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| Full name | Colwyn Bay Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | 'Seagulls' or 'The Bay' | |||
| Founded | 1881 | |||
| Ground | Llanelian Road,Old Colwyn | |||
| Chairman | Vacant | |||
| Manager | Michael Wilde | |||
| League | Cymru North | |||
| 2024–25 | Cymru North, 1st of 16 (promoted) | |||
| Website | http://www.colwynbayfc.co.uk | |||
Colwyn Bay Football Club (Welsh:Clwb Pêl-Droed Bae Colwyn) is afootball club based inOld Colwyn in NorthWales. They are currently members of theCymru North. Nicknamed the Seagulls, but also known as 'The Bay', their home ground isLlanelian Road inOld Colwyn.
The club played its first match in January 1881 and joined theNorth Wales Coast League in 1898.[1] The club were forced to resign from the league during the 1900–01 when they could not find a home ground to play at,[2] with their fixtures taken over by Penmaenmawr Royal Welch Fusiliers.[3] However, they returned to the league the following season.[4] From 1907, the club became known as Colwyn Bay United.[5] After the league folded in 1921, they joined theWelsh National League. In 1927–28 the club finished as runners-up in the league and won the League Cup. They won the cup for a second time in 1929–30,[6] also reachingthe semi-finals of theWelsh Cup, in which they lost 3–1 toRhyl Athletic.[7] The league folded at the end of the season and the club were subsequently founder members of theNorth Wales Football Combination, which they went on to win in its first season.[8] Following their title, the club joined theBirmingham & District League.[6] However, the team struggled in the new league, and after finishing bottom in 1935–36 and 1936–37,[9] they switched to theWelsh National League (North).[6]
Colwyn Bay finished as Welsh League (North) runners-up in 1945–46,[10] the first season afterWorld War II. They were runners-up again in 1963–64,[11] and were champions the following season.[12] The early 1980s saw the club enter a period of success, as they were champions for a second time in 1980–81.[13] In 1982–83 the club won the league and reached the Welsh Cup semi-finals, losing 4–0 on aggregate toSwansea City.[7]
After retaining the league title in 1983–84,[6] the club returned to the English football league system, joining Division Three of theNorth West Counties League. They finished as runners-up in theirfirst season in the league and were promoted to Division Two.[7] A fourth-place finish in Division Two1986–87 saw the club promoted to Division One.[7] In1987–88 the club reached the first round of theFA Cup for the first time, losing 1–0 atNorthwich Victoria.[7] The following season saw the club win the League Cup, beatingWarrington Town 3–0 in the final atGigg Lane.[6] After finishing as Premier Division runners-up in1990–91, they were promoted to Division One of theNorthern Premier League, filling the vacancy created bySouth Liverpool folding.[6] They won the division at thefirst attempt and were promoted to the Premier Division.[7] The season also saw them win the North Wales Coast Challenge Cup and reach the Welsh Cup semi-finals for a third time, losing 4–2 toHednesford Town.[7]
However, at the end of the 1991–92 season, a dispute with theFootball Association of Wales led to Colwyn Bay being ordered to join the newly-formedLeague of Wales or cease playing in Wales. As a result, the club started the new season playing at theDrill Field in Northwich, before moving toEllesmere Port Stadium inEllesmere Port. A court injunction allowed the club to return to playing home matches in Colwyn Bay in 1994 beforethe case was won in theHigh Court of Justice in April 1995.[6] In1995–96 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again; after beatingSpennymoor United 1–0 in the first round, they lost 2–0 atBlackpool in the second round.[7] They qualified for the first round again thefollowing season, eventually losing 2–0 to fellow north Wales clubWrexham in a replay.[7] Another first round appearance in1997–98 resulted in a 2–0 defeat atNotts County.[7]
The club remained in the Northern Premier League's Premier Division until the end of the2002–03 season, when they were relegated to Division One. In2006–07 a fifth-place finish saw the club qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 3–2 toCammell Laird in the semi-finals.[14] League restructuring led to the club being placed in Division One South for the2007–08 season, before being switched to the North division thefollowing season. Their first season in Division One North resulted in a fourth-place finish and another play-off campaign, in which they lost their semi-final match 4–2 on penalties toNewcastle Blue Star after a 2–2 draw.[7] However, after finishing fourth again in2009–10, the club were promoted back to the Premier Division via the play-offs, beatingCurzon Ashton 2–1 in the semi-finals and then winning 1–0 againstLancaster City in the final.[7]
The2010–11 season saw Colwyn Bay finish as Premier Division runners-up. In the subsequent play-offs they beatNorth Ferriby United 2–1 in the semi-finals and then defeatedFC United 1–0 in the final to earn promotion to theConference North.[7] After four seasons in the Conference North, the club were relegated back to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division at the end of the2014–15 season. They were relegated again in2015–16, returning to Division One North.[7] In March 2019 the club opted to rejoin the Welsh football system for the 2019–20 season,[15] and joined the newly formed second-tierCymru North. The2022–23 season saw the club win the League Cup North and the Cymru North title, losing only once during the season after winning 25 consecutive games, earning promotion to theCymru Premier. However, they finished second-from-bottom of the Cymru Premier thefollowing season and were relegated back to the Cymru North.
The club had a nomadic existence during their early years, often having to move as builders acquired land as the town rapidly expanded during the late 19th and early 20th century. They played on land owned by Penrhos School, at the Board School field, at Marine Hotel field and thenEirias Park. After the adjacent school expanded onto the land, they played on a pitch inMochdre before relocating to another ground at Eirias Park towards the end of the 1940s. This remained home until 1983, when the land was required to dump soil following construction of the A55.Eirias Arena was a temporary home for a season and a half until the club moved to their currentLlanelian Road ground in 1984.[6] The Shed End stand was erected in 1985 and two more stands built by 1990, when floodlights were installed and inaugurated with a friendly match againstLiverpool. When the club was forced to play outside Wales in 1992, they initially played at Northwich Victoria'sDrill Field, before moving to Ellesmere Port.[6]
After returning to Llanelian Road in 1994, terracing was installed on the Llanelian Road side of the ground in 1998. Following promotion to the Conference North, a new covered 500-seat stand was built during the 2011–12 season.[6] In 2023 a new 1,000-seat stand was built to replace two covered terraced stands on the west side of the ground.
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 |  Michael Wilde |
| Assistant manager | Danny Harrison |
| Coach | Jason Allcroft |
| Goalkeeping Coach |  Rob Rimmington |
| Head of Sport Science | Dan Skillen |
| Physiotherapist | Seb Richardson |
| Kit Manager |  John Ashley |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
