Glasshoughton Welfare FC is a non-league football club from the former pit village which borders Castleford in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The club was formed in 1964, originally as a works team competing in the Castleford Sunday League as Anson Sports.
In 1974 the club moved to the Glasshoughton Colliery Sports Ground while adopting their current name. The change of venues allowed the club to start playing Saturday football as members of the West Yorkshire League before joining the Northern Counties East League in 1985.
Glasshoughton were placed in Division Three before it was condensed into Division Two for the 1986-87 campaign before Welfare won promotion to Division One in 1989-90. The competition was reorganised a year later with two sections. 'The Hoops' moved into the Premier Division.
In April 2007 the club signed former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, a local resident, for a one-off appearance which it was hoped would raise significant funds to alleviate the club's financial difficulties. Grobbelaar played the full ninety minutes and was just six minutes away from keeping a clean sheet!
In 1974 the club moved to the Glasshoughton Colliery Sports Ground while adopting their current name. The change of venues allowed the club to start playing Saturday football as members of the West Yorkshire League before joining the Northern Counties East League in 1985.
Glasshoughton were placed in Division Three before it was condensed into Division Two for the 1986-87 campaign before Welfare won promotion to Division One in 1989-90. The competition was reorganised a year later with two sections. 'The Hoops' moved into the Premier Division.
Welfare had enjoyed a decent spell in the Premier Division, but were relegated at the end of the 2007-08 season. The following season was even tougher as the team finished bottom of Division One with a poor record with Wayne Day as manager. Thankfully they retained their position in the league.
The following season, Craig Elliott was appointed just a couple of weeks before the first game and he steadied the ship before leading his side went on to finish as runners up and promotion in the 2011-12 season, before he resigned to take the managers job at Ossett Town.
The team retained their Premier Division status until they were relegated in 2014-15 as joint-managers Simon Houghton and Craig Wilkinson took over at Leeds Road before being replaced by the duo of Darren Holmes and Lee Vigars in June 2016.
Welfare reached the play-offs in 2017-18, where they lost to Grimsby Borough in the semi-finals before following it up with an eleventh place Division One finish in 2018-19. The team were in seventh spot when the 2019-20 season was abandoned following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glasshoughton Welfare FC will play in the Northern Counties East League Division One in the 2020-21 season.
My visit
The team retained their Premier Division status until they were relegated in 2014-15 as joint-managers Simon Houghton and Craig Wilkinson took over at Leeds Road before being replaced by the duo of Darren Holmes and Lee Vigars in June 2016.
Welfare reached the play-offs in 2017-18, where they lost to Grimsby Borough in the semi-finals before following it up with an eleventh place Division One finish in 2018-19. The team were in seventh spot when the 2019-20 season was abandoned following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Glasshoughton Welfare FC will play in the Northern Counties East League Division One in the 2020-21 season.
My visit
Glasshoughton Welfare 0 Scarborough Athletic 2 (Tuesday 16th September 2008) NCEL Division One (att: 231)
After finishing a set of night shifts at work I travelled up to this game by train and stayed the evening in Leeds. On my way to Glasshoughton I took the train and called in at the homes of Wakefield FC and Pontefract Collieries FC.
The bus from Pontefract took me past the Racecourse to Front Street in Glasshoughton where I immediately got stuck into some cracking fish and chips, washed down by a few pints of Tetleys.
I bumped into a couple who lived locally but were wearing Boro shirts and had a drink with them before I went off in search of my pals Chewy and Butch who were travelling from work in Leeds. We decided to go into the ground and use the clubhouse.
Leeds Road was a tidy little ground. There was just some flat standing along the clubhouse side which also contained the changing rooms. The clubhouse and offices were in a brand new attractive building.
To the right there was just a thin path between the goal and perimeter wall. Opposite was a small seated stand with flat concrete standing and grass banks. The Leeds Road End goal had a small covered terraced stand behind the goal.
The game was quite frustrating as a Seadog. Our opponents were bottom of the league and with Boro in top form we presumptuously expected a rout. Welfare had just changed managers and the new boss Wayne Day had brought in some new signings who were doing a good job.
It was the hosts who nearly took the lead half way through the first half when Dave Bramley was forced into a good save to deny James Hicks. Ryan Blott fired over when well placed for Boro as the interval approached.
John Coppinger missed a guilt edged chance for Welfare shortly after the restart I stood with Fred Forman who knew the home team keeper Jody Barford from playing small sided football against him in Hull.
He was having a fine evening before Boro eventually broke through in the second half through when Blott smashed home a pass from Graham Botham. A second goal came thirteen minutes from full time when Scott Phillips converted a penalty after a Blott shot was saved and Rich Medcalf was brought down by Barford as he tried to get to the rebound.
The remainder of the game was relatively easy for Boro as they saw out a victory which put them top of the table after other results went their way. It was job done in very wet conditions, hence the dodgy quality of my photography!
To the right there was just a thin path between the goal and perimeter wall. Opposite was a small seated stand with flat concrete standing and grass banks. The Leeds Road End goal had a small covered terraced stand behind the goal.
The game was quite frustrating as a Seadog. Our opponents were bottom of the league and with Boro in top form we presumptuously expected a rout. Welfare had just changed managers and the new boss Wayne Day had brought in some new signings who were doing a good job.
It was the hosts who nearly took the lead half way through the first half when Dave Bramley was forced into a good save to deny James Hicks. Ryan Blott fired over when well placed for Boro as the interval approached.
John Coppinger missed a guilt edged chance for Welfare shortly after the restart I stood with Fred Forman who knew the home team keeper Jody Barford from playing small sided football against him in Hull.
He was having a fine evening before Boro eventually broke through in the second half through when Blott smashed home a pass from Graham Botham. A second goal came thirteen minutes from full time when Scott Phillips converted a penalty after a Blott shot was saved and Rich Medcalf was brought down by Barford as he tried to get to the rebound.
The remainder of the game was relatively easy for Boro as they saw out a victory which put them top of the table after other results went their way. It was job done in very wet conditions, hence the dodgy quality of my photography!
We adjourned to the clubhouse after the game for a couple of beers before Chewy kindly dropped me off outside my digs in Leeds, and rather more conveniently next to the Scarbrough Taps for some celebratory Tetleys which continued with a mini pub crawl and take away.
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