023–24 North West Counties League Premier Division, 1st of 24 (promoted)

Wythenshawe Football Club is a football club based in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England. The club currently competes in the Northern Premier League Division One West Division One West and plays its home matches at Hollyhedge Park

Contents

History

Formation and early years (1946–1950s)

The club was established in 1946 by Reg Gauntlet under the name Wythenshawe Lads Club and joined the Manchester Federation of Lads' Clubs League. [2] In 1949, the players became too old for the league, leading the club to form an adult side that entered the South Manchester and Wythenshawe League. [2] The club also changed its name to Wythenshawe Amateurs. After a series of promotions, the club became Division One champions in the 1952–53 season. [2]

Following this, Wythenshawe joined the Altrincham & District League, where they played for one season before switching to Division 3A of the Lancashire & Cheshire League.

Lancashire & Cheshire League (1950s–1960s)

In their first season in the Lancashire & Cheshire League, Wythenshawe won the Hellawell Shield and the Division 3A title, securing promotion to Division Three. The following season, they finished second in Division Three, earning promotion to Division Two. [2] Additionally, they reached the final of the Altrincham FA's Whitaker Cup, holding Manchester United to a 1–1 draw after extra time, leading to the cup being shared. [2]

During the 1956–57 season, the club secured a third consecutive promotion by winning the Division Two title. After their promotion to Division One, Wythenshawe won the league’s Rhodes Cup in both the 1957–58 and 1960–61 seasons, and were crowned Division One champions in the 1961–62 season. [2]

Progression through local leagues (1970s–1980s)

Wythenshawe won the Rhodes Cup once again in the 1971–72 season before being promoted to Division One of the Manchester League. In their first season in Division One, the club were crowned champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division. [3]

In the 1975–76 season, Wythenshawe won the Lancashire Amateur Cup. [2] They were runners-up in the Premier Division in both the 1979–80 and 1984–85 seasons, [4] and lifted the Gilgryst Cup in 1985–86 and 1986–87. The 1989–90 season saw the club achieve a historic treble, becoming Premier Division champions, winning the Lancashire Amateur Cup, and securing the Gilgryst Cup. [2]

Premier Division (1990s–2000s)

Wythenshawe finished as Premier Division runners-up in 1991–92 before winning the league again in the 1992–93 season and finishing as runners-up once more in 1993–94. [5] The club won the Lancashire Amateur Cup again in the 1995–96 season and the Gilgryst Cup in 1998–99, 2000–01, and 2008–09. [2]

In the league, the club finished as runners-up six times between 2000 and 2017. [5] After another runner-up finish and a Gilgryst Cup victory in the 2017–18 season, the club was accepted into Division One South of the North West Counties League. [5]

Recent developments (2010s–2020s)

In the 2022–23, Wythenshawe won the Division One South title, earning promotion to the Premier Division. They also won the Division One Champions Cup, defeating Pilkington 2–1 in the final.

In July 2023, the club dropped “Amateurs” from its name, becoming Wythenshawe Football Club. [6] They went on to win the Premier Division title in the 2023–24 season, defeating rivals [Wythenshawe Town F.C.|Wythenshawe Town]] on the final day of the season. [7] This secured a second consecutive promotion, this time to Division One West of the Northern Premier League.

Ground

The club initially played at the Cleveland Playing Fields, before moving to Wythenshawe Park in 1949. [2] In 1958 they relocated to the Christie Playing Fields, where they played until moving to the Federation of Lads' Clubs Ground in nearby Chorlton in 1961. This was later renamed the Harry Dalton playing fields (Dalton having been in charge of the club when they became an adult side). [2] In 1983 they relocated to Wythenshawe Cricket Club's Longley Lane ground. [2] After several years of fundraising, [8] the club built a new ground, Hollyhedge Park, which opened on 30 September 2017 with a 1–1 draw against Hindsford. [2]

Honours

Records

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Information Wythenshaw Amateurs F.C.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 History Wythenshawe Amateurs F.C.
  3. ↑ Manchester League 1960–1976 Non-League Matters
  4. ↑ Manchester League 1976–1994 Non-League Matters
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Wythenshawe Amateurs at the Football Club History Database
  6. ↑ Wilkes, Louise (6 July 2023). "Wythenshawe FC drop amateur status as they look to make waves in the women's game". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  7. ↑ "Wythenshawe FC Premier Division Champions 2023-34". North West Counties League. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Slater, Chris (7 February 2014). "Wythenshawe AFC get backing of City and United in effort to raise cash for new home". Manchester Evening News.
  9. ↑ Wythenshawe Amateurs: Info North West Counties League
  10. ↑ Record attendance! Wythenshawe FC

53°23′34″N2°14′48″W / 53.392830°N 2.246677°W / 53.392830; -2.246677

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