 | ||||
| Full name | Newport County Association Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Exiles, The Ironsides, The Port, The Black and Ambers | |||
| Short name | County | |||
| Founded | 1912 (founded) June 1989 (reformed) | |||
| Ground | Rodney Parade | |||
| Capacity | 7,850 | |||
| Coordinates | 51°35′18″N 2°59′18″W / 51.588332°N 2.988207°W | |||
| Owner | Huw Jenkins 52%, Newport County AFC Supporters Trust 27%, Other investors 21% | |||
| Head coach | Nelson Jardim | |||
| League | EFL League Two | |||
| 2023–24 | EFL League Two, 18th of 24 | |||
| Website | http://www.newport-county.co.uk/ | |||
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Newport County Association Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pêl-droed Cymdeithas Sir Casnewydd)[1] is a professional association football club in the city of Newport, South Wales. The team compete in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. The club's usual home colours are amber shirts and black shorts.[2]
Formed in 1912, the club began life in the Southern League before being invited to become founder members of the Football League Third Division in 1920. They failed re-election in 1931, but were elected back into the Football League the next year. They struggled for the next few seasons, but went on to be crowned Third Division South champions in 1938–39. World War II meant they had to wait until the 1946–47 season to take their place in the Second Division, though they were relegated at the end of the campaign. They were relegated out of the Third Division in 1962. In the 1979–80 season, under manager Len Ashurst, they secured promotion out of the Fourth Division and won the Welsh Cup for the first time. They reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup the next year. In the 1980s they suffered financial difficulties with a double relegation costing them their Football League place in 1988 and the club went out of business in February 1989.
The club reformed but were initially unable to play at their home ground at Somerton Park, so picked up the nickname of the "Exiles". They immediately won the Hellenic League in 1989–90 and were promoted out of the Southern League Midland Division in 1994–95. While playing at Newport Stadium, they were relegated from the Premier Division in 1997, before winning promotion out of the Midland Division again in 1998–99. Placed in the Conference South in 2004, they went on to be crowned champions in 2009–10 and after moving to Rodney Parade in 2012, they returned to the Football League following a 25-year absence after winning the Conference National play-off final in 2013 under manager Justin Edinburgh.
- ^ "Welsh Assembly reference" (PDF). Assembly.wales. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
- ^ "Newport County AFC". Historical Football Kits. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2018.