AFC Fylde, a professional association football club based in Wesham in the Borough of Fylde, Lancashire, England, was founded in 1988. They were originally named Kirkham & Wesham as a result of a merger between Kirkham Town and Wesham Football Clubs. The club assumed Kirkham Town's place in Division One of the West Lancashire League for the 1988–89 season. The following season they finished bottom of the league table and were relegated to Division Two. In 1993 they were promoted back into Division One but were relegated again after a two-season spell. The club finished as runners-up in 1996 to achieve promotion after one season. Kirkham & Wesham's third spell in Division One, which was renamed Premier Division in 1998, was successful as they spent 11 seasons in the division, winning the title seven times, including the 2007 title where they were allowed to be promoted into the North West Counties Football League (NWC) in their Division Two for the 2007–08 season.
The club finished as runners-up in the division and achieved promotion to the Premier Division. Also during this season they entered the FA Vase for the first time and won the competition defeating Lowestoft Town 2–1 in the final. At the end of the season the club adopted the new name AFC Fylde. In 2009 Fylde achieved their third successive promotion by winning the North West Counties Premier Division title, they were promoted into the Northern Premier League Division One North. Fylde were unable to successfully defend the FA Vase losing 2–1 in the fourth round to Needham Market. The club were entered into the FA Cup qualifying rounds for the first time in the 2008–09 season, losing to Sheffield in the preliminary round. The 2009–10 season saw the club play in the FA Trophy for the first time and the 2010–11 season they were runners-up in the promotion play-offs. Their third season in Division One North saw them win the championship title and were promoted into the Premier Division.
The club spent two seasons in the Premier Division qualifying for the play-offs in both; in the first season play-offs they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Hednesford Town in a penalty shoot-out; in the second they defeated Worksop Town in the semi-final and Ashton United in the final on penalties to achieve promotion to the Conference North. In their first season in the Conference North they finished as runners-up in the league only two points behind champions Barrow and automatic promotion, in the play-offs they were eliminated by Guiseley in the two-legged semi-final 3–1 on aggregate. The following season the Conference North was renamed National League North. The club's third-place finish meant they qualified for their fourth consecutive play-offs, they reached the final but were runners-up to North Ferriby United. Fylde won the 2016–17 National League North title and were promoted in the National League, the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system.
Fylde finished in seventh-place in their first National League season and qualified for their sixth play-offs tournament, this time losing to Boreham Wood in the quarter-final. In the 2018–19 season they finished in fifth-place and once again qualified for the play-offs, beating Harrogate Town in the quarter-final and Solihull Moors in the semi-final before losing to Salford City in the final. Also during this season the club reached the 2019 FA Trophy Final, their first FA Trophy final, where they played National League champions Leyton Orient and defeated them 1–0 to win the competition.
Key
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Seasons
| Season | League record | FA Cup | FA Trophy | Other | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Tier | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | Competition | Result | |||
| 1988–89 | WL Div 1 | 10 | 32 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 51 | 56 | 40 | 11th | — | — | — | — |
| 1989–90 | WL Div 1 ↓ | 10 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 31 | 75 | 21 | 18th | — | — | — | — |
| 1990–91 | WL Div 2 | 11 | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 51 | 70 | 49 | 15th | — | — | — | — |
| 1991–92 | WL Div 2 | 11 | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 61 | 67 | 48 | 10th | — | — | — | — |
| 1992–93 | WL Div 2 ↑ | 11 | 34 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 56 | 38 | 60 | 3rd | — | — | — | — |
| 1993–94 | WL Div 1 | 10 | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 46 | 13th | — | — | — | — |
| 1994–95 | WL Div 1 ↓ | 10 | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 33 | 79 | 27 | 16th | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | WL Div 2 ↑ | 11 | 34 | 23 | 9 | 2 | 75 | 22 | 78 | 2nd | — | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | WL Div 1 | 10 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 40 | 61 | 36 | 14th | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | WL Div 1 | 10 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 65 | 44 | 63 | 4th | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | WL Premier | 10 | 30 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 86 | 33 | 62 | 4th | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–2000 | WL Premier | 10 | 30 | 24 | 3 | 3 | 98 | 22 | 75 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | WL Premier | 10 | 28 | 22 | 5 | 1 | 90 | 24 | 71 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | WL Premier | 10 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 90 | 20 | 72 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | WL Premier | 10 | 30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 87 | 43 | 62 | 2nd | — | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | WL Premier | 10 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 26 | 80 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | WL Premier | 11 | 30 | 25 | 3 | 2 | 94 | 17 | 78 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06 | WL Premier | 11 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 96 | 19 | 80 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | WL Premier ↑ | 11 | 30 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 62 | 19 | 72 | 1st | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | NWC Div 2 ↑ | 10 | 34 | 24 | 5 | 5 | 88 | 31 | 77 | 2nd | — | — | FA Vase | W |
| 2008–09 | NWC Premier ↑ | 9 | 42 | 33 | 5 | 4 | 122 | 35 | 104 | 1st | PRE | — | FA Vase | R4 |
| 2009–10 | NPL Div 1N | 8 | 42 | 15 | 8 | 19 | 67 | 79 | 53 | 13th | QR2 | QR3 | — | — |
| 2010–11 | NPL Div 1N | 8 | 44 | 24 | 9 | 11 | 91 | 59 | 81 | 5th | PRE | PRE | Play-offs | RU |
| 2011–12 | NPL Div 1N ↑ | 8 | 42 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 90 | 29 | 99 | 1st | QR2 | QR1 | — | — |
| 2012–13 | NPL Premier | 7 | 42 | 23 | 6 | 13 | 93 | 51 | 75 | 5th | R1 | QR3 | Play-offs | SF |
| 2013–14 | NPL Premier ↑ | 7 | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 97 | 41 | 93 | 3rd | QR2 | QR3 | Play-offs | W |
| 2014–15 | Conference North | 6 | 42 | 25 | 10 | 7 | 93 | 43 | 85 | 2nd | R1 | R3 | Play-offs | SF |
| 2015–16 | National North | 6 | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 76 | 53 | 75 | 3rd | R1 | R3 | Play-offs | RU |
| 2016–17 | National North ↑ | 6 | 42 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 109 | 60 | 88 | 1st | QR2 | R1 | — | — |
| 2017–18 | National League | 5 | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 82 | 56 | 73 | 7th | R2 | R1 | Play-offs | QF |
| 2018–19 | National League | 5 | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 72 | 41 | 81 | 5th | QR4 | W | Play-offs | RU |
| 2019–20 | National League ↓ | 5 | 37 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 44 | 60 | 39 | 23rd | R3 | R4 | — | — |
| 2020–21 | National North | 6 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 26 | 16 | 30 | 2nd | R1 | R3 | — | — |
| 2021–22 | National North | 6 | 42 | 24 | 8 | 10 | 68 | 37 | 80 | 3rd | QR2 | R3 | Play-offs | SF |
| 2022–23 | National North ↑ | 6 | 46 | 29 | 8 | 9 | 80 | 44 | 95 | 1st | R1 | R3 | — | — |
| 2023–24 | National League | 5 | 46 | 15 | 10 | 21 | 74 | 82 | 55 | 18th | R1 | R4 | — | — |
Notes
- ^ The club were deducted three points.
- Division One was renamed Premier Division after league re-organisation.
- Beat Skelmersdale United 1–0 in the semi-final before losing 2–0 to Chorley in the 2011 Northern Premier League Division One North play-off Final.
- Lost in the play-off semi-final to Hednesford Town 3–1 in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 3–3.
- Promoted to Conference North via the play-offs, beating Worksop Town 3–1 in the semi-final and Ashton United in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out in the 2014 Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off Final (the match had ended 1–1).
- Lost in the play-off semi-final to Guiseley 3–1 on aggregate.
- The Football Conference was renamed the National League; the North and South divisions were also renamed National League North and National League South respectively.
- Beat Harrogate Town 2–1 on aggregate in the semi-final before losing 2–1 to North Ferriby United in the 2016 National League North play-off Final.
- Lost in the play-off quarter-final to Boreham Wood 2–1.
- Beat Harrogate Town 3–1 in the quarter-final and Solihull Moors in the semi-final, before losing 3–0 to Salford City in the 2019 National League play-off final.
- The 2019–20 National League was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with league positions, promotions and relegations decided on a points-per-game basis.
- The 2020–21 National League North season was abandoned with results declared null and void and results expunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Lost in the play-off semi-final to Boston United 2–0.
References
- "Club History". AFC Fylde. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- Britt, Jamie (21 July 2016). "The rise of AFC Fylde". It's Round and It's White. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- George, Ricky (12 May 2008). "Kirkham & Wesham win FA Vase". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "Kirkham & Wesham 2-1 Lowestoft T". BBC Sport. 11 May 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "AFC Fylde vs Ashton United". AFC Fylde. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Football Conference to be renamed as National League". The Times. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- Foster, Richard (15 July 2016). "How North Ferriby's village football team made it to the National League". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- Chisnall, David (25 April 2017). "AFC Fylde celebrate in style after clinching promotion to the National League as champions". itv.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ "Boreham Wood 2–1 AFC Fylde". BBC Sport. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- ^ Ames, Nick (11 May 2019). "Salford City beat AFC Fylde to win first promotion to Football League". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- Stevens, Rob (19 May 2019). "AFC Fylde 1–0 Leyton Orient". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- Veevers, Nicholas (19 May 2019). "A stunning free-kick from hometown hero Danny Rowe sees AFC Fylde win the FA Trophy". The Football Association. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- McVeigh, Niall (19 May 2019). "Danny Rowe sinks Leyton Orient to seal FA Trophy triumph for AFC Fylde". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
External links
- "Kirkham & Wesham seasons (1988–2008)". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
- "A.F.C. Fylde seasons (2008–present)". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
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