Gornal Athletic F.C.

History

The club was established in 1945 under the name Lower Gornal Athletic. They joined the Worcestershire Combination. They finished bottom of the league in 1954–55. In 1963, the club transferred to the West Midlands (Regional) League, although their reserve team remained in Division Two of the Worcestershire Combination. When the West Midlands (Regional) League gained a second division in 1965, the club became members of the Premier Division.

In 1972, the club were renamed Gornal Athletic. Although they finished bottom of the Premier Division in 1978–79, they avoided being relegated. However, the 1979–80 season saw them finish second-from-bottom of the division, resulting in relegation to Division One. The club were Division One runners-up in 1983–84, and after finishing as runners-up again in 1993–94, they were promoted back to the Premier Division.

Gornal Athletic finished bottom of the Premier Division in 2002–03 and were relegated to Division One South. However, they won the division at the first attempt, earning an immediate promotion back to the Premier Division. They went on to finish second in the Premier Division in 2005–06. The club were Premier Division champions in 2011–12 and were promoted to the Midland Alliance. However, they were relegated back to the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division at the end of the 2013–14 season. In 2016–17, they finished bottom of the Premier Division and were relegated to Division One. In 2023–24, Gornal were runners-up in Division One of the West Midlands (Regional) League, earning promotion to Division One of the Midland League.

Honours

• West Midlands (Regional) League
  • Premier Division champions 2011–12
  • Division One South champions 2003–04
• Worcestershire Junior Cup
  • Winners 1962–63

Records

• Best FA Cup performance: Third qualifying round, 1975–76
• Best FA Trophy performance: Third qualifying round, 1971–72
• Best FA Vase performance: Quarter-finals, 2012–13
• Record transfer fee received: £2,100 from Cardiff City for George Andrews and Gary Bell, 1965–66

References

References

1. Mike Williams & Tony Williams (2012) ''Non-League Club Directory 2013'', p706 {{ISBN. 978-1-869833-77-0
2. [http://nonleaguematters.co.uk/nlmnet/Regs_2_M/WorCom50.html Worcestershire Combination 1950–1968] Non-League Matters
3. {{fchd
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5. [http://worcesterleague.com/downloads/WFAHandbook.pdf Handbook] {{Webarchive. link. (27 October 2020 Worcestershire FA)
6. [http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/gornalathleticfc/a/gornal-athletic-history-so-far-47165.html Gornal Athletic History SO FAR!] Gornal Athletic F.C.