Pontypridd F.C.
Full name | Pontypridd Football Club |
---|---|
Founded | 2018 |
Ground | Maritime Recreation Ground |
Chairman | Nigel Wheeler |
Manager | Ryan Wheeler |
League | Taff Ely & Rhymney Valley Football League |
Website | Club website |
Pontypridd F.C. is an amateur Welsh football team based in Pontypridd, formed in 2018 and inspired by the former professional club Pontypridd AFC that existed between 1911 and 1926.[1] The club was reformed in May 2018 by former members of the Pontypridd Town reserve team.[2]
History of Pontypridd AFC[]
Pontypridd AFC (known also as "The Dragons") was founded as a professional football club in 1911 to "promote first class association football in the Pontypridd District".[3] The club were based at Taff Vale Park[4] in the nearby community Trefforest. Pontypridd AFC played in the Southern League between 1911 and 1926.[5] The club also played in the Welsh League and were champions in the 1923–24 season. Pontypridd AFC were Welsh Cup finalists in 1912, 1913 and 1921.[6] The Dragons won the South Wales FA Senior Cup in 1925.[7]
The Reformed Club[]
At the end of the 2017/18 season the players and coaches of Pontypridd Town reserves decided to form their own club based in the town. There were several reasons for the split,[8] including frustrations at being unable to progress further up the Welsh football pyramid as a reserve team, lack of opportunities for the players to progress within the Pontypridd Town set-up and a desire to keep a football club representing Pontypridd in the town following Pontypridd Town's move to Cardiff[9] (and later Aberdare[10]).
Pontypridd FC currently play in the Taff Ely Rhymney Valley League[11] and play their home matches at the Maritime Recreation Ground, a 3G pitch on the site of the former Pontypridd/Maritime Colliery though they are due to move to the vacant Ynysangharad Park for the 2021–22 season with Pontypridd Town due to make their home at the USW fields a permanent one.
League Record[]
Season | Pyramid Tier | League | Final position |
---|---|---|---|
2018-19 | 9 | Taff Ely Rhymney Valley Football League Division One | 6th |
References[]
- ^ Daryl Leeworthy (2013). ‘The Dragons of the North: Working-Class Culture, the Miners' Lockout, and the Development of Rugby League in South Wales, 1926–31’. In ‘’Sport in History’’, vol. 33, issue 1, 2013. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17460263.2013.763284#abstract.
- ^ "Pontypriddfc.com - who are we and what are our ambitions?".
- ^ "-i Association Football at ! Pontypridd. I|1911-05-27|The Rhondda Leader – Welsh Newspapers Online – the National Library of Wales".
- ^ "-i Association Football at ! Pontypridd. I|1911-05-27|The Rhondda Leader – Welsh Newspapers Online – the National Library of Wales".
- ^ "Football Club History Database – Pontypridd".
- ^ "Football Club History Database – Pontypridd".
- ^ "South Wales FA Senior Cup previous winners".
- ^ "Pontypriddfc.com - who are we and what are our ambitions?".
- ^ "Pontypridd Town to move to Leckwith after successful Tier Two Licence appeal".
- ^ "Pontypridd Town set for fourth home ground in four years after move from Leckwith Stadium".
- ^ "Taff Ely Rhymney Valley League".
- Defunct football clubs in Wales
- Welsh football club stubs