Caldicot Town

Founded: 1953

Ground: Jubilee Way

Nickname: The Swans

Managers: Tony Wallis & Nick Morgan

by Jordan Forster

FEW clubs will be more at home in the FAW Ardal Leagues as Caldicot Town because most of the Monmouthshire club’s recent history has been spent playing in Welsh football’s third tier.

Formed in 1953 when local volunteers laid out a football pitch on the town’s King George V Playing Fields, Caldicot Town spent the first three decades of their existence in the “recreational” leagues at district and county levels.

Following several successes in the East Gwent League, The Swans joined the Monmouthshire Senior League in 1966 and here the club remained until it merged with the Gwent Premier League to form Gwent County League in 1980 (today known as “Gwent Premier League”).

During their time in Monmouthshire/Gwent County football Town were champions on several occasions, as well as lifting both the Gwent FA Senior and Amateur Cups.

Promotion to the Welsh Football League was achieved in the 1985/6 season and Caldicot Town established themselves at that level with 10th, 4th and 8th placed finishes respectively in their first three campaigns.

A first promotion in the Welsh League was achieved in the 1989/90 season when Caldicot won Division 1 (as the third level of the Welsh League was known then).

Another promotion arrived a year later and Caldicot found themselves in the Welsh League “national” division for the 1991/92 season, as moves were being made in the FAW to create a national league and pyramid.

Caldicot finished 13th in 1991/92 and retained their place in the top flight of the Welsh League when the league’s were re-organised following the formation of the national League of Wales (LOW).

The absorption of the south of Wales’ best sides into the LOW elevated Caldicot’s status within the Welsh League and the next three seasons saw top five finishes at Jubilee Way.

However, decline set in quickly and after relegation to division two in 1997/8, Caldicot found themselves back in the Welsh League basement by the time the 2001/2 season began.

The Swans wasted little time returning to the third tier though, promoted in 2002/3 in third place behind Pontyclun and Skewen Athletic. Another promotion followed in 2006/7 and Caldicot found themselves back in the second tier for the first time in nearly a decade.

The 2009/10 campaign saw Caldicot match their best ever league finish of fourth in the Welsh League’s top flight but that was followed by relegation the following year.

The Swans were promoted again as division two champions in 2015/16 but their stay in the Welsh League’s top division lasted only twelve months as they struggled at the higher level, finishing 15th and 12 points adrift of safety in 2016/17. A run to the Welsh Cup third round and trip to Bala Town (winners that season) probably the highlight of that forgettable campaign.

Since then the club has been battling to get back to the second tier, missing out in 2018/19 by a single point after Caerau Ely’s late surge of wins from backlogged fixtures saw them seal promotion ahead of Caldicot with a win in their final game and five weeks after Caldicot had completed their fixtures.

Caldicot Town will certainly be at the forefront of anyone’s mind when considering challengers for promotion to Cymru South this season.

Certification for tier 2 won’t be an issue as Caldicot’s facilities at Jubilee Way are as good as anything you will find at this level across the south. It will come down to whether Town can find the consistency on the pitch they have ultimately lacked in recent campaigns.