Nickname(s) The Robins Chairman Elwyn Preece League Welsh Premier League Founded 1875 | Ground Capacity 5,000 Manager Chris Hughes Location Newtown, United Kingdom | |
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Full name Newtown Association Football Club 2015–16 Welsh Premier League, 5th Grounds Latham Park, Newtown, Powys Profiles | ||
Newtown Association Football Club are a Welsh Football Club who play in the Welsh Premier League. Newtown are one of only three clubs that can claim unbroken membership of the league since its formation in 1992, with the other two clubs being Aberystwyth Town and Bangor City.
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The club was founded in 1875 as Newtown White Stars, and were one of the founder members of the Football Association of Wales. Newtown White Stars, which appeared in the first ever Welsh Cup match on 13 October 1877, is believed to have merged with Newtown Excelsior to form the current Newtown AFC in time to be Welsh Cup finalists in 1885 and 1888. The club plays at Latham Park, Newtown, which accommodates 5,000 spectators.
History
Newtown White Stars won the Welsh Cup in 1879 and were losing finalists in 1881. Newtown AFC won the cup again in 1895, but this was the last national trophy won for sixty years, until the Welsh Amateur Cup was won in 1955. The first match was played at what is now Latham Park in 1951, and the ground has since been brought up to a standard which makes it fully eligible to stage big games such as cup semi-finals, Welsh Cup finals, UEFA Youth Internationals, Women's International matches and UEFA Cup matches.
For most of the years since the 1920s the club operated in the Mid-Wales League, or the Central Wales League as it was sometimes known, winning the championship in 1975–76, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1986–87 & 1987–88 and on the strength of this record, the club gained entry to the English league system in the Northern Premier League.
In 1992 the club became rather reluctant founder members of the Konica League of Wales. Since then it has finished runners-up in the league in both 1995–96 & 1997–98, and subsequently played UEFA cup ties against Skonto Riga of Latvia and Wisła Kraków of Poland.
Newtown Association Football Club are one of the oldest clubs in Wales, being formed in 1875 and are one of the founder members of the FAW. In addition the club was also one of the founder members of the League of Wales, now known as the Welsh Premier.
The club has a long and proud tradition with the move in the late 1980s into the Northern Premier League being part of the progressive nature of the club.
Way back in 1877, Newtown took part in the first ever Welsh Cup tie on Saturday 13 October against Druids of Ruabon. Cefn Druids now former members of the Welsh Premier are derived from this club. Wrexham went on to win the competition but in the following season, Newtown Whitestars beat the favourites Wrexham 2–1 in Oswestry and became the first club to receive the famous trophy, which had only been purchased a few months earlier. In December 1895 Newtown travelled to play Manchester City at Maine Road and shocked the City team by winning 3–2. Newtown’s W. Parry scored all three goals for the Robins.
In 2014 Newtown became the 2nd Welsh Premier League club, after The New Saints, to change their grass turf for a 3G pitch. During the 2014/15 season Newtown finished in the top 6 for the second consecutive season. They also took part in their first Welsh Cup Final in 118 Years after memorable wins against Caersws, Bangor and Rhyl. However they lost the match 2–0 to The New Saints, despite it being played at Latham Park in front of a capacity crowd. After the cup final defeat, Newtown entered the European play-offs. During the play-offs they won away at Port Talbot Town and won away at Aberystwyth Town to take a spot in the 2015–16 Europa League qualifiers.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managers
Europe
Newtown have participated four times in the UEFA Cup/Europa League.
Rivalries
Newtown share a local rivalry with Caersws who are only around 5 miles away and often attract big crowds when the teams meet. In the Welsh Premier League Newtown have derby matches against fellow Mid-Wales clubs Aberystwyth Town and The New Saints.