GKN Sankey F.C., previously known as Sankeys of Wellington F.C., was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club based in

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated 4 miles (6 km) northwest of central Telford and 12 miles (19 km) east of Shrewsbury. The summit of The Wrekin lies 3 miles southwest of the town. The ...

, which was incorporated into the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Telford Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an est ...

in the 1960s. The club competed for a number of years in the

West Midlands (Regional) League The West Midlands (Regional) League is an English association football competition for semi-professional and amateur teams based in the West Midlands county, Shropshire, Worcestershire, southern Staffordshire and northern Herefordshire. It has tw ...

but disbanded in 1988.

History

The club was the

works team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

of engineering company

GKN Sankey GKN Ltd is a British multinational automotive and aerospace components business headquartered in Redditch, England. It is a long-running business known for many decades as Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds. It can trace its origins back to 1759 an ...

and played in the Shropshire County League from at least 1954 until 1960.Official Shropshire County Premier Football League website
/ref> In 1960 the club switched to the more senior

Cheshire County League The Cheshire County League was a football league founded in the north west of England in 1919, drawing its teams largely from Cheshire, surrounding English counties and North Wales. Initially the league was dominated by the reserve teams of Footba ...

and played there until 1965, achieving a second-place finish in the 1963–64 season. They won the

Shropshire Senior Cup The Shropshire Senior Cup is a county cup football competition that is open for professional and non-professional senior football teams in the English county of Shropshire. The competition is one of the oldest cup competitions in the world, and ...

in the 1961–62 season. This was followed by one season back in the Shropshire County League before the team joined the

in 1966. The club played in the West Midlands League until 1974, gaining

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the Premier Division in 1971. After dropping out of the league for two years, Sankey's returned in 1976, initially in Division 1(B). In 1981 the team was relegated to Division Two, but won the championship at the first attempt to gain promotion back to Division One. In 1983 the league was re-organised and Sankey's was one of a number of lower division clubs elected into the Premier Division on the strength of its facilities. The team spent five seasons in the Premier Division before the club was disbanded in 1988.

Ground

The team played at a ground within the parent company's complex in Telford. As of 2005 it was reported to still be in place but in a derelict condition, and was targeted for residential redevelopment. A covered terrace from the ground later became a stand at the home of Pelsall Villa.

Club records

*Winners

, 1961-62 *Best league position: 7th in West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division, 1985–86 *Best

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

run: 2nd qualifying round, 1985–86 and 1986–87 *Best

FA Vase The Football Association Challenge Vase, usually referred to as the FA Vase, is an annual football competition for teams playing in Steps 5 and 6 of the English National League System (or equivalently, tier 9 or 10 of the overall English footbal ...

run: Preliminary round on eight occasions

Notable players

References

{{Reflist Defunct football clubs in England Association football clubs disestablished in 1988 Defunct football clubs in Shropshire 1988 disestablishments in England West Midlands (Regional) League Shropshire County Premier Football League Works association football teams in England Cheshire County League clubs