Bethesda Athletic F.C. (; ) is a football club based in the Welsh town of Bethesda, in northwest Wales. They play in the .
History Predecessor clubs In the 1913-14 season, Bethesda United competed in the North Wales Coast League. In 1919, a team known as Bethesda Comrades were playing in the North Wales Coast League, and they would only compete in the 1919-20 season. The next season, Ogwen Valley FC would compete in the North Wales Coast League. In the 1930s Bethesda Victoria were involved in North Wales football circles, winning the North Wales Combination and NWCFA Challenge Cup in 1931–32."Football notes" - Holyhead Mail and Anglesey Herald, Friday 13 May 1932 (page 6)
Early years and Welsh League (North) Bethesda Athletic was formed in 1946. In the 1948–49 season they joined the Welsh National League (North) Division 1, and early years in the league saw them regularly finish bottom, or near bottom of the table. The late 1960s saw the club regularly finish near the top of the division, with the first league title coming in the 1970–71 season, and a period of relative success followed in this period.
Athletic also enjoyed some good runs in the Welsh Cup, the English F.A. Cup, and the English F.A. Trophy. A long Welsh Cup run in 1960 saw wins over Nantlle Vale, Penmaenmawr and Pwllheli which set up a Quarter Final date with Cardiff City which ended in a six nil defeat against the eventual winners. In 1976 they beat Oswestry Town but were knocked out by Bangor City at Farrar Road. The score was 4–2 goals from Broadhead, Olney and John Hughes for Bangor and Alan Leicester for Bethesda.
In the FA Cup Bethesda took Tamworth to two replays in 1970 before finally bowing out. In 1974 Bethesda knocked out South Liverpool in the Qualifying rounds of The FA Cup but were eventually beaten by Rhyl in a second replay after two drawn matches.
The club spent 28 seasons in the Welsh League (North) with their final season, 1976–77, bringing the club's second divisional Championship.
Caernarfon & District League and Gwynedd League The 1977–78 season saw the club move to the Caernarfon & District League, where they remained for six seasons, before moving to the Gwynedd League for a singular season, where they finished in third position.
Welsh Alliance 1984–85 saw the club join the Welsh Alliance League, the successor to the Welsh League (North) as a founder member. For the first two seasons, the club were runners-up in the league, before in 1988–87 finishing as champions. In 1990 when fellow Welsh Alliance members Fflint, Conwy, Porthmadog and Connah's Quay joined the newly formed Cymru Alliance, Bethesda remained in the Welsh Alliance League.
Return to Caernarfon & District/ Gwynedd Leagues After finishing third in the Welsh Alliance in 1990–91, the club decided to drop down to the local Caernarfon & District League where they remained until stepping up to the Gwynedd League after being crowned champions in 1997–98 season. After two seasons in this league they were promoted to the Welsh Alliance League in 2000 after being crowned champions for the 1999–2000 season.
Welsh Alliance success The club spent nine years in the Welsh Alliance culminating in two successive championship winning years. In the 2007–08 season they were champions of the Welsh Alliance League but were refused promotion to the Cymru Alliance by the Football Association of Wales. Two players, Gareth Davies and Richie Owen, scored 70 goals between them over the course of the season.
The following season saw the club break the league's season goal-scoring record, with 146 goals - again securing the league title.
After also completing upgrades to their football ground, the club stepped up to the second tier of Welsh football – the Cymru Alliance.
Cymru Alliance The club spent a solitary season in the Cymru Alliance, finishing ninth from 17 clubs in 2009–10 season.
Return to the Welsh Alliance The club returned to the Alliance, competing for two subsequent seasons. In August 2012 they were not able to complete fixtures and were given 14 days by the league's Management Committee to resolve their issues. The club announced in September that it was disbanding and resigned from the league "due to various circumstances".
After a season away - the club returned for the 2013–14 season but finished bottom of the Welsh Alliance Division Two with six points. The following season saw them finish 10th from 16 clubs, before they again left the league.
Return to the Gwynedd League The club returned to the Gwynedd League, finishing bottom of the league in the 2016–17 season. The following season they withdrew from the league.
In 2018 it was announced that the club would return to the league again but they again resigned from the league in August 2018 without playing any games.
They were named as a returning club for the 2019–20 season to same league.
Ladies The club also has a ladies team, Bethesda Athletic Ladies, who were established in 2018. The play in the North Wales Women's Football League part of Wales' women's football pyramid. Their first season saw them compete in the second division, finishing the season as champions. In their second season, they played in the first division before withdrawing from the league in September 2019 and having their results expunged. The club announced they will continue to play instead at recreational level in the North Wales Recreational League.
Honours
North Wales Coast West Football League Division One Cup – Winners: 2021–22 Caernarfon & District League – Champions (1): 1997–98 Caernarfon & District League – Runners-Up (1): 1996–97 Gwynedd League – Champions (1): 1999–2000 Welsh Alliance – Champions (3): 1986–87; 2007–08, 2008–09 Welsh Alliance – Runners-Up (3): 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88 Welsh League (North) (2) – Champions: 1970–71, 1976–77 Welsh League (North) (2) – Runners-Up: 1971–72, 1973–74 North Wales Coast FA Junior Challenge Cup – Winners: 1979–80
League history
Season League Final position1946-471947-481948-491949-50Welsh League (North) Division 111th1950-51Welsh League (North) Division 110th1951-52Welsh League (North) Division 117th1952-53Welsh League (North) Division 118th1953-54Welsh League (North) Division 118th1954-55Welsh League (North) Division 113th1955-56Welsh League (North) Division 116th1956-57Welsh League (North) Division 114th1957-58Welsh League (North) Division 115th1958-59Welsh League (North) Division 117th1959-60Welsh League (North) Division 14th1960-61Welsh League (North) Division 114th1961-62Welsh League (North)10th1962-63Welsh League (North)11th1963-64Welsh League (North)10th1964-65Welsh League (North)17th1965-66Welsh League (North)13th1966-67Welsh League (North)16th1967-68Welsh League (North)3rd1968-69Welsh League (North)4th1969-70Welsh League (North)4th1970-71Welsh League (North)1st1971-72Welsh League (North)2nd1972-73Welsh League (North)7th1973-74Welsh League (North)2nd1974-75Welsh League (North)6th1975-76Welsh League (North)3rd1976-77Welsh League (North)1st1977-78Caernarfon & District League 7th1978-79Caernarfon & District League 9th1979-80 Caernarfon & District League 3rd1980-81 Caernarfon & District League 10th1981-82 Caernarfon & District League 10th1982-83 Caernarfon & District League 12th1983-84 Gwynedd League3rd 1984-85 Welsh Alliance League2nd 1985-96 Welsh Alliance League2nd 1986-87 Welsh Alliance League1st 1987-88 Welsh Alliance League2nd 1988-89 Welsh Alliance League8th 1989-90 Welsh Alliance League5th 1990–91 Welsh Alliance League3rd1991–92 Caernarfon & District League 15th1992–93 Caernarfon & District League 4th 1993–94 Caernarfon & District League 4th 1994–95 Caernarfon & District League 4th 1995–96 Caernarfon & District League 3rd 1996–97 Caernarfon & District League 2nd 1997–98 Caernarfon & District League 1st 1998–99 Gwynedd League 4th 1999–2000 Gwynedd League 1st 2000–01 Welsh Alliance League4th2001–02 Welsh Alliance League7th 2002–03 Welsh Alliance League4th2003–04 Welsh Alliance League6th 2004–05 Welsh Alliance League3rd 2005–06 Welsh Alliance League3rd 2006–07 Welsh Alliance League6th 2007–08 Welsh Alliance League1st 2008–09 Welsh Alliance League1st 2009–10 Cymru Alliance 9th 2010–11 Welsh Alliance League 19th 2011–12 Welsh Alliance League 15th2012–13 Welsh Alliance League 1Resigned from League 2013–14 Welsh Alliance League 213th2014–15 Welsh Alliance League 210th 2015–16 Welsh Alliance League 2 13th2016–17 Gwynedd League 12th 2017–18 Gwynedd League Withdrew from the league 2018–19 Gwynedd League Withdrew from the league prior to season start2019–20 Gwynedd League 14th2020–21 North Wales Coast West Football League Division OneCompetition not played - Covid-19 pandemic2021-22North Wales Coast West Football League Division One2nd2022-23North Wales Coast West Football League Premier Division1st2023-24Ardal North West League14th2024-25North Wales Coast West Football League Premier Division1st2025-26Ardal North West League5th
Notes
References
External links Bethesda Ladies official twitter