A.F.C. Liverpool
Affordable Football Club Liverpool is a semi-professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club was formed in 2008 by 1,000 supporters of Liverpool Football Club; a not-for-profit organisation, it is run on a one-member, one-vote system. They are currently members of the and play at Bootle's New Bucks Park.
History
After plans were announced in February 2008, A.F.C. Liverpool were established by Alun Parry in March 2008 for Liverpool fans who had been priced out of Premier League football, and who were unhappy with Liverpool F.C. being owned by American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks, adopting the same colours as Liverpool. The new club applied to enter Division Two of the North West Counties League for the 2008β09 season, with their place in the now-renamed Division One confirmed in June. They also agreed a groundshare with Prescot Cables to play at Valerie Park. By mid-July the club had attracted around 1,000 members.The club played their first match on 16 July, a friendly against St Helens Town at Ashton Town's Edge Street. In front of a crowd of around 600, the game ended in a 1β1 draw, with Martin Crowder scoring A.F.C. Liverpool's first-ever goal. The club's first league match on 9 August saw them beat Darwen 5β0. Their first season saw the club win the Division One Trophy with a 1β0 win over Padiham, whilst they finished fourth in the league, missing out on promotion by four points.
In 2009β10 the club finished fifth in Division One. They also played in the FA Vase for the first time, losing 2β1 at home to Dinnington Town in the second qualifying round. However, they retained the Division One Trophy. In 2010β11 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, losing 4β1 at Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the extra-preliminary round. In the league they finished fourth, earning promotion to the Premier Division after Rossendale United were expelled from the league and third-placed Holker Old Boys declined promotion. However, they failed to retain the Division One Trophy, losing 3β2 after extra time in the final by Atherton Collieries.
In 2012β13 they reached the final of the Liverpool Senior Cup, losing 4β3 on penalties to Bootle after a 1β1 draw. Prior to the 2014β15 season the club announced that they would be leaving Valerie Park and playing at Rossett Park in Crosby. They reached the Liverpool Senior Cup final again in 2014β15, losing 5β4 to Skelmersdale United. The 2017β18 season saw the club finish in the relegation zone, resulting in relegation back to Division One. In 2021 the club were promoted to the Premier Division based on their results in the abandoned 2019β20 and 2020β21 seasons.
Honours
- North West Counties League
- *Division One Challenge Trophy winners 2008β09, 2009β10
- Joe Fagan Commemorative Trophy
- *Winners 2008β09, 2009β10
- The Fans Club Trophy
- *Winners 2008β09, 2009β10, 2010β11
Records
- Best FA Cup performance: First qualifying round, 2015β16
- Best FA Vase performance: Fourth round, 2021β22, 2022β23
- Record attendance: 604 vs Wigan Robin Park, 6 September 2008
- Biggest win: 9β0 vs St Helens Town, 13 September 2014
- Heaviest defeat: 1β8 vs Winsford United, North West Counties League Premier Division 18 August 2012