Merthyr Town Football Club () is a Welsh semi-professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, currently playing in the , the Sixth tier of the English football league system. The football club was originally founded as 'Merthyr Town' in 1908 and played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

from 1920 to 1930, but the club folded in 1934 and were replaced by newly formed Merthyr Tydfil F.C. in 1945, until 2010 when the club liquidated and re-established back to its original 'Merthyr Town' name. The club was then accepted into Division One of the Western League. The club played in the fifth tier of English football for five years, from 1988–89 to 1994–95. In 1991–92 they finished fourth in the Football Conference (now National League), the club's highest ever placing in the English football pyramid. They were relegated in 1994–95. Merthyr have reached the second round of the FA Cup on five occasions, in 1946–47, 1954–55, 1973–74, 1979–80 and 1990–91. Most recently they reached the competition's first round in 2022–23.

History

Early years (1909–1934)

In 1909, Merthyr Town joined the second division of the Southern League, which despite being primarily an English league, contained several other Welsh clubs, notably Cardiff City, Newport County and Swansea Town. After finishing third in 1911–12 the club were promoted to the first division, though they were relegated back to the second division in 1913–14. The Southern League did not operate during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and when it resumed for the 1919–20 season Merthyr were placed back in the top division. In the summer of 1920 the Football League expanded with the creation of a new Third Division, which was made up entirely of the First Division of the Southern League from the previous season. Despite having finished second bottom in the season before, usually a relegation place, Merthyr became a new member of the Football League. In their first season in the Football League, the club had a much better season and finished 8th. This, however, proved to be their most successful league season, and it was followed by a gradual decline: 11th in 1921–22 and 17th in 1922–23. The 1923–24 season saw a slight improvement in league form as they finished 13th, but the major news was their appearance in the final of the Welsh Cup, though they lost 1–0 to

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

in a replay after a 2–2 draw. From then on the club declined further, and finished bottom of the Third Division in 1924–25. Although they finished 14th in 1925–26, in the following seasons the club finished 17th, 21st, 20th and then bottom again, and were eventually voted out of the Football League in 1930. They were replaced by the ill-fated

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. During their penultimate season in the Football League the club had their best season in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

, getting past the first round for the only time, before losing to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

in the second round. The club dropped back into the Southern League, but lasted only four seasons, before ceasing to play in 1934.

Merthyr Tydfil years (1945–2010)

The club re-emerged as Merthyr Tydfil F.C., formed in 1945, and joined the Welsh League. In their first season, they finished as runners-up and joined the Southern League. The club were immensely successful in their first few seasons, winning the championship in 1947–48, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52 and 1953–54. In the 1947–48 championship-winning season, Merthyr only dropped one point at home (against Colchester United) and only lost four games all season. However, despite their success, the club failed to be elected to the English Football League. The 1950–51 season ended with Merthyr winning the Southern League, the Welsh Cup, the Southern League Cup and the Welsh Challenge Cup. After bouncing between the various Southern League divisions during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the club finally won their sixth championship in 1988–89, making them joint Southern League title record-holders together with

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. This time, winning the championship meant promotion to the Football Conference, the fifth level of English football. The club finished ninth in their first two seasons, and then fourth. However, they then went into decline, and were relegated back to the Southern League in 1995, where they remained until reforming in 2010. They should have been relegated a season earlier, but were reprieved when Northern Premier League champions Marine failed to meet the stadium criteria for the league. The club's best

performance was reaching the second round, which they managed in 1946–47 (losing 3–1 to

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), 1954–55 (losing 7–1 to Bradford City), 1973–74 (losing 3–0 to

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

), 1979–80 (losing 3–1 in a replay with Chesham United) and 1990–91 (losing 5–1 to

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in north-west Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'', and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settleme ...

). The only time the club managed to defeat a Football League club in the FA Cup was in the first round of the 1946–47 cup, when they beat Bristol Rovers 3–1. The club were considerably more successful in the Welsh Cup, which they won on three occasions: 1949 (beating Swansea Town 2–0), 1951 (beating Cardiff City 3–2 in a replay) and 1987 (beating Newport County 1–0 in a replay). In addition, the club finished as runners-up in 1947 and 1952. After winning the final in 1987, the club were allowed to enter the European Cup Winners' Cup, at a time when English clubs were banned from European competition. In the first round, they were drawn against the Italian club

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

. The club managed a win in the first leg at home, beating the Italians 2–1. However, the return leg was lost 2–0, and the club was eliminated from the competition. Historically, the club's biggest rivals are Gloucester City. The two clubs played over 120 times in their history, making it one of the most played Anglo-Welsh derbies in football. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Newport County were local rivals but the teams have not met in the same league for many years.

2010–present

In 2010, Merthyr Tydfil F.C. of the

Southern Football League The Southern League is a football competition featuring semi-professional clubs from East Anglia, the South and Midlands of England, and South Wales. Together with the Isthmian League and the Northern Premier League it forms levels seven a ...

was liquidated. A new club under the name of Merthyr Town was formed and joined the

Western Football League The Western Football League is a association football, football league in South West England, covering Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, western Dorset, parts of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The league's current main sponsor is Jewson, so it ...

. The club used Rhiw'r Ddar, shared with Taff's Well A.F.C., as its home ground. Promotion from the First Division to the Premier Division of the Western League was achieved in the first season and the club moved to Penydarren Park for the 2011–12 season. Promotion to the Southern League was achieved in 2012. The team reached the first round proper of the 2022–23 FA Cup, where they lost 2–0 to Buxton. The 2024–25 season saw the club promoted to the National League system as Southern League Premier Division South champions after 9 years in the division.

Stadium

Throughout Merthyr Town's history, their home venue has been Penydarren Park. The site was once used by the Romans for their local military encampment and during the industrial revolution it became part of the Penydarren House estate. In the latter half of the nineteenth century Penydarren Park was used by the locals as an open recreational for walks, athletic competitions and team sports.Leeworthy (2012), p. 108 It was redeveloped in the 1890s with a cinder running track and a cycling track added to cater for the fad in foot and cycle racing. An early attempt to bring rugby league to Wales, saw local team Merthyr Tydfil RLFC set up at the rival College Ground. This in turn led to the larger Penydarren Park being host to the first touring Australian rugby league side where they faced a Wales XIII in front of a crowd of 6,000. There were plans for Merthyr to move to a new stadium on the edge of the town. The stadium would have been part of the new 'Merthyr Village' development and have a capacity of around 12,000. These plans were thrown into doubt by the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...

's rejection of the project in 2007. In July 2011, the newly promoted Merthyr Town FC hosted Welsh Premier League side Llanelli in a pre-season friendly at Penydarren Park, and thereafter took up full-time residency.

Current squad

Notable former players

''For all players with a Wikipedia article see :Merthyr Town F.C. players.''

Management

Records

* Best

performance: Second round, 1928–29 * Best FA Trophy performance: First round, 2012–13, 2023–24 * Best FA Vase performance: Second qualifying round, 2010–11, 2011–12 * Best Welsh Cup performance: Runners-up, 1923–24 (replay)

Honours

;League * Welsh Football League **Winners (1): 1930–31 *

Division Two **Winners (1): 1912 *

Premier Division South **Winners (1): 2024–25 *Glamorgan League **Winners (1): 1910–11 *

Division One South & West **Winners (1): 2014–15 *

Premier Division **Winners (1): 2011–12 *

Division One **Winners (1): 2010–11 ;Cups * Welsh Cup **Runners-up: (1) 1924 * Welsh Football League Cup **Winners (1): 1926 *South Wales Cup **Winners (1): 1931 * Southern League Cup **Winners (1): 2015–16

References

{{Authority control Football clubs in Wales English Football League clubs Southern Football League clubs National League (English football) clubs Sport in Merthyr Tydfil Welsh football clubs in English leagues Association football clubs established in 1908 Association football clubs disestablished in 1934 1908 establishments in Wales 1934 disestablishments in Wales 2010 establishments in Wales Association football clubs established in 2010 Phoenix clubs (association football)