Afan Lido F.C.


Afan Lido Football Club is a football team based in Port Talbot, Wales, playing in the.
WWW afanlido.com

History

Afan Lido F.C. were founded in 1967 shortly after the opening of the Afan Lido Sports Centre in Aberavon. A football team was set up to give the centre's users a proper organisation. Ken Williams was the prime mover behind the club.
Lido gained admission to the Port Talbot and District League for the 1967–68 season. In 1971–72 the club was accepted into the Welsh Football League, and two years later was promoted into the First Division, and another two years later they were promoted again into the Premier Division. After a barren spell they were relegated but were promoted in 1984–85; by this time the League had been reorganised and a higher National Division had been formed, to which Afan Lido were promoted in 1989–90 after finishing 3rd.
Afan Lido became founder members of the League of Wales in 1992, and won the League Cup in 1992–93 and 1993–94. The next year the porous defence was addressed, and the team finished in second place in the League, winning a UEFA Cup place, but they were defeated by RAF Yelgava of Latvia on the away-goals rule. This was a taste of things to come, and Afan Lido were relegated from the League of Wales before winning their place back after an absence of two years.
Lido's young team that emerged during the spell out of the League of Wales grew together and the club enjoyed several encouraging seasons after settling again in the top flight. Lido's policy of choosing players from within the club's huge junior structure paid off, when they finished 5th place in 2001–02. If the club had scored a single point more, in fact, Lido would have taken the town into European football for a second time.
Leaner years followed that near miss, and in 2005 the club left the Welsh Premier in controversial circumstances, after being deducted points for fielding an ineligible player in a league game. The points deducted sunk the Lido into the relegation zone below NEWI Cefn Druids, which sealed their fate.
In 2011 Lido secured a return to the Welsh Premier and their first season in the top flight saw the club survive the drop. The club also won the Welsh Premier League Cup, defeating Newtown on penalties at Aberystwyth.
Off-field issues surfaced the following season, however, and Lido had to assemble an all-new squad under the guidance of Paul Reid. The club finished bottom of the Welsh Premier, but survived relegation due to the demise of Llanelli and the inability of Haverfordwest County to finish in a promotion spot in Welsh League Division One.
On 4 July 2013 Afan Lido appointed former club captain and fans favourite Paul Evans to the hotseat as they look to cement their position within the top division.
For the 2016–17 season, the club found themselves in the same division as town rivals Port Talbot.
SeasonLeaguePosition
92/93League of Wales12th
93/94League of Wales15th
94/95League of Wales2nd
95/96League of Wales20th
96/97Welsh Football League Division One6th
97/98Welsh Football League Division One2nd
98/99League of Wales14th
99/00League of Wales10th
00/01League of Wales11th
01/02League of Wales5th
02/03Welsh Premier League7th
03/04Welsh Premier League14th
04/05Welsh Premier League18th
05/06Welsh Football League Division One7th
06/07Welsh Football League Division One5th
07/08Welsh Football League Division One6th
08/09Welsh Football League Division One7th
09/10Welsh Football League Division One3rd
10/11Welsh Football League Division One2nd
11/12Welsh Premier League10th
12/13Welsh Premier League12th
13/14Welsh Premier League12th
14/15Welsh Football League Division One13th
15/16Welsh Football League Division One8th
16/17Welsh Football League Division One8th
17/18Welsh Football League Division One5th
18/19Welsh Football League Division One4th
19/20Welsh Football League Division One10th
21/22JD Cymru South10th
22/23JD Cymru South6th
23/24JD Cymru South7th
24/25JD Cymru South11th

Staff

  • Director of Football: Mark Robinson
  • Manager: Garry Taylor
  • Coach: Gary Isaac
  • Goalkeeping coach: Gareth Couch
  • Physio: Leighton Jones

Stadium

They play at the Lido Ground, currently known as the Marston's Stadium for sponsorship purposes. It's located in Aberavon, Neath Port Talbot and has a capacity of 4,200.

Rivalries

Afan Lido's main rivals are Port Talbot Town, who are based less than half a mile away from Afan Lido's ground.
However over recent years with Port Talbot Town dropping out of the league, a strong rivalry has formed with 3 other Port Talbot based teams playing in the JD Cymru South. Baglan Dragons, Trefelin and Goytre United have all filled the rivalry gap left by Port Talbot Town in recent years.

Honours

Welsh League Cup winners : 1992/93, 1993/94, 2011/12Welsh Football League Cup winners : 2006/07, 2008/09
2018/19

Biggest victories and losses

Managers