Histoire
Hinckley Association Football Club is a football club, from Hinckley, Leicestershire, who play home games at Barwell F.C.'s Kirkby Road. The club was formed in January 2014 when fans of the dissolved Hinckley United formed their own Community Trust football club, owned and democratically run by its supporters. The club competes in the United Counties League Premier Division North.
Lire toute l'histoire
Following the demise of Hinckley United in October 2013, a working group was formed and at a public meeting in December announced their intentions to form a co-operative community trust to launch a new football club for Hinckley.
After discussions with Supporters Direct, the working group decided to adopt the same model as F.C. United of Manchester and AFC Wimbledon with a membership scheme allowing a 'one member one vote' ethos. In January 2014, at the next public meeting it was voted that the name of the new football club would be Hinckley AFC. Further to that, in February 2014, the club's badge and playing colours were voted on. The club crest chosen represented the town's history and future, and the playing colours would be a home kit of red and blue, with away colours of violet and white. At that same meeting, the working group announced a bid by a local businessman to purchase the De Montfort Park ground, and that his favoured tenant for the stadium would be Hinckley AFC.
In March 2014, the working group announced that the co-operative trust had finalised its constitution. Members were informed that the club had applied to join the Midland Alliance, but would have to wait until the FA had fully scrutinised the business plan before they would make a final decision.
The club were informed in June 2014 that they had been allocated a place in the newly formed Midland Football League First Division, level 6 of the Non League Pyramid.
The club won their opening league game 3-0
away at Southam United and a week later set a club record victory beating Pelsall Villa 13–0, but a run of seven games without winning followed, leaving the club in the bottom reaches of the league table. On 18 October, Hinckley AFC beat Cadbury Athletic 2–1, and then proceeded to set a Midland League record of 26 games unbeaten in a season culminating with a final day victory over Southam United winning 5–1. This unbeaten run lifted Hinckley AFC into a final league position of 3rd, ahead of Bolehall Swifts by virtue of goals scored. In cup competitions, an early exit in the FA Vase losing 2-1 at Tipton Town was balanced by reaching the final of the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup, finishing runners-up to Bardon Hill, losing 1–0.
That on-field success continued into the start of the 2015–16 season, when they overturned a Redditch United side from three levels higher in the non-league pyramid to reach the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in their first campaign in the competition.
That season, the club finished fifth in the league and won their first piece of silverware: going one better than the previous season by winning the Leicestershire and Rutland Senior Cup with a 5–1 victory over Oakham United in the Final.
The following season, 2016-17, Hinckley AFC were runners up to Bromsgrove Sporting, though were still 19 points behind as Sporting ran away with the league. Since then, a couple of mid-table finishes led to a series of managerial changes, and in 2019, the appointment of Courtney Belford was confirmed, but the COVID-19 regulations of 2019 and 2020 have prevented the completion of either of those seasons.
In May 2021, in the restructure of the Non League System at steps 5 and 6 of the non league pyramid Hinckley AFC were initially placed in the Midland Football League. Following a successful appeal to the FA in June 2021, the club was laterally transferred to the United Counties League Division One.
In September 2021, Hinckley AFC set a new club record score beating St Martins in the FA Vase 18–0, this score also being the biggest win in the history of the FA Vase.
Seven years on from their first piece of silverware, the club lifted the Midland League Cup in May 2023, defeating higher-level Whitchurch Alport in the final. The following season saw the club promoted to the Midland Premier Division as champions.
Lire la suite sur Wikipédia →
Texte de Wikipédia, licence CC BY-SA 4.0 (English)