Emley A.F.C.

Emley Association Football Club is a football club based in Emley, West Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of Northern Counties East League Division One and play at the Welfare Ground.

Emley
Full nameEmley Association Football Club
Nickname(s)Pewits[1]
Founded2005
GroundWelfare Ground, Emley
Capacity2,000 (330 seated)[2]
ChairmanAndrew Painten
ManagerRichard Tracey
LeagueNorthern Counties East League Division One
2019–20North West Counties League Division One North (transferred)

History

The original Emley club had been members of the Yorkshire League and Northern Counties East League, before winning promotion to the Northern Premier League in 1989. In 2000, new ground grading regulations introduced by the Northern Premier League forced Emley to relocate to Belle Vue in Wakefield, although the reserves continued to play at the Welfare Ground. In 2002 the club was renamed Wakefield & Emley, and when the reserve team was disbanded in 2005, supporters of the original club decided to establish a new club based in Emley under the name A.F.C. Emley.[3] The following year Wakefield & Emley was renamed Wakefield,[4] and remained in the Northern Premier League until disbanding in 2014.

The new Emley club joined Division One of the West Yorkshire League for the 2005–06 season.[5] After finishing third in their first season, they were promoted to Division One of the Northern Counties East League.[5] In 2015–16 they finished fourth in Division One, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beating Penistone Church 1–0 in the semi-finals, they lost 4–3 on penalties to Bottesford Town in the final after a 1–1 draw. Striker Ashley Flynn finished the season with 73 goals, a league record.[6] In 2016–17 the club finished third, missing out on automatic promotion on goal difference; they went on to lose 3–1 to Penistone Church in the play-off semi-finals.

In March 2019 it was announced that the club would be renamed Emley A.F.C. from the 2019–20 season, five years after the original club was dissolved.[7] The club were transferred to Division One North of the North West Counties League for the 2019–20 season. They were fourth in Division One North with games in hand on two clubs above them by mid-March 2020, but the season was the abandoned due to the coronavirus pandemic. They were subsequently transferred back to Division One of the Northern Counties East League for the 2020–21 season.

Season-by-season record

Ground
The Richard Hirst stand
View of the Main Stand side from "The Shed"

The club plays at the Welfare Ground in Emley. It has a capacity of 2,000, of which 1,000 is covered and 330 seated.[2] The ground is shared with the local cricket club and has three permanent stands; the Warburton End, which consists of a small terrace and uncovered hard standing behind one goal, the Main stand, which has a small uncovered terrace section near the dugouts, as well as housing the clubs offices, changing rooms and sports bar, and the Richard Hirst Stand (also known as The Shed) a low covered terrace behind the other goal. During the football season, a fence is erected along the cricket field side.

Records
  • Best FA Cup performance: Preliminary round 2007–08, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16[5]
  • Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 2013–14[5]
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See also
  • A.F.C. Emley players
  • A.F.C. Emley managers

References
  1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) Non-League Club Directory 2013, p732 ISBN 978-1-869833-77-0
  2. AFC Emley North West Counties Football League
  3. The History of AFC Emley A.F.C. Emley
  4. Wakefield at the Football Club History Database
  5. AFC Emley at the Football Club History Database
  6. Photos from Annual Dinner Northern Counties East League
  7. Pewits to change name to Emley AFC Northern Counties East League, 19 March 2018

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