Padiham F.C.
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| Full name | Padiham Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Storks |
| Founded | 1878 |
| Ground | Arbories Memorial Sports Ground, Padiham |
| Capacity | 1,688 |
| Chairman | Frank Heys |
| Manager | Steve Wilkes |
| League | North West Counties League Premier Division |
| 2015–16 | North West Counties League Premier Division, 11th |
Padiham Football Club are an English football team based in Padiham, Lancashire. As of 2015–16, they play in the North West Counties League Premier Division.
When the club was formed in 1878 it was among the first football clubs in Lancashire and was well supported, attracting an attendance of 9,000 for a match against neighbours Burnley in 1884. At this time Padiham's ground was on the banks of the River Calder, hence the nickname, The Caldersiders.
Padiham was one of the first clubs to support the legalisation of professional football. However, this backfired as they were unable to compete with clubs in larger towns such as Blackburn, and the club folded in 1916. The club lost their ground during World War I and lay dormant until after the end of the Second World War.
Then in 1949 the club was resurrected with the opening of the Arbories Memorial Sports Ground. A crowd of 1,777 turned up to see their opening fixture of the season in the Lancashire Combination Football League.
They became founder members of the North West Counties Football League in 1982 but left the league in 1990. They returned in 2000 after spending £500,000 on upgrading the Arbories Memorial Sports Ground and finished in the top four of the second division in 2003 and 2005.
They gained promotion to the Northern Premier League Division One North for season 2013/14 after winning the North West Counties Football League Premier Division in season 2012/13, but returned to the North West Counties League after being relegated two seasons later.
Coordinates: 53°48′08.72″N 2°19′16.83″W / 53.8024222°N 2.3213417°W
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