Willington Athletic Football Club was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in Willington Quay,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

. The team played at a ground next to Howdon railway station. Willington Athletic joined the

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

in 1891–92, and won that league's championship for the first time in 1899–1900, repeating the feat in 1904–05, 1905–06 and 1909–10. Its team first entered the

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 ...

in 1891–92they lost to

Shankhouse Shankhouse Football Club was a football club based in Cramlington, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in England. They play at Action Park. The club was a FA Charter Standard Club affiliated to the Northumberland Football Association. The club's nickna ...

in the second qualifying round after a replayand entered each season until competitive football was abandoned for the duration of the First World War. In 1899–1900, they reached the fifth qualifying round, in which they lost to

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the Tyne ...

, also after a replay. They won the Northumberland Senior Cup in 1896 and 1897. The club applied for election to

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, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

in 1903, but received only one vote. When the Northern Alliance resumed after the war, Willington Athletic initially intended to continue in membership, but by the time the 1919–20 season began, they had dropped out.

Honours and achievements

** Champions: 1899–1900, 1904–05, 1905–06, 1909–10 * Northumberland Senior Cup ** Winners: 1896, 1897

References

Defunct football clubs in England Defunct football clubs in Northumberland Northern Football Alliance Association football clubs established in the 19th century {{England-footyclub-defunct-stub