Glantraeth Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl Droed Glantraeth) is a football team, based on the island of

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Wales. They play in the

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 ...

Premier Division (part of 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 ...

). Formed in 1984, the club began competing in the

Anglesey League The Anglesey Football League was a football league in Anglesey, Wales, and was equivalent to the sixth level of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The champions were promoted to the Gwynedd League. The league also runs five cup com ...

before progressing into the

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 ...

and the

Welsh Alliance League The Welsh Alliance Football League (formerly the ''Lock Stock Welsh Alliance Football League'', for sponsorship reasons) was a football league formed in 1984, and discontinued in 2020 following the reorganisation of the Welsh football pyramid for ...

. The club achieved its highest ever finish during the 2005–06 season by winning the

Cymru Alliance The Cymru Alliance League (known for sponsorship reasons as Huws Gray Alliance) was a football league in north and central Wales which formed the second level of the Welsh football league system. From the 2019/20 season onwards, it was replaced ...

but were denied promotion to the

Welsh Premier League The Cymru Premier, known as the JD Cymru Premier for sponsorship reasons, is the national football league of Wales. It has both professional and semi-professional status clubs and is at the top of the Welsh football league system. Prior to 20 ...

, the highest tier of Welsh football, as their ground did not meet league requirements. They resigned from the Cymru Alliance four years later and reformed several tiers below. After reaching the First Division of the Welsh Alliance League and winning the division in 2017, the club were again forced to resign their position after being unable to find sufficient players. They reformed again for the 2018–19 season, returning to the Gwynedd League.

History

The club was founded in 1984 and established a base on a piece of land provided by a local resident. They entered Division Two of the

and finished as runners-up in the 1985–86 season. The following season, the club won promotion to the First Division of the Anglesey League and reached their first cup final in the Dargie Cup. In 1990, the club gained promotion to the

and, four years later, reached the

for the first time. In the 1996–97 season, Glantraeth finished as champions of the Welsh Alliance League, winning 20 of their 26 league matches and scoring 96 goals. They achieved consecutive fifth placed finishes during their first two seasons before ending the 1999–2000 season as runners-up to Oswestry Town. In 2001, the club merged with fellow Cymru Alliance side Llangefni Town to form Llangefni Glantraeth. The new side remained in the Cymru Alliance and recorded a second and fourth placed finish. However, the two clubs decided to split, with Llangefni remaining in the Cymru Alliance and Glantraeth dropping into the Welsh Alliance League to reform. In their first season back, Glantraeth finished as champions of the Welsh Alliance and returned to the Cymru Alliance. After finishing as runners-up again in the 2004–05 season, Glantraeth achieved their highest ever finish by winning the Cymru Alliance in 2006. However, the club were denied promotion to the

, the top tier of Welsh football as their ground did not meet league requirements and they were unable to finance the necessary improvements. The club struggled to match their achievements in the following seasons and, in 2009, after finishing 16th the club resigned their position in the Cymru Alliance and did not field a team for the 2009–10 season. During their break, Glantraeth undertook an improvement in facilities at their ground and applied 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 ...

(FAW) to return, being placed in the Gwynedd League. They achieved consecutive promotions to reach the First Division of the Welsh Alliance League. In February 2016, actress

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. After her family moved to Australia, she made her film debut there in the drama '' For Love Alone'' (1986) and then appeared in three television series, '' Hey Dad..!'' (1990), '' ...

agreed to become the honorary president of the club, replacing Sir George Meyrick. Watts had lived on the island of Anglesey as a child, her maternal grandparents had owned a farm in the village of Llangristiolus near the club's hometown of

Bodorgan Bodorgan is a village and community on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 Census, there were 1,503 residents in the now former electoral ward, 72.7% of them being able to speak Welsh. This increased to 1,704 at t ...

, before moving to Australia in her teens. In the 2016–17 season, Glantraeth won a league and cup double by finishing as champions of the First Division and winning the Cookson Cup however, their promotion success proved disastrous as the club were unable to meet new ground requirements for entry into the Cymru Alliance, claiming the cost of renovating their ground would be "absurd". As such, they rejected promotion which led the majority of the club's players to move on, leading the team to resign their position in the league after they were unable to find enough players to start the new season. After missing the 2017–18 season, Glantraeth reformed and entered a team in the Gwynedd League for the 2018–19 season. The club was chosen to host several matches during the

2019 Inter Games Football Tournament The 2019 Inter Games Football Tournament was an association football tournament which was held between 15 and 22 June 2019 in Anglesey, Wales. It was organised due to the hosts of the 2019 Island Games, Gibraltar being unable to run a tournament d ...

Honours

As of June 2018

League

Division One * Runners-up: 1987–88 Anglesey League Division Two * Runners-up: 1986–86

League * Winners: 2005–06 * Runners-up: 2000–01, 2004–05

* Winners: 1993–94 * Runners-up: 2010–11

* Winners: 1996–97 Welsh Alliance League Division One * Winners: 2016–17 Welsh Alliance League Division Two * Winners: 2011–12

Cup

Barritt Cup * Finalists: 1994–95, 2002–03 Cookson Cup * Winners: 2015–16, 2016–17 * Finalists: 2002–03 Cymru Alliance League Challenge Cup * Winners: 2005–06 Dargie Cup * Finalists: 1986–87 Elias Cup * Finalists: 1988–89 Eryri Shield * Winners: 1992–93 Gwynedd League Cup * Winners: 1993–94, 2010–11 Gwynedd Shield * Winners: 2010–11 North Wales Coast FA Challenge Cup * Finalists: 1999–2000, 2011–12 North Wales Coast FA Intermediate Cup * Winners: 2010–11 Welsh Alliance Division Two League Cup * Winners: 2011–12

Records

* Record victory: 19–0 vs Glan Conwy (2002–03) * Record defeat: 0–7 vs Holywell Town (2012–13)

References

External links

Glantraeth Football Club Website
{{Authority control Football clubs in Wales Association football clubs established in 1984 1984 establishments in Wales Bodorgan Cymru Alliance clubs Gwynedd League clubs North Wales Coast Football League clubs Welsh Alliance League clubs