North London FC Wiki

North London FC are a fictional Professional Football Club based in Islington, North London. The club was founded as Islington AFC on 16th July 1926 and played their first game on 24th July 1926 in a 0-0 draw against Sheffield FC. In 1936, the club rebranded as North London FC. They currently play in the Premier League after promotion the previous season.
The team currently plays their games at Kings Ground, ever since their foundation in 1926. It was originally called Islington Stadium from 1926-2001. During WWII, the stadium was also used as a hospital for wounded soldiers or civillians wounded by attacks. Its original capacity held 10,000 people. In 1946, it begun renovation and in 1948, it was expanded to 16,000. Their current capacity is 30,000.

The team is owned by Sxm Sports, as it has ever since 2020. Their first owner was James Kent from 1926-1960 and their second owner as his son, Robert Kent from 1960-1986. A new ownership group took over in 1986 who were the owners until 2020.

## History

### 1926-1939: The Founding and First Years

On 16th July 1926, Islington AFC were founded and begun play at Islington Stadium. They played their first game as a friendly against Sheffield FC at home, resulting in a 0-0 draw. For the 1926-27 season, the club entered the London Regional League First Division. They played their first league match against AFC Croydon and drew 1-1 away. Their first home competitive game against AFC Hayes, losing 1-0 at Islington Stadium. They finished the season 9th in the League, near the bottom of the league. They spent the next six seasons in the LRL First Division. They got promotion during their sixth season, 1931-32 season saw them Champions of the league. For the 1932-33 season, they played in the London Regional League Premier Division. Before the 1936-37 season, they rebranded as North London FC. In 1938-39 season, they once again got promoted, as champions.

### 1946-1951: Rising up the Pyramid

The 1946-47 season saw the return of North London FC playing in the 8th tier of English Football. They gained promotion from the London Leagues to the Combined Counties league. They spent the first season there, in their second season they gained promotion to the Premier Division of the Combined Counties. They finished 1st in the Premier Division in the 1950-1951 Season.

### 1960-1968: Admitted to the Football League and Promotion to Third Division

After finishing 1st in the 1959-60 season in the highest Non League division. They got elected to join the Football League. In the 1960-61 season, they finished 20th in the Fourth Division, with 41 Points. They finished bottom half for the next 3 seasons. In the 64-65 season, they finished 6th in the league. In the 65-66 season, they finished 5th in the league. In 66-67 season, they finished 8th and in 67-68, they finished 3rd in the league, getting promotion to the Third Tier of English Football.

### 1969-1970: Struggle and Relegation to the Fourth Tier

The 1969-70 season, they started off away to Reading, loosing 4-1. At the halfway point, they were 23rd with 12 points, only 2 wins and 6 draws. After their 44th game, they were confirmed relegated after loosing 1-0 to Chesterfield. After the 46th game, they finished with 26 points, with 6 wins and 8 draws. Because they finished in the relegation zone, they were relegated to the Fourth Tier of English Football. It was their first relegation in their History.

### 1970s: Decline and Failure to get relected to the Football League

The First Seasons in the Fourth Tier, they finished mid table in the league. The average position was 13th in the league. In the 1978-79 season, they finished 24th in the league, and failed to get re-elected by the Football League, and so therefore, they were relegated to Non League. They got relegated to the Conference Premier, the 5th tier of English Football. The 1979-80 season saw them finish 6th in the league, which meant they would spend another season in the Conference Premier.

### 1980s: Return to Football League and Rapid Rise

The 1980-81 season saw them finally return to the Football League after finishing 1st, and getting elected by the Football League to play in the 4th tier. They spent the next 2 seasons in the Fourth Tier. In the 1982-83 season saw them finish 1st in the Fourth Tier, gaining promotion to the Third Tier. They finished 16th in their first season back in the Third Tier. Then spent the next 3 seasons roughly mid-table and one top half finish. In the 1985-86 season they finished 2nd in the Third Tier, gaining promotion to the Second Division. In 1988, they managed to finish 4th in the league, just outside the Promotion Place. They also made it to the Semi-Final of the FA Cup, but lost 2-1 to Manchester City. In the 1989-1990 season, they finished 2nd in the league and gained promotion.

### 1990s: Promotion to the First Division and Second Division

The 1990-1991 season they playred their first season in the First Division. They finished 16th in the league, just managing to survive. In 1991-1992, they finished 21st in the league, getting relegation to the Second Division. However, due to the foundation of the Premier League, the second tier would be renamed First Division. They spent the rest of the 1990s in the Second Division, with a highest position finish of 8th and a low finish of 16th.

### 2010s: The Return to the Premier League

The 2012-2013 Football League Championship season saw them finish 4th in the league, they went to the Playoffs. They played Leicester City in the Playoff Semi Final. The First Leg was away at the King Power Stadium, with Leicester winning 1-0. Their Second Leg was at home, with them winning 2-0, winning 2-1 on agg, sending them to Wembley. The 2013 Football League Championship Playoff Final against Watford. They won 1-0 with a 68' minute goal by Richmond to give them the lead and win 1-0, sending them to the Premier League for the first time in their history, and their first time in the Top Flight since 1992, before the establishment of the Premier League. The 2013-2014 North London FC Season saw them play in the Premier League for the first time. They finished 14th in their first Premier League season, with 52 points. However in 2014-2015, they got relegated, finishing 20th with 24 points. They returned to the Championship and got relegated in 2016/2017 to League One for the first time since 2010. They gained instant promotion in 2017/2018 as EFL League One winners and also won the 2018 EFL Trophy and was runners up as they lost 4-0 to Man City in the 2018 EFL Cup Final.

## References

1. ↑ Islington 0-0 Sheffield FC: North London's First ever game
2. ↑ History of North London FC
3. ↑ North London FC promoted to Premier League
4. ↑ History of the Kings Ground
5. ↑ Kings Ground capacity
6. ↑ Sxm Sports ownership of North London
7. ↑ Previous owner of NLFC
8. ↑ Sxm Sports becomes 4th owner of NLFC
9. ↑ Islington's first trophy: 1932
10. ↑ North London in the 1950s, promotion and no relegation
11. ↑ How North London gained promotion to the Third Tier in 1968
12. ↑ When North London suffered their first relegation in History
13. ↑ When North London crashed out of the Football League
14. ↑ 1979-1980 Conference Premier
15. ↑ North London's Conference Premier Triumph
16. ↑ 1986: North London's FA Cup Run
17. ↑ NLFC in the First Division
18. ↑ North London FC: The 1990s
19. ↑ North London 1-0 Watford: Richmond's only goal sees Kings promoted to the Premier League