Records exist that a team from Nostell Colliery won a Wakefield District football competition in the 1890’s. The club has photographs of Nostell Colliery teams from 1915 & 1921. At that time the football field was not in the present location but on two sites fairly close by.

 

The Miner’s Welfare was formed in 1928 after the purchase of the land by the Miners Trust Fund. The sum of £400 was paid to a local land owner for 4.5 acres which includes the land on which the present ground is situated. 

 

A Miner’s Welfare football team was formed and enjoyed early success. The club owns a medal donated by a former player from the 1930’s and a photograph of the team who won the Wakefield & District League in 1938.

 

After the war, the Welfare provided much needed recreation for the local community and the football team was successful in several annual football competitions.

 

In the late fifties a team from the Welfare visited Belgium to compete against local opposition, a feat unprecedented at that time. The club are proud owners of the trophy won on that successful tour and press cuttings of the occasion.

 

In the late 60’s the club had a period of sustained success, winning several Wakefield District competitions and eventually being selected to join the West Yorkshire League, lifting the Division 2 League and Cup double in the 1966/67 season. However, the successful team eventually broke up and the club went back to the Wakefield League in the early 1970’s. Enjoying relative success the club began to develop again; two teams were formed, the first team joining the West Yorkshire League in 1982.

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Following mining subsidence to the ground, fund raising of over £30,000 allowed the pitch to be levelled off, drainage installed and other ground improvements. However, Nostell Colliery was closed. The nearby colliery houses (1st to 7th street) were demolished and the Welfare struggled to survive. 

 

The football continued through this difficult period. Promotions through the divisions of the West Yorkshire League, eventually led us through to our present NCEL Premier Division status.

 

The most successful period in the clubs distinguished history was about to begin, with the appointment of Alan Colquhoun as 1st team Manager in the late 1990’s.

 

After initially struggling in the West Yorkshire Premier League - Alan Colquhoun actually scored two goals to save us from relegation- Gary Baker joined as Colquhoun’s assistant and the team gradually improved. Eventually being crowned Champions of the West Yorkshire Premier League, lifting the corresponding Cup and appearing in 3 consecutive finals, 2 County Cup final appearances and lifting 6 Wakefield & District trophies among other successes.

 

Off the field the introduction of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust encouraged other funders to invest in the Miners Welfare. Renamed Crofton Community Centre approximately £1.5 million was secured to provide the present facilities with Sport England, Football Foundation and the FA providing substantial sums of money to help the football side of the developments.

 

With the improvements on and off the field a successful application to the Northern Counties East League was made, heralding a new and exciting venture for the Club.

 

Gaining promotion to the NCEL Division 1, Nostell finished a respectable 4th in their first season 2006/7. Due to the Northern Premier League reforming its structure, along with one NCEL going to the wall for financial reasons, Nostell gained promotion to the NCEL Premier Division. A terrific first season in the premier league 2007/8 saw Nostell finish 5th, having led the division for the first quarter.

 

The following season 2008/2009, successful cup runs in FA Competitions caused an end of season fixture congestion. Playing every Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday for the last six weeks of the season, Nostell eventually finished 13th  not losing to any of the top four teams home and away. However the Welfare, who were the underdogs, beat Scarborough Athletic over 2 legs to win the “Presidents Cup”, probably the highest point of Nostell’s recent history.

 

During season 2008/9 Nostell had their first player to be signed by a Football League club. Stockport County signed Oli Johnson who impressed during a friendly fixture. Oli made an instant impact for County who sold him to Norwich City, where he was involved in the League 1 Championship winning team. Nostell got a percentage of the transfer fee and with appearances monies eventually banked over £20,000 

 

Since the success of the Presidents Cup, the following season Nostell just avoided relegation and Gary Baker decided to stand down. Alan Colquhoun continued with various assistants but the team continued to struggle at the wrong end of the table for several seasons. Following a disastrous start to the 2013-14 season Alan Colquhoun left the Club after 15 years in charge. Darren Holmes and Gareth Hamlet were appointed; they managed to save the Club from relegation by one point and looked forward to improving the following season. Unfortunately, Hamlet had to leave because of work commitments.  Drainage work on the pitch ensured that there were no home games till the start of October, the team only managed to gain two league points during this period and lost in the first game of both FA competitions. Darren Holmes worked extremely hard to make a success, bringing over 60 new players to the Club. However, the team continued to struggle, deep in relegation trouble and losing to the teams around them Darren Holmes was asked to stand down in November 2014.

A cry for help, both on and off the pitch, was made in the local media. Paul Lines and Simon Turfrey agreed to join the Club as first team manager and chairman respectively. A respectable finish in the league table during the season 2014/15 was highlighted by Nostell’s maiden appearance on the Sheffield & Hallamshire cup final played at Rotherham United’s New York Stadium losing out to a strong Frickley side. 

 

The next campaign, the 2015/16 season, despite a positive start, with a number of occasion’s results failing to match performances, partway through the season Simon and Paul left the club. Despite the hard work and best endeavours of all those involved, players, committee and management it wasn’t enough, as a result, the club was relegated from the NCEL Premier League. 

 

A disastrous 2016/17 season in which the club finished bottom of Division 1 we were offered a last-minute reprieve and retained our status in the NCEL. 

 

Halfway through the 2017/18 and the club in difficulties once again struggling in division 1 another managerial change was inevitable. The appointment of joint Managers Simon Houghton & Jason Dodsworth with a huge amount of NCEL experience proved a turning point in the clubs’ fortunes, initially securing our NCEL status and avoiding relegation.

 

The 2018/19 season was overall very positive accumulating the highest number of points in a NCEL season than any previous Nostell side, finishing a creditable fifth and securing a return for the club to The Emirates FA Cup in 2019/20.

 

Having started the 2019/20 season like a house on fire with six straight league wins in a row, form dipped, players left for pastures new, and the season was heading towards a mid-table finish before COVID-19 struck. The rest is history as we all know. 

 

In guiding the clubs under 19’s & 21’s over the two previous seasons reaching consecutive cup finals, league champions first time of asking and a hugely creditable second place league finish behind a very strong Harrogate Town u23’s, the committee agreed the way forward was to reward such success and promote from within with the appointment of Ian Walker as Head Coach and First Team manager for the 2020/21 season.

 

Despite many new faces around the club, the emphasis is always to support and develop our youth and junior footballers. Ian’s high work ethic, attention to detail and loyalty of his successful group of young rising stars gave them the opportunity to grow and make the step forward to becoming regular first team players. Ian was in charge for three seasons with mid-table respectability achieved on every occasion. Because of work and personal issues Ian resigned after the end of the 2023/24 season. Chairman over his tenure and the of Houghton and Dodsworth era, Kevin Allsop also stepped down at the same time

 

The Club advertised extensively to recruit new blood for several key positions and behind-the-scenes roles. The club received many applicants, and eventually after a long stressful process, a team comprising Liam Willingham, Mathew Wright, Mark Wright, Mark Maspero and Chris Clay were appointed. Other volunteers for important roles are also involved. The Club are looking forward to the new 2024/25 season with a new sense of optimism.

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At the start of the pre-season, the club went through a complete rebrand and update with new logos, branding and graphics to signify the start of the new era. This Is a 12-month rolling programme to roll out across the club!

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In October 2024, Liam Willingham sadly stepped down as chairperson of the club. Scott Atkinson has stepped in as interim chairman subject to a appointment process for Chairman.