Newport City

Founded: 1963

Ground: Newport Stadium

Nickname: The Steelmen

Manager: Sam Houldsworth

by Jordan Forster

Like many clubs originating in the industrial areas of the south of Wales, Newport City began life as a works team.

Founded in 1963 as Spencer Works FC, the club was set up to provide competitive recreational football for the workers of the former Llanwern (originally ‘The RTB’) steelworks that opened in Newport in 1962.

The Steelmen spent their early years in the Newport & District League and by the early 1970s they had progressed to county level football.

Following Gwent Premier League (an earlier version of today’s Gwent County level league) titles in 1971 and 1972, Spencer were promoted to the Welsh Football League. On reaching the Welsh League, two promotions in three seasons saw the Steelmen reach the League’s top flight but for most of their existence the Newport club have occupied in the middle of the Welsh League’s traditional three divisions.

In 1988 the club name was changed to Llanwern FC to reflect the change of name for the steelworks; The Steelmen re-branded to their current guise in 2016.

On the field fortunes have fluctuated in a yo-yo fashion among the Welsh League divisions.

The club’s finest hour came in 2002 when they lifted the Welsh Football League Cup. In more modern times the club has been largely confined to the lowest tier of the Welsh League, although there have been two promotions (and subsequent relegations) this century.

The latest of these relegations was in 2017 and Newport have been gradually rebuilding since under the management of former Pontypridd Town boss Sam Houldsworth.

Last season’s seventh place final position in the former Welsh tier four was their best since Houldsworth took over three years ago.

Newport City have been based at the modern 2,450 seater Newport Stadium since 2003 following the sale of land where their original ground stood.

The stadium provides the club with top class facilities, significantly better than anything else that will be found at this level but given it’s scale and the relatively meagre home support, it more often than not provides a bizarre experience for visitors.