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| Full name | AFC Fylde[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The Coasters | ||
| Founded | 1988 | ||
| Ground | Mill Farm,Wesham | ||
| Capacity | 6,000 (2,000 seated)[2][3] | ||
| Chairman | David Haythornthwaite | ||
| Manager | Craig Mahon | ||
| League | National League North | ||
| 2024–25 | National League, 23rd of 24 (relegated) | ||
| Website | afcfylde.co.uk | ||
AFC Fylde is a professionalfootball club based inWesham in theBorough of Fylde, Lancashire, England. They are currently members of theNational League North and play atMill Farm.
Originally known asKirkham & Wesham following a merger of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988, the club adopted its current name in 2008 after winning theFA Vase. In 2007, the club announced the goal of reaching theConference National by 2017 and theFootball League by 2022, the latter objective being printed on club shirts. The club won four promotions between 2007 and 2017 to earn promotion to the fifth tier of English football for the first time. The club experienced two play-off campaigns in their first two seasons in the National League, with the second seeing Fylde miss out on promotion to the Football League after losing toSalford City atWembley Stadium in the play-off final. However, Fylde returned to Wembley a week later for the2019 FA Trophy final, defeatingLeyton Orient. In the following season, Fylde were relegated back to the National League North. They were National League North champions in 2022–23 and promoted back to the National League. They are the first and so far only club to win both theFA Vase and theFA Trophy.
The club was formed by the amalgamation of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988,[4][5] adopting the name of a previous club that had played in theWest Lancashire League in the years immediately beforeWorld War I. The new club assumed Kirkham Town's place in Division One of the West Lancashire League. In 1989–90 they finished bottom of the division and were relegated to Division Two. After three seasons in Division Two they were promoted in the 1992–93 season after finishing third, only to be relegated again in 1994–95. The following season they finished as runners-up in Division Two, losing only two league games all season, and were promoted back to Division One.[6]
The West Lancashire League was re-structured in 1998 with Division One renamed the Premier Division. After finishing fourth in successive seasons in 1997–98 and 1998–99, the club then dominated the Premier Division for a number of years, finishing as champions in seven out of the eight seasons between 1999 and 2000 and 2006–07, the only blip being 2002–03 when they were runners-up.[6] In the 21 months between January 2003 and October 2004, the club did not lose a match in any competition. The run finally ended when they lost a league match, 1–0 toDalton United.[7] In April 2006 the club completed a hat-trick of consecutive victories in the Lancashire Amateur Shield cup final when they beat fellow West Lancashire League sideCharnock Richard 2–0 at theCounty Ground inLeyland, the club's fourth Shield victory in six years.[8] As the nominated representatives of theLancashire FA, the club also won the Northern Counties Cup in 2004–05, 2005–06, and 2006–07.[citation needed]
Following their West Lancashire League championship success in 2006–07, the club were accepted into Division Two of theNorth West Counties League for the2007–08 season. At the club'sannual general meeting (AGM) in July 2007, a 15-year plan was put forward with the stated aim of reaching theConference National by 2017, and theFootball League by 2022.[9] The club's first match in the North West Counties League was a home game on 11 August 2007, againstDarwen in front of 101 fans, which they won 5–0.[10] The following Tuesday they played their first ever home match under floodlights, winning 2–0 at home toHolker Old Boys[11] On 8 September the club played their first ever match in theFA Vase, beatingNorthern Counties East League Division One clubWorsbrough Bridge Athletic 3–0. The club had also arranged for the FA Vase trophy to be on display before the game.[12]
On 26 January 2008 the club reached the last sixteen of the FA Vase when they beat Studley 3–0.[13] On 9 February they reached the quarter-final after they beatSussex County League leaders,Crowborough Athletic 2–0 in front of a record crowd of 772 at Crowborough's Alderbrook Recreation Ground.[14] They subsequently defeatedMidland Football Alliance clubCoventry Sphinx 1–0 in a replay after a 3–3 draw.[15] In the two-legged semi-final againstEastern Counties League Premier Division club,Needham Market, Kirkham & Wesham won 4–2 on aggregate.[16] On 11 May 2008, Kirkham & Wesham won the FA Vase in their first season in the competition, beatingLowestoft Town 2–1 in the final atWembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 19,537. A goal down for most of the game, Kirkham & Wesham scored twice in the last six minutes, both goals coming from seventeen-year-old substituteMatt Walwyn, son of formerBlackpool playerKeith Walwyn, who only played the last 11 minutes of the game. Kirkham & Wesham secured prize money of £20,000 for their win,[17][18] although the total amount the club earned was expected to be around £75,000.[19] The season also saw the club win the Division Two knockout trophy with a 1–0 win overBootle, as well as securing promotion to the Premier Division when they beatCastleton Gabriels 3–1 on 26 April.[20]
For the start of the2008–09 season, the club changed their name toAFC Fylde.[4][11] They won the Premier Division at the first attempt, finishing aboveNew Mills on goal difference and earning promotion to Division One North of theNorthern Premier League.[21]
Long-serving manager Mick Fuller was moved upstairs in September 2010 andKelham O'Hanlon was brought in as first team coach. The clubfinished in mid-table with a high turnover of playing staff. Thefollowing season the club finished fifth, qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beatingSkelmersdale United 1–0 in the semi-final, they lost 2–1 toChorley in the final.[21]
In the 2011–12 season they were installed as early promotion favourites, but O'Hanlon was replaced as manager in November 2011 after a poor run of results and was quickly replaced by a new management team ofDave Challinor andColin Woodthorpe. Challinor leftConference North sideColwyn Bay to drop two divisions to jointhe Coasters, pointing to the club's ambition and plans for the future as the factor that made them move to the Fylde Coast. The club were 16 points off the top of the table when the new management duo arrived at the club but claimed the title with a 1–0 win overSalford City,[22] earning promotion to the Premier Division.
In2012–13 the club finished fifth, qualifying for the play-offs. However, following a 3–3 draw, they lost out 3–1 on penalties toHednesford Town in the semi-final.[23] The2013–14 season saw the club win theLancashire FA Challenge Trophy (beating Chorley 4–1 at theReebok Stadium), theNorthern Premier League Challenge Cup (with a 1–0 win against Skelmersdale United atEdgeley Park) and gain promotion to the Conference North via the play-offs. After beatingWorksop Town 3–1 at home in the play-off semi-final, they defeatedAshton United 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw.[21]
AFC Fylde finished theirfirst season in the Conference North in second place with 85 points, losing toGuiseley 3–1 on aggregate in the subsequent play-off semi-final.[21] Three Fylde players,Ben Hinchliffe, Josh Langley and Brad Barnes, were selected in the Conference North Team of the Season at end of season AGM awards. Fylde finished the2015–16 season in third place in the renamed National League North. After beatingHarrogate Town 2–1 on aggregate in the two-legged semi-final, they lost 2–1 toNorth Ferriby United after extra time. In2016–17 they won the National League North, earning promotion to theNational League. In theirfirst season in the National League the club reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time after beatingKidderminster Harriers 4–2 in the first round.[24] In the second round Fylde drew 1–1 at home toWigan Athletic before losing the replay 3–2.[25] They went on to finish seventh in the league, qualifying for the expanded play-offs, but lost 2–1 byBoreham Wood in the quarter-final.[21]
In2018–19 Fylde finished fifth in the National League. They defeatedHarrogate Town in the play-off quarter-final andSolihull Moors in semi-final to qualify for the final at Wembley againstSalford City. Although the final saw them lose 3–0, the club returned to Wembley a week later in theFA Trophy final and won the competition with a 1–0 victory overLeyton Orient. In October 2019, after eight years with the club,Dave Challinor was sacked with Fylde in the relegation zone.[26] The2019–20 FA Cup saw the club reach the third round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beatingNantwich Town 1–0 in the first round andKingstonian 2–0 in the second, they lost 2–1 atSheffield United in the third round.[21] In2019–20 Fylde finished second-from-bottom of the division, resulting in their relegation back to the National League North after the season had been cut short due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[27] They finished third in the National League North in2021–22 before losing 2–0 toBoston United in the play-off semi-finals. However, in2022–23 the club were National League North champions, earning another promotion to the National League.[28] In2024–25 the club finished second-from-bottom of the National League and were relegated back to the National League North.[29]
Between 2006 and 2016 the club played home games at Kellamergh Park in the village of Warton, having previously played at the council-owned Coronation Road in Kirkham. In 2005 the club purchased land in Kellamergh and began to develop the facilities at a cost of £150,000 in order to meet the requirement for playing in the North West Counties League.[9]
The new ground was officially opened on 5 August 2006, with a £30,000 200-seat main stand with four rows of seating and a designated press box area.[9][30] Further improvements were made to the stadium in March 2009 to achieve Ground Grading Grade E (step 4), including additional covered seating and a new directors' box. Kellamergh Park eventually had 533 covered seats and could hold just over 3,000 spectators, having been upgraded during the latter part of the 2014–15 season to meet theFootball Conference requirement of 500 covered seats, which were installed in late March 2015 and situated at the south end of the ground behind the goal.[citation needed]
On 19 January 2008, the club announced plans for a further move to yet another new stadium at an unnamed 26-acre (11 ha) site.[31] In February 2010, a charitable trust called the Haythornthwaite Sports Foundation unveiled plans for a new Community Sports Complex inWrea Green, comprising outdoor sports facilities catering for local junior football, cricket and other sports plus a new 2,500 capacity stadium for AFC Fylde. Consultations took place in 2011 but a planning application was rejected byFylde Borough Council in spring 2012.[citation needed]
On 3 September 2013 it was announced that plans had been drawn up for a new £18m development,Mill Farm Sports Village, on the outskirts ofWesham, close to junction 3 of theM55. This included a distribution centre, anAldi supermarket, a hotel, a restaurant, a petrol station, community sports pitches, sports science facilities, and a 6,000-capacityFootball League standard football stadium.[32] The stadium plans include a 2,000 capacity all-seater main stand with a supporters' bar, executive boxes and a function room. The planning application for the stadium and associated facilities was accepted by Fylde Borough Council on 4 June 2014,[33] and the ground opened on 13 August 2016 for the club's first National League North match of the season againstBrackley Town.[34]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Craig Mahon |
| Assistant manager | Alex Kenyon |
| Goalkeeping coach | Chris Neal |
| Performance Analyst | Aaron Minton |
| Physio | Natassia Waters |
| Academy Manager | Chris Ganner |
| Director of Football | Stewart Mairs |
| Source: AFC Fylde[37] | |
