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Colwyn Bay Football Club (Welsh: Clwb Pel-Droed Bae Colwyn) is a football club based in Old Colwyn in north Wales. They are currently members of the Cymru Premier. Nicknamed the Seagulls, but also known as 'The Bay', their home ground is Llanelian Road in Old Colwyn.
History
The club played its first match in January 1881 and joined the North Wales Coast League in 1898.[2] The club were forced to resign from the league during the 190001 when they could not find a home ground to play at,[3] with their fixtures taken over by Penmaenmawr Royal Welch Fusiliers.[4] However, they returned to the league the following season.[5] From 1907, the club became known as Colwyn Bay United.[6] After the league folded in 1921, they joined the Welsh National League. In 192728 the club finished as runners-up in the league and won the League Cup. They won the cup for a second time in 192930,[7] also reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup, in which they lost 31 to Rhyl Athletic.[8] The league folded at the end of the season and the club were subsequently founder members of the North Wales Football Combination, which they went on to win in its first season.[9] Following their title, the club joined the Birmingham & District League.[7] However, the team struggled in the new league, and after finishing bottom in 193536 and 193637,[10] they switched to the Welsh National League (North).[7]
Colwyn Bay finished as Welsh League (North) runners-up in 194546,[11] the first season after World War II. They were runners-up again in 196364,[12] and were champions the following season.[13] The early 1980s saw the club enter a period of success, as they were champions for a second time in 198081.[14] In 198283 the club won the league and reached the Welsh Cup semi-finals, losing 40 on aggregate to Swansea City.[8]
After retaining the league title in 198384,[7] the club returned to the English football league system, joining Division Three of the North West Counties League. They finished as runners-up in their first season in the league and were promoted to Division Two.[8] A fourth-place finish in Division Two 198687 saw the club promoted to Division One.[8] In 198788 the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time, losing 10 at Northwich Victoria.[8] The following season saw the club win the League Cup, beating Warrington Town 30 in the final at Gigg Lane.[7] After finishing as Premier Division runners-up in 199091, they were promoted to Division One of the Northern Premier League, filling the vacancy created by South Liverpool folding.[7] They won the division at the first attempt and were promoted to the Premier Division.[8] The season also saw them win the North Wales Coast Challenge Cup and reach the Welsh Cup semi-finals for a third time, losing 42 to Hednesford Town.[8]
However, at the end of the 199192 season, a dispute with the Football Association of Wales led to Colwyn Bay being ordered to join the newly-formed League of Wales or cease playing in Wales. As a result, the club started the new season playing at the Drill Field in Northwich, before moving to Ellesmere Port Stadium in Ellesmere Port. A court injunction allowed the club to return to playing home matches in Colwyn Bay in 1994 before the case was won in the High Court of Justice in April 1995.[7] In 199596 they reached the first round of the FA Cup again; after beating Spennymoor United 10 in the first round, they lost 20 at Blackpool in the second round.[8] They qualified for the first round again the following season, eventually losing 20 to fellow north Wales club Wrexham in a replay.[8] Another first round appearance in 199798 resulted in a 20 defeat at Notts County.[8]
The club remained in the Northern Premier League's Premier Division until the end of the 200203 season, when they were relegated to Division One. In 200607 a fifth-place finish saw the club qualify for the promotion play-offs, in which they lost 32 to Cammell Laird in the semi-finals.[15] League restructuring led to the club being placed in Division One South for the 200708 season, before being switched to the North division the following season. Their first season in Division One North resulted in a fourth-place finish and another play-off campaign, in which they lost their semi-final match 42 on penalties to Newcastle Blue Star after a 22 draw.[8] However, after finishing fourth again in 200910, the club were promoted back to the Premier Division via the play-offs, beating Curzon Ashton 21 in the semi-finals and then winning 10 against Lancaster City in the final.[8]
The 201011 season saw Colwyn Bay finish as Premier Division runners-up. In the subsequent play-offs they beat North Ferriby United 21 in the semi-finals and then defeated FC United 10 in the final to earn promotion to the Conference North.[8] After four seasons in the Conference North, the club were relegated back to the Northern Premier League's Premier Division at the end of the 201415 season. They were relegated again in 201516, returning to Division One North.[8] In March 2019 the club opted to rejoin the Welsh football system for the 201920 season,[16] and joined the newly formed second-tier Cymru North. They were champions of the division in 202223, losing only once during the season after winning 25 consecutive games, earning promotion to the Cymru Premier. They also won the Welsh Blood Service League Cup North to complete the double.
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