Briton Ferry Llansawel was born out of the merger of two clubs, but although their history in their current guise only dates back to the 2009 both Briton Ferry and Llansawel Football Clubs respectively both retain a distinguished albeit contrasting history.
Briton Ferry Ex-Schoolboys (Founding name) being the elder club was formed in 1925/26 and became members of the Welsh League in the early 1930's. The team was re-named Briton Ferry Athletic A.F.C. in 1926 when playing in the Swansea and District Football League. Promotion was gained to the second division of the Welsh League in 1932. After the Second World War in 1947 "The Ferry” gained promotion to the first division of the Welsh League, albeit for one season only.
Despite the Club's mixed fortunes in the 1950's and 1960's it built up a fine sporting tradition and produced three full Welsh Internationals in Roy John, Harold Williams and Carl Harris. In 1987 Mr. Graham Jenkins, (a former life president) who played for the team between 1951 and 1955 and whose grandfather, Mr. James Taylor, was a founder member of the club became Chairman of the Club and between 1995 and 1997 he undertook the re-building of the clubhouse, dressing-rooms, the visitors' lounge and the installation of floodlights.
There is no doubt that the club's fine facilities were a factor when Mr. Carl Harris, the former Leeds United winger and winner of twenty four full Welsh Caps accepted the position of player-manager. The club enjoyed considerable success under Carl's leadership culminating in the team's promotion as runners-up to the new League of Wales. (currently Welsh Premier). However the stay in the League was to be a short one when relegation followed at the end of the 1993-94 season.
Although the club preserved its status as one of the most established teams in the Welsh league by retaining their first division status for many years they were never able to reach the heights achieved in their glory days and a succession of poor seasons culminated in their relegation in 2008/2009 to the third division of the Welsh Football League.
Comparative youngsters compared to their counterparts at the Old Road, Llansawel Football Club was only formed in 1985 by a group of fathers whose children were playing junior football for Giant's Grave Boys Club. Over a period of 20 years since they entered the then old Division Five of the Neath and District Senior League the club successfully rose through the ranks culminating in 2005/2006 by becoming the first team in the 75 year history of the Neath League to complete the treble twice.
2005/2006 proved to be a landmark season which saw the club win 6 trophies including the Premier League, Premier Cup, Open Cup, Borough Cup, Rose Bowl and Neath League 75th Anniversary Trophy. A great season was capped with Llansawel gaining promotion into the Welsh Football League. Llansawel spent three seasons in the Welsh League before the decision was made to amalgamate with Briton Ferry FC.
The Merger
Both respective clubs before any prior formal discussion began had reasons for and against the merger. One fact that underlined the need for consideration was that both clubs realized that life in the Welsh League was not getting any easier, Briton Ferry’s demise and Llansawel’s promotion meant both clubs were now in direct competition, both chasing the same pool of players, sponsors and supporters a task made even more difficult by the emergence of Neath as a major force in the Welsh Premier.
Professionalism, and the willingness of a few (at the time the Llansawel committee consisted of four members) to make the successful step up into the Welsh League is what was admired by the majority of the members of Briton Ferry AFC. In return Llansawel longed for their own ground and a way of returning to play in Briton Ferry after years based in Neath.
Although relative paupers compared to their more established neighbours, Llansawel brought guile, fresh, modern ideas and the ability to turn words into action invigorating once again the late Graham Jenkins (Briton Ferry AFC) and those who had worked so hard to maintain the ethos the once proud Welsh Premier founder members embodied.
After extensive discussions in the summer of 2009 it was agreed that Briton Ferry Football Club and Llansawel Football Club would merge to form Briton Ferry Llansawel AFC. A short period of due diligence followed although in hindsight this was to prove less than methodical. Our immediate future therefore would be dictated by the past due to unforeseen old debts which came to light after the merger and extensive but essential maintenance work both on and of the field at the Old Road Ground. All this combined to ensure all our efforts and investment would have to be focused into servicing the past in order for the club to look to the future.
Although people remained skeptical, the new club is slowly rising once again, turning the page on a new chapter where they no longer have to look over their shoulder in fear of the past. The existing committee members although small (six members) remain focused, determined to grasp the opportunity.
In the past two seasons especially, notable achievements include stability both on and off the field. Our aim and desires to succeed are stronger than ever with the sole aim still to maximize our potential by creating a foundation for controlled, economical growth ensuring those who were once skeptics must now acknowledge that the new club has moved on successfully and can once again look forward with enthusiasm to the future.
Briton Ferry Llansawel AFC – Present Day
We are a relatively new club with only six committee members; something which is not uncharacteristic within football at this level . We currently run two senior teams which are managed by Carl Shaw (1st Team) and Dean Tristrum (Reserve Team) respectively.
We at present do not have a major sponsor, or financial investor that helps maintain the club on a daily basis. All our working budget is self generated revenue through a combination of sponsors, committee members, self funding through events plus the few assets we do possess like our club café.
Unlike most other clubs in the Welsh League we do not pay players to play, in fact remarkably you could say from a certain perspective the players both first team and reserves pay us to play through our weekly box thirteen prize draw. We do not have a players/managers budget meaning all revenue is focused on the running costs of the club and any improvements we wish to make to the ground.
We have a manager, coach and group of players who play for free, play firstly for the love of the game, secondly because they enjoy what we provide and most importantly because they have bought into our vision and believe in what my fellow members and I are trying to achieve. We are a club with limited resources but that does not mean we don’t retain a professional ethos that fuels our big ambitions. We are always looking to improve on and off the field but are doing this in a way that we believe is the most responsible manner to ensure the future of our club.