View source for Afan Lido F.C.

{{short description|Association football club in Wales}}
{{more citations needed|date=December 2018}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox football club 
| nickname = 
| clubname = Afan Lido 
| image    = Afan Lido FC.svg
| upright = 0.8
| fullname = Afan Lido Football Club 
| founded  = {{start date and age|1967}}
| chairman = Leigh Shrimpton
| manager  = 
| league     = {{Welsh football updater|AfanLdo}}
| season     = {{Welsh football updater|AfanLdo2}}
| position   = {{Welsh football updater|AfanLdo3}}
| ground   = [[Marston Stadium]]<ref name="Martson">{{cite news |title=The Marston Stadium |url=http://www.afanlidofc.com/afan/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74&Itemid=61 |publisher=Afan Lido F.C.  |access-date=24 April 2011 }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><br />[[Aberavon]]
| capacity = 4,200 (701 seated) 
| pattern_la1=
| pattern_la2=
| pattern_b2 = _blackstripeonright
| pattern_ra2 = _blackshoulders
| pattern_sh1 = _yellow_bottom
| pattern_sh2 = 
| leftarm1 = FF0000
| leftarm2 = FFFFFF
| body1 = FF0000
| body2 = FFFFFF
| rightarm1 = FF0000
| rightarm2 = FFFFFF
| shorts1 = FF0000
| shorts2 = FFFFFF
| socks1 = FF0000
| socks2 = FFFFFF
| pattern_b1 = _denh06
}}

'''Afan Lido Football Club''' ({{langx|cy|Clwb Pêl-droed Lido Afan }}) is a [[association football|football]] team based in [[Port Talbot]], Wales, playing in the {{Welsh football updater|AfanLdo}}.

==History==
Afan Lido F.C. were founded in 1967 shortly after the opening of the Afan Lido Sports Centre in Aberavon.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Club History – Afan Lido Football Club |url=https://afanlido.com/club-information/club-history/ |access-date=2024-10-16 |language=en-GB}}</ref> 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 Football League|Port Talbot and District League]] for the 1967–68 season. In 1971–72 the club was accepted into the [[Welsh Football League]],<ref name=":0" /> and two years later was promoted into the First Division (afterwards the [[Welsh Football League Division Two|Second Division]]), and another two years later they were promoted again into the Premier Division (afterwards the [[Welsh Football League Division One|First 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 (they had actually won the Premier Division the two previous seasons, but not been promoted because of the ground criteria set by the League).

Afan Lido became founder members of the [[Welsh Premier League|League of Wales]] in [[1992–93 League of Wales|1992]], and won the [[Welsh League Cup|League Cup]] in 1992–93 and 1993–94. The [[1994–95 League of Wales|next year]] the porous defence was addressed, and the team finished in second place in the League, winning a [[1995–96 UEFA Cup|UEFA Cup]] place, but they were defeated by [[RAF Jelgava|RAF Yelgava]] of Latvia on the away-goals rule. This was a taste of things to come, and Afan Lido were [[1995–96 League of Wales|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 (which has 25 teams for all age groups, from under 5s upwards) paid off, when they finished 5th place in [[2001–02 League of Wales|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 [[2004–05 Welsh Premier League|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 [[Cefn Druids A.F.C.|NEWI Cefn Druids]], which sealed their fate.

In [[2010–11 Welsh Football League Division One|2011]] Lido secured a return to the Welsh Premier and [[2011–12 Welsh Premier League|their first season]] in the top flight saw the club survive the drop. The club also [[2011–12 Welsh League Cup|won]] the Welsh Premier League Cup, defeating [[Newtown A.F.C.|Newtown]] on penalties at [[Aberystwyth]].

Off-field issues surfaced the [[2012–13 Welsh Premier League|following season]], however, and Lido had to assemble an all-new squad under the guidance of [[Paul Reid (footballer, born 1968)|Paul Reid]]. The club finished bottom of the Welsh Premier, but survived relegation due to the demise of [[Llanelli Town A.F.C.|Llanelli]] and the inability of [[Haverfordwest County A.F.C.|Haverfordwest County]] to finish in a promotion spot in [[Welsh Football League Division One|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 Welsh Football League Division One|2016–17 season]], the club found themselves in the same division as town rivals [[Port Talbot Town F.C.|Port Talbot]].



{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Season
!League
!Position
|-
|92/93
|League of Wales 
|12th
|-
|93/94
|League of Wales 
|15th
|-
|94/95
|League of Wales 
|2nd
|-
|95/96
|League of Wales 
|20th (R)
|-
|96/97
|Welsh Football League Division One 
|6th
|-
|97/98
|Welsh Football League Division One 
|2nd (P)
|-
|98/99
|League of Wales
|14th
|-
|99/00
|League of Wales
|10th
|-
|00/01
|League of Wales 
|11th
|-
|01/02
|League of Wales 
|5th
|-
|02/03
|Welsh Premier League
|7th
|-
|03/04
|Welsh Premier League 
|14th
|-
|04/05
|Welsh Premier League 
|18th (R)
|-
|05/06
|Welsh Football League Division One
|7th
|-
|06/07
|Welsh Football League Division One
|5th
|-
|07/08
|Welsh Football League Division One
|6th
|-
|08/09
|Welsh Football League Division One
|7th
|-
|09/10
|Welsh Football League Division One
|3rd
|-
|10/11
|Welsh Football League Division One
|2nd (P)
|-
|11/12
|Welsh Premier League
|10th
|-
|12/13
|Welsh Premier League
|12th
|-
|13/14
|Welsh Premier League
|12th (R)
|-
|14/15
|Welsh Football League Division One
|13th
|-
|15/16
|Welsh Football League Division One
|8th
|-
|16/17
|Welsh Football League Division One
|8th
|-
|17/18
|Welsh Football League Division One
|5th
|-
|18/19
|Welsh Football League Division One
|4th
|-
|19/20
|Welsh Football League Division One
|10th
|-
|21/22
|JD Cymru South
|10th
|-
|22/23
|JD Cymru South
|6th
|-
|23/24
|JD Cymru South
|7th
|-
|24/25
|JD Cymru South
|11th
|}

==Current squad==
:''As of 15th January 2025.''<ref name="AL-squad">{{cite news
 |title=Roster&nbsp;– Afan Lido [Afa] 
 |url=http://afanlidofc.com/index.php?option=com_joomleague&view=roster&p=2:wpl&tid=1:afan-lido&Itemid=119
 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130116105040/http://afanlidofc.com/index.php?option=com_joomleague&view=roster&p=2:wpl&tid=1:afan-lido&Itemid=119
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-date=16 January 2013
 |publisher=Afan Lido FC 
 |access-date=19 August 2011 
}}</ref>
{{Fs start}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=GK|name=Ben Haines}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=GK|name=Ryan Clarke}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=DF|name=Jackson Hall}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=DF|name=Lee Surman}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=DF|name=Jak Carson}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=DF|name=Lewin Williams}}
{{fs player|other=|no=|nat=Portugal|pos=DF|name=Carlos Indjai}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Cory Woods}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=England|pos=MF|name=Johden De Mayer}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Morgan Andrews}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Liam McCreesh}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Ioan Evans}}

{{Fs mid}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Sacha Walters}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Benjamin Parry}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Brad Flay}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Dylan Williams}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=MF|name=Sean Hanbury}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=Faw|name=Jordan Langley}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=FW|name=Lewis Reed}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=FW|name=Liam Griffiths}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=FW|name=Joshua Webber}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=Wales|pos=FW|name=Brandon Roberts}}
{{Fs end}}

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

==Stadium==
{{main article|Lido Ground}}
They play at the Lido Ground, currently known as the [[Marston's Brewery|Marston's]] Stadium for sponsorship purposes. It's located in [[Aberavon]], [[Neath Port Talbot]] and has a capacity of 4,200 (601 seated).

==Rivalries==
Afan Lido's main rivals are [[Port Talbot Town F.C.|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 (3):''' 1992/93, 1993/94, [[2011–12 Welsh League Cup|2011/12]]
* '''[[Welsh Football League Cup]] winners (2):''' 2006/07, 2008/09
* [[U16’s Neath Port Talbot league Cup]] Winners 
2018/19

==Biggest victories and losses==
*Biggest win: 9–1 v. [[Dinas Powys F.C.|Dinas Powys]] in 2010.
*Biggest defeat: 1–8 v. [[Connah's Quay Nomads F.C.|Connah's Quay Nomads]] in 2014.
*Biggest League of Wales win: 6–0 v. [[Abergavenny Thursdays F.C.|Abergavenny Thursdays]] in 1993.
*Biggest League of Wales defeat: 0–6 v. [[Barry Town United F.C.|Barry Town]] in 1995.

==Managers==
* Phil Robinson / David Rees (1992–93)
* [[Dai Rees]] (1993–94)
* [[Nigel Rees (footballer)|Nigel Rees]] (1994–96)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Mark Robinson (1998–06)
* Phil Holmes / Paul Evans (2006–09)
* Craig Duggan (2009–10)
* Kim Bowley (2010–11)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Andrew Dyer (1 July 2011 – 30 June 2012)
*{{flagicon|England}} [[Paul Reid (footballer, born 1968)|Paul Reid]] (2012–13)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Paul Evans (1 July 2013–2014)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Stephen Llewellyn (2014–2015)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Mark Robinson (2015– 2016)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Liam McCreesh (2016–2017)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Wayne Davies (2017–2018)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} [[Andrew Mumford (Footballer)|Andrew Mumford]] (2018–2019)
*{{flagicon|Wales}} Paul Evans (2019–2024)
<ref>{{cite news
 |title=Mark Jenkins moves on 
 |url=http://afanlido.com/2019/08/08/mark-jenkins-moves-on/ 
 |publisher=Afan Lido FC 
 |access-date=10 August 2019 
}}
</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://afanlido.com/ Official club website]
*[http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/afanlidofootballclub Old website]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101009074716/http://afanlidoreds.webs.com/ Unofficial fansite]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080724105350/http://www.afanlidodragons.co.uk/ Official disability club website]

{{FAW Championship South & Mid}}
{{Welsh Football League Division One}}
{{Welsh Premier League}}

[[Category:Football clubs in Wales]]
[[Category:Sport in Port Talbot]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1967]]
[[Category:Cymru Premier clubs]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Welsh Football League clubs]]
[[Category:Cymru South clubs]]
[[Category:Port Talbot Football League clubs]]