Ashington Association Football Club is a football club based in Ashington, Northumberland, England. They are currently members of the and play at Woodhorn Lane.
Formed in 1883, the club have played in a number of local and regional leagues, including the Northern Alliance, the East Northumberland League, the North Eastern League, the Midland League, Wearside League and the North Regional League. They were a founding member of the Football League Third Division North in 1921 and are the northernmost team to have played in the Football League. The club were later founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968 and have been in the Northern League since 1970.
History
The club was established in 1883 and began entering the FA Cup in 1887.Brief History Ashington A.F.C. They joined the Northern Alliance at the start of the 1892–93 season when the league was expanded to twelve clubs. However, the league was reduced to ten club the following season, and as they had finished in the bottom two, Ashington were asked to leave. The club then ceased activities, but were brought back following a large meeting, joining the East Northumberland League in 1895. They went on to win the league title in 1897–98.
Ashington applied to rejoin the Northern Alliance in 1901, but were rejected. However, the following season they were elected back into the league, finishing second in the vote to admit three clubs. They won the league in 1913–14 and moved up to the North Eastern League. When football resumed after World War I the club rejoined the North Eastern League, where they remained until being elected into the new Third Division North of the Football League in 1921. After all the applications had been considered by the League, Ashington were one of fourteen clubs marked out for admission in a single bloc, which they duly were.A history of admission to the Football League Non-League Matters In 1926–27 the club recorded its best performance in the FA Cup, reaching the third round, where they lost 2–0 at home to Nottingham Forest. After finishing bottom of the division in 1928–29 the club lost their bid for re-election, receiving only 14 votes to the 24 received by non-League York City.
Ashington subsequently dropped into Division Two of the North Eastern League as Division One had no spaces.North Eastern League Ashington A.F.C. With only two clubs eligible for promotion, Ashington appeared to have missed out after finishing third. However, runners-up White-le-Head declined the opportunity of promotion, allowing Ashington to move up to Division One. Five years later the league was reduced to a single division, where they remained until the league folded in 1958 due to the resignation of the Football League clubs' reserve teams, unsuccessfully applying for election to the Football League in 1947 (when no vote took place) and 1950 (when they received no votes).
Alongside several other former North Eastern League clubs, Ashington switched to the Midland League. In 1960 they were founder members of the Northern Counties League, finishing as runners-up in its first season. The North Eastern League was re-established in 1962, but lasted only two seasons. Ashington spent the 1964–65 season in the Wearside League before joining the North Regional League, which was largely composed of Football League reserve teams. They remained in the league for three seasons, before becoming founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968. In the first season of the league, the club finished third-from-bottom and resigned due to the costs of being in the league. They spent a single season back in the Northern Alliance, before joining the Northern League in 1970. In 1973–74 they reached the semi-finals of the last-ever FA Amateur Cup, losing 3–0 to eventual winners Bishop's Stortford in a replay.
In 1981 a second division was added to the league, with Ashington remaining in Division One. However, after finishing second-from-bottom in 1983–84 they were relegated to Division Two. In 2000–01 they won Division Two, earning promotion to Division One. However, they spent only a single season in Division One before being relegated back to Division Two. After finishing fifth in 2002–03, they won Division Two again in 2003–04 and were promoted back to Division One. In 2012–13 they won the Northumberland Senior Cup for the tenth time with a 3–0 win over Whitley Bay. The 2022–23 season saw the club finish second in Division One, qualifying for an inter-step play-off. They went on to defeat Glossop North End 3–0 in the match to earn promotion to Division One East of the Northern Premier League.
Season-by-season SeasonLeaguePositionSignificant events1892–93Northern Alliance11/121895–96East Northumberland League 1896–97East Northumberland League 1897–98East Northumberland League1Champions1898–99East Northumberland League 1899–1900East Northumberland League 1900–01East Northumberland League 1901–02East Northumberland League 1902–03Northern Alliance13/141903–04Northern Alliance7/151904–05Northern Alliance6/151905–06Northern Alliance2/161906–07Northern Alliance5/131907–08Northern Alliance6/161908–09Northern Alliance6/151909–10Northern Alliance5/151910–11Northern Alliance2/161911–12Northern Alliance2/161912–13Northern Alliance5/171913–14Northern Alliance1/16Champions1914–15North Eastern League9/201919–20North Eastern League7/181920–21North Eastern League9/20Elected to the Football League1921–22Football League Third Division North10/201922–23Football League Third Division North19/201923–24Football League Third Division North8/221924–25Football League Third Division North10/221925–26Football League Third Division North9/221926–27Football League Third Division North16/221927–28Football League Third Division North18/221928–29Football League Third Division North22/22Not re-elected1929–30North Eastern League Division Two3/15Promoted1930–31North Eastern League Division One18/221931–32North Eastern League Division One15/221932–33North Eastern League Division One14/201933–34North Eastern League Division One13/201934–35North Eastern League Division One16/20League reduced to a single division1935–36North Eastern League18/201936–37North Eastern League7/201937–38North Eastern League7/201938–39North Eastern League7/201947–48North Eastern League9/201948–49North Eastern League7/201949–50North Eastern League15/201950–51North Eastern League8/201951–52North Eastern League5/181952–53North Eastern League10/181953–54North Eastern League15/181954–55North Eastern League13/181955–56North Eastern League3/181956–57North Eastern League4/181957–58North Eastern League3/18League folded at end of season1958–59Midland League2/191959–60Midland League3/17Switched to Northern Counties League1960–61Northern Counties League2/101961–62Northern Counties League3/13League renamed North Eastern League1962–63North Eastern League5/121963–64North Eastern League3/8League folded at end of season1964–65Wearside League2/201965–66North Regional League6/171966–67North Regional League4/111967–68North Regional League5/91968–69Northern Premier League18/20Left league1969–70Northern Alliance3/121970–71Northern League11/201971–72Northern League18/201972–73Northern League9/201973–74Northern League8/201974–75Northern League9/191975–76Northern League7/201976–77Northern League9/201977–78Northern League15/201978–79Northern League3/201979–80Northern League4/201980–81Northern League5/201981–82Northern League18/201982–83Northern League Division One16/191983–84Northern League Division One17/18Relegated1984–85Northern League Division Two10/181985–86Northern League Division Two8/201986–87Northern League Division Two10/191987–88Northern League Division Two15/181988–89Northern League Division Two5/201989–90Northern League Division Two13/201990–91Northern League Division Two12/191991–92Northern League Division Two12/201992–93Northern League Division Two8/201993–94Northern League Division Two17/191994–95Northern League Division Two7/201995–96Northern League Division Two6/191996–97Northern League Division Two4/191997–98Northern League Division Two5/191998–99Northern League Division Two11/191999–2000Northern League Division Two9/192000–01Northern League Division Two1/19Champions, promoted2001–02Northern League Division One19/21Relegated2002–03Northern League Division Two5/202003–04Northern League Division Two1/20Champions, promoted2004–05Northern League Division One10/212005–06Northern League Division One16/212006–07Northern League Division One19/222007–08Northern League Division One17/222008–09Northern League Division One16/222009–10Northern League Division One6/222010–11Northern League Division One8/222011–12Northern League Division One5/222012–13Northern League Division One7/242013–14Northern League Division One6/232014–15Northern League Division One13/222015–16Northern League Division One12/222016–17Northern League Division One16/222017–18Northern League Division One12/222018–19Northern League Division One16/182019–20Northern League Division One–Season abandoned2020–21Northern League Division One–Season abandoned2021–22Northern League Division One8/202022–23Northern League Division One2/20Promoted by playoff2023–24Northern Premier League Division One East14/202024–25Northern Premier League Division One East16/22Source: Football Club History Database, Blyth News and Ashington Post,"North Eastern League 'B' Division", Blyth News and Ashington Post, 5 May 1930"Northern Football Alliance Final League Table" Blyth News and Ashington Post, 5 May 1905"Northern Football Alliance Final League Table" Blyth News and Ashington Post, 21 May 1970 Non-League MattersWearside League 1960-1988 Non-League MattersNorthern Alliance 1890-1915 Non-League MattersNorthern Alliance 1960-1979 Non-League Matters
Colours and crest Ashington's colours are black and white vertical stripes, used on the shirt and paired with black shorts and black socks for home matches. While away, they use an all light blue shirt and socks with white shorts.
The Ashington AFC badge has two lions flanking a badge with a stylised AFC logo, with a football between the legs of the A.
Ground Ashington moved a new ground named Station Road in 1909, which was renamed Portland Park in 1914.Paul Smith & Shirley Smith (2005) The Ultimate Directory of English & Scottish Football League Grounds Second Edition 1888–2005, Yore Publications, p103, They played at Portland Park during their Football League years, with the club's first Football League match attracting a crowd of 9,000. They remained at Portland Park after dropping out of the league, with the club's record attendance of 13,199 coming for an FA Cup second round tie with Rochdale on 9 December 1950.
In 2008 the club left Portland Park to move to Woodhorn Lane. The final match was played at the old ground in February 2008 against Seaham Red Star, attracting a crowd of 1,954. The first game at Woodhorn Lane took place on 30 August 2008 against Ossett Albion, with 341 spectators watching a 2–1 win for Ashington in an FA Cup preliminary round game. A Short History of Ashington AFC Ashington A.F.C.
Honours Northern League Division Two champions 2000–01, 2003–04 Ernest Armstrong Memorial Cup winners 1998–99, 2002–03 Division One Cup 2021–22 Northern Alliance Champions 1913–14 East Northumberland League Champions 1897–98 Northumberland Senior Cup Winners 1920–21, 1932–33, 1938–39, 1949–50, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1961–62, 1966–67, 1979–80, 2012–13
Records Best FA Amateur Cup performance: Semi-finals, 1973–74 Best FA Cup performance: Third round, 1926–27 Best FA Trophy performance: second round 1979–80, 1980–81, 1982–83 Best FA Vase performance: Fifth round, 2011–12 Record attendance: At Portland Park: 13,199 vs Rochdale, FA Cup second round, 9 December 1950 At Woodhorn Lane: 1,488 vs Blyth Spartans, Northern Premier League Division One East, 26 December 2025
See also
References
External links Official website