Darlington 1883
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| Full name | Darlington Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Darlo, The Quakers |
| Founded | 18 January 2012 |
| Ground | Blackwell Meadows, Darlington |
| Capacity | 3,000 |
| Manager | Martin Gray |
| League | National League North |
| 2015–16 | Northern Premier League Premier Division, 1st (promoted) |
| Website | Club home page |
Darlington 1883 is an English football club that plays at Blackwell Meadows, Darlington. The company Darlington 1883 Limited was incorporated on 18 January 2012 and went on to purchase the assets of Darlington Football Club on 3 May 2012 when a creditors voluntary agreement (CVA) could not be agreed with creditors. In line with its policy of not allowing clubs that go bust to continue without paying debts, The Football Association decree that when a CVA is not agreed and a club has to be liquidated, any "phoenix club" is considered a new club. This policy had previously been applied to other collapsing clubs, such as Chester City FC and Halifax Town AFC. Despite the FA's decision being consistent with previous clubs' treatment (although the circumstances faced by each club were different), the "new club" ruling is hotly disputed by the fans, who reject the determination of the Football Association and refuse to recognise the enforced name change or the removal of the historic honours of Darlington Football Club.
Darlington applied to join the Northern League as a new club, after the collapse of Darlington F.C. Under FA regulations, new clubs are required to join with a different name from the club that they are replacing, and so the wish of the club to register under the name Darlington F.C. was not allowed. A deadline imposed by the FA meant the board was unable to wait for the results of a poll of supporters, so the name Darlington 1883 (with no "F.C." suffix) was chosen.
The company Darlington 1883 Limited was incorporated on 18 Jan 2012 by owners of Darlington Football Club. This company then went on to purchase the assets of Darlington F.C. on 3 May 2012 when a CVA could not be agreed with creditors. Being regarded as a new club by the FA meant that Darlington 1883 could not be placed higher than level nine of the football pyramid, four divisions below where Darlington F.C. had been at the end of the 2011–12 season.
Darlington Football Club itself was founded in 1883, and became a professional football club in 1908, joining the North Eastern League. The club became a member of the Football League in 1920, in which it competed until 1989, and again from 1990 to 2010. In the 1989–90 season and from 2010 to 2012, Darlington played in the Football Conference.
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