 | |||
| Full name | Darwen Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Salmoners[1] | ||
| Founded | 2009 | ||
| Ground | Anchor Ground,Darwen | ||
| Capacity | 4,000[2] | ||
| Chairman | Kenny Langford | ||
| Manager | Leighton Mills | ||
| League | North West Counties League Division One North | ||
| 2023–24 | North West Counties League Division One North, 9th of 18 | ||
| Website | darwenfc.co.uk | ||
Darwen Football Club is afootball club fromDarwen,Lancashire,England. The club was formed in 2009 as A.F.C. Darwen, a successor to the originalDarwen club, which had been wound up. They currently play in theNorth West Counties League Division One North and are based at the Anchor Ground.
On 22 December 2003Carlsberg 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 byThe Bee radio station on 14 April 2008 in respect of £8,000 owed for advertising. Plans were made forBlackburn with Darwen Council to buy the Anchor Ground. However, following two further petitions for liquidation brought byThwaites Brewery andING Lease UK and their refusal of an offer of 25p in the pound, the 134-year old Darwen Football Club was wound up in theHigh 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 thefootball pyramid. They successfully applied for admission to theWest 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] In2014–15 the club won the Division One Trophy with a 3–1 win overAtherton Collieries in the final, also finishing third in Division One and qualifying for the promotion play-offs. After beatingChadderton 2–1 in the semi-finals, they defeatedHanley Town 5–3 in the final, earning promotion to the Premier Division.[4][1]
The2017–18 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]
53°42′42.38″N2°28′38.25″W / 53.7117722°N 2.4772917°W /53.7117722; -2.4772917
