Askern Miners

Askern Miners FC is a non-league football club from the former mining village of Askern, which is located a few miles northwest of Doncaster in South Yorkshire. Like many other clubs in the region, they have a complicated past, not helped by local economics.

The club was originally formed in 1924 as Askern Welfare FC, playing their football in local competitions. The Doncaster & District Senior League title was lifted in 1966-67 before they ended as runners-up in 1991-92.

Welfare joined the Central Midlands League as members of the Premier Division, winning promotion to the Supreme Division in 2000-01. A demotion followed in 2004-05, before a runners-up place in 2005-06 saw Askern return to the top tier of the competition.

The team won the Supreme Division title in 2007-08. Leading to promotion to Division One of the Northern Counties East League. To mark the occasion the club changed their name to the grander Askern Villa.

A third place in their debut 2008-09 campaign saw the team narrowly miss out on promotion, prior to a series of much needed ground improvements taking place from 2011 at the Welfare Ground.

However, it was to no avail as Villa continued to fight difficulty. This led to the team finishing bottom of the table in 2012-13 and suffering relegation to the Central Midlands League. The club changed its title to Askern FC following the demotion.

Askern Welfare Club, home of the football club

The clubs highest placing on their return to the Central Midlands North Division came in 2015-16 when they ended in sixth place. In 2020, during the enforced break owing to the Covid-19 pandemic the club changed their name to Askern Welfare and dropped down to the Doncaster Saturday League.

It looked like the club’s former status might be restored in May 2022 as FC Humber United, members of Northern Counties East League Division One, required a permanent home ground. A merger was announced between the two clubs.

The Welfare Ground, following improvements

Perhaps because of the previous record of FC Humber United’s owner, Jamie Waltham, the FA Leagues Committee reversed the decision and stopped the merger going through. Askern joined the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior Football League instead.

Despite a promising runners-up place in Division Two of the competition in 2022-23, the club decided to revert the Doncaster Saturday League where they were placed in Division One.

Askern Welfare FC will play in the Doncaster Saturday League Division One in the 2023-24 season.

My visit

Askern Villa 0 Scarborough Athletic 3 (Saturday 28th December 2008) Northern Counties East League Division One (att: 380)

I made the journey north from Kings Cross not quite sure what I'd find on my arrival. The bus took me out into the country and through a few villages before going past a field with a football pitch and a small shelter. Surely that was not my destination? I stayed on and got off in the village centre.

Askern is an old mining village about eight miles north east from Doncaster. It is not the most picturesque of places. the pubs along the walk to the ground were extremely rough and ready, but vibrant. I'd hoped to find real ale but there was none in any of the places I checked out.

The Welfare Club at the ground was very welcoming and well appointed. As it was the Saturday between Christmas and New Year 2008, the warm surroundings were most welcome on a very cold afternoon.

On leaving the bar there was a walk of about a hundred metres to the grounds entrance. Some tightwads were walking round the back of the cricket ground and sneaking through a fence to gain free admission. 

Apart from a small covered shelter on the far side for perhaps fifty fans, the rest of the ground was open to the elements with just a thin concrete path surrounding the metal rail fence around the pitch. 

It is fair to say that the Welfare Ground, Askern is not the best ground I have ever visited. I stood with my mates including big Karl, who was not exactly impressed by the catering and the walk to find it!

The game itself was a very tight affair. Scarborough Athletic were top of the league with Askern needing to win to close the gap. The home side perhaps had the better of the play before they totally lost their discipline. Boro ended up winning with a rather flattering 3-0 score line, while the hosts ended up with just eight men on the pitch.

Askern eventually finished third in the Northern Counties East League Division One but would have missed out on promotion if they'd finished runners up owing to the lack of development at the Welfare Ground. 

Money was extremely tight at the club with the players performing without any remuneration. Hopefully they will one day raise some money to develop the ground so the team can deservedly progress. Boro Chairman Simon Cope very kindly gave me a ride back to Doncaster station after a couple of drinks and a thaw out in the clubhouse. 

A couple of the locals were hardly complimentary towards the referee. It wasn't him who lost his head! I was glad to get back on the train back south. I was starting to suffer with the cold and wanted my bed.