An A-Z of North West Counties Football League clubs

As many people will be aware, the opening day of this season saw the 25th Anniversary of the start of the North West Counties Football League.

It goes without saying that many clubs have passed through the league in the past 25 years, be they on the way to a higher level, obscurity or total oblivion.

But how many clubs have actually played in the League? Which clubs have been continuous members since day 1? Which club has been in the league since day 1, apart from dropping out for just one season before coming back? Which current Football League club was a founder member of the League in 1982 (a good quiz question that one)?

If you have ever wondered what the answers are to these questions, you need to find something better to occupy your time (only kidding). In the meantime, thanks to North West Side Stories, you can find the answers to these and many other questions for yourself.

Over the summer months, League Development Officer Geoff Wilkinson and League Vice-President Mike Darby spent a series of evenings working to produce a list that shows every club that has competed in the league since 1982, and the relevant seasons. Those guys need to get out more.

Anyway, thanks to Mike and Geoff’s efforts, stattos everywhere can now benefit from their work and immerse themselves in NWCFL nostalgia – simply by clicking on the link at the side of this page. This link takes you to a spreadsheet showing the clubs and the seasons they competed.

A couple of points to mention on this. There have been a number of clubs who have changed their names from one season to the next, and to avoid confusion each of these club names has been listed separately, such as Daisy Hill and Westhoughton Town, Oldham Dew and Oldham Town, and so on.

Click the link and hopefully an Excel spreadsheet will open in a new window on your PC. From there, enjoy a look back at the long list of names, all of whom have played their part in contributing to the league competitions we enjoy to this day.

Incidentally, if anyone has trouble opening or viewing the spreadsheet, e-mail me at ian@nwsidestories.co.uk and I’ll send it to you in an alternative format.

The Vodkat League on-line magazine