Dolgellau Athletic A.F.C. are a Welsh football club based in Dolgellau, Wales, who play in the .

They also have a reserve team playing in the MMP Central Wales League. In 2012 19-year-old David Webber became the youngest football manager in senior British football history when he was appointed first team manager at Dolgellau.

The home colours are yellow shirts with a black chevron and black shorts and socks.Dolgellau AAFC on Mid Wales

A club was formed in Dolgellau as far back as 1879.

History

Early football in Dolgellau The first known record of football being played in Dolgellau dates back to 1879, only two years after the establishment of the Football Association of Wales in 1877. In the same year, Dolgelley FC participated in the Welsh Cup, losing 3-0 to Newtown White Stars, who later won the competition.

Reports of football matches in Dolgellau appeared in local newspapers including Y Dydd and the Cambrian News and Meirionethshire Standard from 1878 onwards, indicating that organised football had been played on Y Marian ground since the late nineteenth century.

Football was also established within local education, with records of matches between Dolgellau County School and Grammar School during the 1880's.

Cambrian League and local football By 1886, Dolgellau had joined the Cambrian League alongside clubs from Tywyn, Porthmadog, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Barmouth and Penygroes. In 1898, the club was banned from holding matches on the Marian for six months following crowd disturbances among supporters.

The Cambrian League later evolved into the Cambrian Coast League, in which Dolgellau continued to compete until the league ceased in 1962. Local derby matches against Barmouth regularly attracted large attendances, with reports suggesting crowds in excess of 1,000 spectators during the early twentieth century.

Professional era In 1960, Dolgellau Athletic joined the Welsh League North as a professional club, while another Dolgellau side continued competing in the Cambrian Coast League. The professional club folded during the 1964–65 season.

Following the dissolution of Dolgellau Athletic and the end of the Cambrian Coast League, the town was left without a league football club for approximately six years. During this period, the former football ground was sold for industrial development.

Formation of Dolgellau A.A.F.C Dolgellau Athletic Amateur Football Club was founded in 1971 and joined the Aberystwyth and District League. The club began playing at its current ground following the loss of the original Marian field.

The club currently fields multiple teams within the Welsh football league system, including a first team and reserve side.

Players

First-team squad As of May 2026

Player of the Year The following players have been named Dolgellau A.A.F.C's Player of the Year.

2021-22: Gerwyn Williams 2022-23: Jake Jones 2023-24: Gerwyn Williams 2024-25: Osian Morris

Young Player of the Year

2021-22: Jamie Jones 2022-23: Johan Aufdenkamp 2023-24: Tyler Andrews 2024-25: Guto Pugh

Top scorers

2021-22: Gerwyn Williams (10) 2022-23: Gerwyn Williams (10) 2023-24: Gerwyn Williams (30) 2024-25: Osian Morris (26)

Reserves Top scorers

2021-22: Jack Thomas 2022-23: Tom Lloyd 2023-24: Tommy Redgrift 2024-25: Rhys Taylor-Clarke

Y Marian football ground gallery

Honours

Aberystwyth & District League Cup 1972–73, 1987–88, 2014–15 Aberystwyth & District League Division One 1980–81, 2008–09, 2015–16 Aberystwyth & District League Division One Trophy 1998–99 Aberystwyth & District League Division Two 1987–88 Aberystwyth & District League Division Two Trophy 1987–88 J. Emrys Morgan Cup 2001–02 North Cards Cup 1980–81 Len & Julia Newman Memorial Cup 2014–15, 2015–16http://www.dolgellauaafc.co.uk/history.php

Welsh Cup record +SeasonRoundOpponentResult1973/74Round oneLlansantffraid1-42009/10Round oneLex XI3-52010/11Round oneLlandudno1-22011/12Qualifying Round oneGwalchmai4-62012/13Qualifying Round twoBrickfield Rangers1-32018/19Round oneCefn Albion1-72019/20Qualifying Round twoCaersws3-52021/22Qualifying Round twoPenrhyndeudraeth0-32022/23Qualifying Round twoBow Street1-22023/24Qualifying Round oneLlandrindod Wells1-22024/25Qualifying Round oneBow1-1 (5-4p)2025/26Round threeCaerau Ely0-2

References