Wakefield F.C. was an
English football
Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
club based in
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
. The club was previously based in the village of
Emley and was known as Emley A.F.C. from 1903 to 2002. The club was wound up in June 2014 and all history and records were returned to
Emley A.F.C. in July 2022.
History
Formed in 1903 and began in the village of
Emley in the local Huddersfield District League, the club graduated via the
West Riding League to the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
.
The club enjoyed relative success in the Amateur ranks before the move to Wakefield (see
Emley A.F.C.).
After a poor to average couple of seasons in the late 1990's and early 2000's and with ambitions from the chairman, it emerged that Emley were looking to leave the village. This was due to ground regulation gradings. The League brought in new regulations, concerning three-sided grounds, that meant Emley would be thrown out of the league unless they spent vast amounts upgrading. The club was unable to expand their ground and were forced to look for a new one. A ground share with Rugby League club
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, betw ...
was suggested, then the club played a couple of games at
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
's
Belle Vue ground. Although primarily a rugby city, the club moved to Wakefield's Belle Vue for their home games in the 2000–01 season.
Club moves to Wakefield
At their new ground striker Simeon Bambrook scored 30 goals and Danny Day 23 for Emley, during the season. They led the league for much of the season, amassing 100 points but finished second. Emley reached the Sheffield Cup Final, only to lose to
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
2–1 at Hillsborough and Simeon Bambrook gained an England semi-professional side call-up.
In the following season Emley sustained their challenge for the league, but could only finish fifth. They again reached the Sheffield Cup Final and again lost to
Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The team compete in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club play their home games at ...
at Hillsborough, this time 3–0. In the close season the club decided to renamed itself Wakefield & Emley FC. This alienated some of the village supporters as the club frequently began to be referred to as simply "''Wakefield''". 2003–04 saw Wakefield & Emley's worst ever season in senior football, they finished bottom of the
Northern Premier League Premier Division
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
. However, Emley remained in the Premier Division due to the re-organisation of the
English football league system
The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...
that saw the creation of the
Conference North
The National League North, formerly Conference North, is a division of the National League in England, immediately below the National League division. Along with the National League South, it is at the second level of the National League Sy ...
and
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
leagues.
The club changed its name once again in the 2004–05 season, this time to Wakefield–Emley. They finished mid-table this time. In the close season
Northern Counties East League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the football pyramid respectively.
History
T ...
disbanded its reserve division. The Wakefield-Emley reserve team had continued in that division when the first team were promoted to the NPL. They also continued to play at the old Welfare Ground in
Emley. After the reserves team, which continued to play in Emley was disbanded, members and supporters of the club from its Emley days formed
AFC Emley in 2005 in order to keep football at the Welfare Ground in the village. Many fans reverted to following the new club back in Emley, after which, the Emley name and thus, the links to the original club were severed and Wakefield struggled to attract support from the city.
Wakefield–Emley continued at Belle-Vue, but they were relegated to the
Northern Premier League First Division
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
. As there was now a new club in Emley, the board decided to drop the name "Emley" and continued on as Wakefield F.C., the club changed colours and moved to College Grove in
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
, becoming fully a Wakefield club. In 2007, Wakefield played in the inaugural season of the
Northern Premier League Division One North
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Division ...
.
Paul Lines was appointed the new manager of Wakefield on 9 December 2011 and replaces general manager Mark Brier who was sacked earlier in week. He is joined in the dugout by Liam Sutcliffe as assistant manager.
Wakefield resigned from the
Northern Premier League
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
at the end of the 2013–14 season and had planned to participate in the
Northern Counties East Football League
The Northern Counties East Football League is a semi-professional English association football, football league. It has two divisions – Premier Division and Division One – which stand at the ninth and tenth levels of the English football lea ...
in the 2014–15 season with a view to returning to The Welfare Ground in Emley, where they were to share with
AFC Emley. However the club informed the FA and the Northern Counties League on 21 June 2014 that they would not be competing in the forthcoming season ahead of the club being wound up.
In July 2022 it was announced that the records and honours of Emley/Wakefield would be transferred to
Emley A.F.C..
See also
*
A.F.C. Emley
Emley Association Football Club is a association football, football club based in Emley, West Yorkshire, England. They are currently members of and play at the Welfare Ground.
History
The original Wakefield F.C., Emley club founded in 1903 had ...
References
External links
WakefieldFC.com – Official website* http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/wakefieldfc (Fans Forum)
{{Men's Football in West Yorkshire
Defunct football clubs in England
Defunct football clubs in West Yorkshire
Association football clubs established in 1903
1903 establishments in England
Sport in Wakefield
Huddersfield and District Association Football League
West Riding County Amateur Football League
Yorkshire Football League
Northern Counties East Football League
Northern Premier League clubs