Rhyl Football Club

The club’s history started in the 1870s when a group of young men decided to form a football team in the town of Rhyl. They were initially known as Rhyl Skull and Crossbones and wore a pirate motif on their black shirts which was intended to strike fear into their opponents.

Though their first ground was situated to the east of the town, the club moved to a more central location known as The Green Field in 1879. It was here that the very first floodlit football match in Wales was staged in December of that year by Thomas Edison.

Rhyl moved to their present home, Belle Vue, in 1900 and it is there that the many great memories were shaped. The club enjoyed some good runs in the F.A. Cup and even played at Old Trafford (neutral territory) in 1970-1971, beating Barnsley 2-0 in a Second Round second replay.

Season 2003-2004 saw the most successful display of trophies ever in the Welsh system with the club winning the Welsh Premier, Welsh Cup, Premier Challenge Cup and the North Wales Challenge Cup as well as being runners up in the FAW Premier Cup. Qualification for the Champions League saw Rhyl play its first games in European competition and while the Lilywhites lost to Latvian champions Skonto Riga valuable lessons were learnt and the club is determined to build upon the experience.

After finishing runners up in the Welsh Premier last season Rhyl qualified for the UEFA Cup this year, drawing FK Atlantas from Lithuania in the first qualifying round. After winning through to the 2nd qualifying round Rhyl lost on aggregate 3-1 to Viking FK of Norway.

The off the field set up at Belle Vue is probably the most stable on the Welsh non-league scene following the arrival of former player and successful businessman Peter Parry.

After three months of discussions Peter agreed to take over at the helm. He immediately put together a very strong team of successful business people including the current chairman and former player Paul Higginson, A 10 year business plan was drawn up and a Strategic Board put together which is surely the envy of many football league clubs. Peter and his team were able to engage the support of the business community at a level and rate that was previously not accessible. The club also has a healthy Operational Board who handles the day to day running of the club.

This change was so much needed as the club was under pressure to maintain a team at the Welsh Premier level. Everyone involved with the club was excited as the spotlight turned on Belle Vue with fans and the Welsh Premier league eager to see if the club could be turned around.

Major ground improvements at Belle Vue have led to Rhyl staging a pre-season Under-21 International Tournament featuring Juventus, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Wrexham as well as Women’s World Cup qualifier and numerous youth internationals. The ground itself is by far the finest in the league of Wales and has a UEFA license for junior international and UEFA qualifying games.

The Lilywhites picked up the League Cup in 2003 but 2003/4 proved to be their best campaign ever, winning the Welsh Premier title for the first time and adding the league's Challenge Cup and the Welsh Cup within a week.

The Squad:

Brewerton, James

Cameron, Dave

Clampitt, Carl

Connolly, Mark

Edwards, Timmy

Gann, John

Graves, Stuart

Hay, Alex

Horan, George

Hunt, Lee

Moody, Adrian

Moran, Andy

Murtagh, Conall

Orlik, Marcus

Powell, Gary

Powell, Mark

Sharp, Chris

Whitfield, Paul

Wilson, Gareth

Manager: John Hulse