Introducing the new member Clubs: Fulwood Amateurs
Mon 14th July 2025 | Fulwood Amateurs | By Jay Cooper
Now that the FA’s league allocations for the non-league system ahead of 2025/26 have been announced, it’s time for us to welcome a few new faces to the North West Counties Football League.
In their 101st year of existence, Fulwood Amateur Association Football Club, or Fulwood Amateurs, are to play NWCFL football for the first time in their long and renowned history. Based at Lightfoot Green Football Grounds, off Lightfoot Lane in the northwestern quarter of Preston, this coming campaign will be their first at a semi-professional level.
The club was founded all the way back in 1924 by Frederick, Grenville, Jack and Martyn Berry, and they initially played games on the Black Bull Field, behind its namesake hotel in Preston.
Four years and two location changes later, the club made their bow in the Lancashire Amateur League. One player for Fulwood, Jack Page, set a record of scoring 57 league goals in the 1928/29 season, which is a record that remains unbroken to this day.
Just under a decade later, the club recorded their first ever piece of recognised silverware. Fulwood downed South Salford 2-1 in a gritty Manchester and Salford Charities Cup final. That set the stage for a further influx of players and the creation of more new teams under the Fulwood Amateurs name.
In 1938, just a year after winning their first trophy, the club then won their first double. Firstly, the Lancashire Amateur League, where they came out on top in a fierce battle for first with Blackburn Technical College.
They followed that up by winning the Lancashire Amateur Cup, the final of which took place at Deepdale, home of Preston North End, and saw Fulwood seal the trophy with a last-minute winner against fellow NWCFL side Maghull.
Between World Wars One and Two, a semi-famous name graced Fulwood Amateurs as club captain – Joe Finney. He was the older bother of Sir Tom Finney, who is the most famous footballer in Preston North End’s history and was, at one time, the England national team’s leading goal scorer.
More famous names would grace the club as they largely underwent a trophy drought during the sixties. Throughout this decade, big names including then-Chelsea and future Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty led pre-season training sessions with the club as did legendary Preston goalkeeper Alan Kelly.
All of this led to Fulwood Amateurs reclaiming the Lancashire Amateur League title in 1971, and almost followed that up with a Lancashire Amateur Cup victory the very next season, were it not for a controversy in the final against Broughton Amateurs – Fulwood were alleged to have played an ex-apprentice professional in the first final game, which ended goalless and was subject to a replay. That replay never came due to the accusation, and the cup was awarded to Broughton.
As the ‘70’s became the ‘80’s, Fulwood Amatuers moved to what has been their permanent home for over 45 years now. Their land in Lightfoot Green, next to where Preston Grasshoppers play rugby, will be the location where they will welcome their opponents in the NWCFL to.
After one more decade in the Lancashire Amateur League, it was in 1992 that Fulwood finally made the jump to the West Lancashire League, after a whopping 64 years in the LAL.
It would take less than a decade for the club to put their stamp on the West Lancs League. In fact, by the end of the ‘90’s, they were the team to beat. In the 1997/98 campaign, they won a cup double of the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield and the West Lancs Richardson Cup; and the year after, they retained the Shield and added the West Lancashire Premier Division trophy to their cabinet.
They have since become five-time winners of the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield, and were a fixture of the West Lancs League’s top table until 2013. At this time, local footballing legend Tony Hesketh became manager, with the club on the precipice of relegation from the Premier Division.
Whilst Tony was unable to avoid the drop in that season, he was able to see the club roar back into the top flight as champions of Division One, and also as Division One Cup winners, where they had beaten Turton FC on penalties in a close final.
Since then, the club have been a staple of the Premier Division, having spent the last 10 seasons there prior to 2025/26. However, this step up to the NWCFL is the club going where they have never gone before.
And they will be doing so under the tutelage of new-ish gaffer Phil Blackwell, who succeeded Tony Hesketh last summer. He helped the club to a third consecutive fourth-place finish in the league, which was enough to see their application for promotion granted. He was also kind enough to speak to me about all things Fulwood Amateurs recently.
“Whilst I try and support all aspects of the club, my role is mainly focused on the football side of things. We have three senior football teams (the first team, reserves and an A team), and usually two or three U-18 teams running, so we have around 70-80 lads within our player pool. Most of them are under 21 years old, so I’m constantly talking to the other managers to understand where each player is at and how we can help them develop.
“I have been with the club almost permanently since 1999, and promotion to the NWCFL was something people within the club have spoken about for many years, without managing to make it happen. Last summer, the committee made a concerted decision to go for it, and a huge effort was made to get us ready off the pitch to be accepted into the league.
“Then the pressure came on us to get the job done on the pitch. We knew we had to finish in the top five. We found ourselves 10 points clear of 6th, in 4th place with 4 games to go. Everyone around the club would say it was still hanging in the balance if we would do it or not at that time, so it was a mixture of relief and pride when we sealed it.”
Of course, having been a volunteer at the club for over 25 years, Phil knows just how crucial the community around the club is to their success. “Our club simply wouldn’t exist without a number of volunteers who dedicate incredible amounts of time to supporting the club in any way they can.
“I’m sure most clubs around us are run in a similar way, which is what we all love about this level of football. Our clubhouse was literally built by club volunteers and we’re really proud of that. We do not have any employees, but there are lots of locals who are interested in Fulwood Amateurs, either because they’ve played for the club previously, or are friends of those involved with the club now. We’re really hoping this interest continues to grow now that we are in the NWCFL.”
When looking ahead to what this new season in the NWCFL, what stood out to Phil was: “how many local games we’d be playing this season. There’s three Blackpool-based teams (AFC Blackpool, Squires Gate and Thornton Cleveleys), Garstang, Darwen etc. So, they will all be good games to be a part of. We’ll also look forward to playing the teams with bigger fanbases as well as playing our first games in new cup competitions, such as the FA Vase.
“But I have to say, even though we don’t know who it will be against, the game I’m looking forward to most is the first one evening one we play under the floodlights at home. It might sound silly, but it will be a big indicator of the progress we have made, and it has been something we’ve wanted at the club for such a long time. It will be a really special night, I’m sure.”
Phil signed off by saying: “I have a lot of respect for the North West Counties and this standard of football, so we know it’s going to be a challenge for everyone at the club if we want to be competitive at this level. But I also have a lot of confidence and belief in the amount of talent we have within our football club, and I feel like the club has so much potential. We have to expect that we will be able to stabilise and kick-on to go as high as possible in 2025/26.”
Well, the club has been stable and subsequently kicked on to new heights in the Lancashire Amateur League, and the West Lancs league in their 100-plus year history – what’s to stop them doing the same in the NWCFL?
We welcome Fulwood Amateurs, and we wish them all the best for the upcoming campaign!
Introducing the new member Clubs: Fulwood Amateurs
Mon 14th July 2025 | Fulwood Amateurs
By Jay Cooper
Now that the FA’s league allocations for the non-league system ahead of 2025/26 have been announced, it’s time for us to welcome a few new faces to the North West Counties Football League.
In their 101st year of existence, Fulwood Amateur Association Football Club, or Fulwood Amateurs, are to play NWCFL football for the first time in their long and renowned history. Based at Lightfoot Green Football Grounds, off Lightfoot Lane in the northwestern quarter of Preston, this coming campaign will be their first at a semi-professional level.
The club was founded all the way back in 1924 by Frederick, Grenville, Jack and Martyn Berry, and they initially played games on the Black Bull Field, behind its namesake hotel in Preston.
Four years and two location changes later, the club made their bow in the Lancashire Amateur League. One player for Fulwood, Jack Page, set a record of scoring 57 league goals in the 1928/29 season, which is a record that remains unbroken to this day.
Just under a decade later, the club recorded their first ever piece of recognised silverware. Fulwood downed South Salford 2-1 in a gritty Manchester and Salford Charities Cup final. That set the stage for a further influx of players and the creation of more new teams under the Fulwood Amateurs name.
In 1938, just a year after winning their first trophy, the club then won their first double. Firstly, the Lancashire Amateur League, where they came out on top in a fierce battle for first with Blackburn Technical College.
They followed that up by winning the Lancashire Amateur Cup, the final of which took place at Deepdale, home of Preston North End, and saw Fulwood seal the trophy with a last-minute winner against fellow NWCFL side Maghull.
Between World Wars One and Two, a semi-famous name graced Fulwood Amateurs as club captain – Joe Finney. He was the older bother of Sir Tom Finney, who is the most famous footballer in Preston North End’s history and was, at one time, the England national team’s leading goal scorer.
More famous names would grace the club as they largely underwent a trophy drought during the sixties. Throughout this decade, big names including then-Chelsea and future Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty led pre-season training sessions with the club as did legendary Preston goalkeeper Alan Kelly.
All of this led to Fulwood Amateurs reclaiming the Lancashire Amateur League title in 1971, and almost followed that up with a Lancashire Amateur Cup victory the very next season, were it not for a controversy in the final against Broughton Amateurs – Fulwood were alleged to have played an ex-apprentice professional in the first final game, which ended goalless and was subject to a replay. That replay never came due to the accusation, and the cup was awarded to Broughton.
As the ‘70’s became the ‘80’s, Fulwood Amatuers moved to what has been their permanent home for over 45 years now. Their land in Lightfoot Green, next to where Preston Grasshoppers play rugby, will be the location where they will welcome their opponents in the NWCFL to.
After one more decade in the Lancashire Amateur League, it was in 1992 that Fulwood finally made the jump to the West Lancashire League, after a whopping 64 years in the LAL.
It would take less than a decade for the club to put their stamp on the West Lancs League. In fact, by the end of the ‘90’s, they were the team to beat. In the 1997/98 campaign, they won a cup double of the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield and the West Lancs Richardson Cup; and the year after, they retained the Shield and added the West Lancashire Premier Division trophy to their cabinet.
They have since become five-time winners of the Lancashire FA Amateur Shield, and were a fixture of the West Lancs League’s top table until 2013. At this time, local footballing legend Tony Hesketh became manager, with the club on the precipice of relegation from the Premier Division.
Whilst Tony was unable to avoid the drop in that season, he was able to see the club roar back into the top flight as champions of Division One, and also as Division One Cup winners, where they had beaten Turton FC on penalties in a close final.
Since then, the club have been a staple of the Premier Division, having spent the last 10 seasons there prior to 2025/26. However, this step up to the NWCFL is the club going where they have never gone before.
And they will be doing so under the tutelage of new-ish gaffer Phil Blackwell, who succeeded Tony Hesketh last summer. He helped the club to a third consecutive fourth-place finish in the league, which was enough to see their application for promotion granted. He was also kind enough to speak to me about all things Fulwood Amateurs recently.
“Whilst I try and support all aspects of the club, my role is mainly focused on the football side of things. We have three senior football teams (the first team, reserves and an A team), and usually two or three U-18 teams running, so we have around 70-80 lads within our player pool. Most of them are under 21 years old, so I’m constantly talking to the other managers to understand where each player is at and how we can help them develop.
“I have been with the club almost permanently since 1999, and promotion to the NWCFL was something people within the club have spoken about for many years, without managing to make it happen. Last summer, the committee made a concerted decision to go for it, and a huge effort was made to get us ready off the pitch to be accepted into the league.
“Then the pressure came on us to get the job done on the pitch. We knew we had to finish in the top five. We found ourselves 10 points clear of 6th, in 4th place with 4 games to go. Everyone around the club would say it was still hanging in the balance if we would do it or not at that time, so it was a mixture of relief and pride when we sealed it.”
Of course, having been a volunteer at the club for over 25 years, Phil knows just how crucial the community around the club is to their success. “Our club simply wouldn’t exist without a number of volunteers who dedicate incredible amounts of time to supporting the club in any way they can.
“I’m sure most clubs around us are run in a similar way, which is what we all love about this level of football. Our clubhouse was literally built by club volunteers and we’re really proud of that. We do not have any employees, but there are lots of locals who are interested in Fulwood Amateurs, either because they’ve played for the club previously, or are friends of those involved with the club now. We’re really hoping this interest continues to grow now that we are in the NWCFL.”
When looking ahead to what this new season in the NWCFL, what stood out to Phil was: “how many local games we’d be playing this season. There’s three Blackpool-based teams (AFC Blackpool, Squires Gate and Thornton Cleveleys), Garstang, Darwen etc. So, they will all be good games to be a part of. We’ll also look forward to playing the teams with bigger fanbases as well as playing our first games in new cup competitions, such as the FA Vase.
“But I have to say, even though we don’t know who it will be against, the game I’m looking forward to most is the first one evening one we play under the floodlights at home. It might sound silly, but it will be a big indicator of the progress we have made, and it has been something we’ve wanted at the club for such a long time. It will be a really special night, I’m sure.”
Phil signed off by saying: “I have a lot of respect for the North West Counties and this standard of football, so we know it’s going to be a challenge for everyone at the club if we want to be competitive at this level. But I also have a lot of confidence and belief in the amount of talent we have within our football club, and I feel like the club has so much potential. We have to expect that we will be able to stabilise and kick-on to go as high as possible in 2025/26.”
Well, the club has been stable and subsequently kicked on to new heights in the Lancashire Amateur League, and the West Lancs league in their 100-plus year history – what’s to stop them doing the same in the NWCFL?
We welcome Fulwood Amateurs, and we wish them all the best for the upcoming campaign!
