Bangor 1876 Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-Droed Bangor 1876) is a Welsh football club in Bangor, Gwynedd, who play in the

Cymru North The Cymru North is a regional football league in Wales, covering the northern half of the country. It has clubs with semi-professional status and together with the Cymru South, it forms the second tier of the Welsh football league system. The f ...

, the second tier of football in Wales.

History

Formation of the club

In 2019, the Supporters Association of

Bangor City Bangor City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Bangor) are an inactive Welsh football club from the City of Bangor, Gwynedd. They started the 2021–22 season in the Cymru North the second level of the Welsh football league system, but ...

voted overwhelmingly to create a breakaway club in order to protect football in the city, given the club's recent history under Vaughan Sports Management. They stated, “We want fans to reconnect with each other and restore the pride and feeling of being a supporter of our historic club. The new club is a creative and positive solution for an ever-changing and precarious situation. We are not disowning Bangor City FC or its history, the club is OURS, it belongs to the fans and local community. “Owners” will come and go but the people remain. Keep the faith.” An application was submitted to the

Football Association of Wales The Football Association of Wales (FAW; cy, Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru) is the governing body of association football and futsal in Wales, and controls the Welsh national football team, its corresponding women's team, as well as the Welsh ...

to enter the new club in the

Welsh football league system The Welsh football league system (or pyramid) is a series of football leagues with regular promotion and relegation between them. While most Welsh clubs play in the Welsh pyramid and most clubs in that pyramid are Welsh, five Welsh clubs play ...

, and a

Supporters' trust In British sports, a supporters' trust is a formal, democratic and not-for-profit organisation of fans who attempt to strengthen the influence of supporters over the running of the club they support. There are over 140 supporters' trusts across En ...

set up. A women's team, Bangor 1876 Women's FC, was also formed. The club play their home matches at Treborth, Bangor University.

First season

The club competed in the tier five

Gwynedd League The Gwynedd Football League was a football league at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system in north-west Wales. The league folded in 2020 due to a reorganisation of the Welsh football league pyramid, with many teams joining the No ...

for the 2019–20 season. The first manager was Mel Jones, with Dylan Williams as his assistant. Former Llandudno and Caernarfon Town manager Iwan Williams was also appointed as Director of Football. The club's inaugural match was against fellow fan-owned team

FC United of Manchester Football Club United of Manchester is a semi-professional football club based in Moston, Manchester, England, that competes in the , the seventh tier of the English football league system, and plays home matches at Broadhurst Park. Founded ...

, and the first competitive match was in the Gwynedd League, a 4–1 away victory against Ogwen Tigers on 10 August 2019. A successful first season saw the club leading the league, with a 100 per cent win ratio, when the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. They were crowned league champions following the announcement that all Welsh football seasons would finish with a table decided on a points per game basis.

Second season

The club joined the newly formed

North Wales Coast West Football League The North Wales Coast West Football League is a football league in Wales, at tiers 4 and 5 of the Welsh football league system in North Wales, founded in 2020. The league is under the control of the North Wales Coast Football Association. The le ...

in the tier four Premier Division in 2020. The inaugural season was cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic and instead started in August 2021. The club finished as divisional runners up in the 2021–22 season and was promoted to the tier three Ardal NW League for the 2022–23 season. The club rounded the season off by winning the

Premier Cup, beating Bodedern Athletic 3-0 in the final.

Promotion to the second tier

The club won their opening match in the third tier against Rhydymwyn FC 8-1. They finished the season in second place and hence qualified for the Ardal Northern play–off final. The club won the play–off final and secured promotion to the tier two

Current squad

:''As of 02 January 2024''

Club staff

* First team manager: Michael Johnston * Assistant managers: Sean Eardley, Gareth Williams * First team coach: Aled Hughes * First team goalkeeper coach: Mervyn Williams

Honours

* Ardal NW League – Runners up and play-off winners: 2022–23 *

Premier Division – Runners-up: 2021–22 *

– Champions: 2019–20 *

Premier Division Cup – Winners: 2021–22

Records

* Record home league win: 14–0 vs Bethesda Athletic,

, 15 October 2019 * Record home cup win: 13–0 vs Llanystumdwy, Bob Owen Memorial Shield First Round, 16 November 2019 * Record away league win: 0–6 vs Caergybi,

, 14 December 2019 * Record away cup win: 1–3 vs Llanelwy Athletic, North Wales Coast FA Junior Challenge Cup First Round, 12 October 2019 * Record home league attendance: 840 vs Rhyl 1879, Ardal NW League, 8 April 2023

References

External links

Bangor 1876 official club website

Bangor 1876 official Twitter page

Bangor 1876 Women's official Twitter page

Bangor 1876 official Facebook page
{{Coord, 53, 12, 53.1, N, 4, 10, 38.5, W, type:landmark, display=title Football clubs in Wales Association football clubs established in 2019 Sport in Bangor, Gwynedd 2019 establishments in Wales Fan-owned football clubs Bangor City F.C. Gwynedd League clubs North Wales Coast Football League clubs Ardal Leagues clubs Cymru North clubs