About The Club

The Club was founded in 1930 as “Old Farnworthians AFC”, an offshoot of the Old Farnworthians Association, the ex-pupils organization of Farnworth Grammar School now sadly no longer in existence.

The Lancashire Amateur League were, at the time, attempting to form a new Northern Section and recruited a number of teams from old boys associations in the Bolton area. The club soon found success and won the Championship of the newly formed Northern Section in Season 1933-34.

For the first 24 years of its existence, Old Farnworthians AFC was a “closed” club with membership only available to ex-pupils of the school. It is not clear whether the club was having difficulty in attracting enough players or whether it was a sign of increasing ambition but the club opened its doors to all players in 1954.

The 1933-34 triumph apart, success continued to elude the club in those early years. Equally elusive was a regular home. Records show that the club played at many grounds including Peel Park, Little Hulton, Harper Green and Doe Hey.

The club opened up negotiations with Little Lever Urban District Council in the late 1960’s for the lease of the King George V playing fields at Mytham Road, Little Lever. These fields were in a poor condition and in need of much attention.

The club moved onto the site at the beginning of the 1967-68 season. The lease, signed on 1st March 1968, gave the club exclusive use of the pitches and pavilion for a period of 50 years from the 1st September 1967.This period is made up of a 28 year lease ( expiring in 1995 ) but with a 22 year option, exercisable by the club.

A considerable amount of work needed to be done to get the fields in playable condition. This included regarding the land, laying new drains, top soiling, seeding and fencing. Initially, the club paid £42 per year to the Council, made up of £5 rent and £37 to offset the costs of certain improvements carried out by the Council. The club also obtained a significant loan and grant of £6470 from the National Playing Fields Association. This included £4750 which went on grading, draining and sowing, £970 on fencing and £750 on maintenance equipment.

In the early years at Mytham Road, the club laid out only one pitch with the 3rd Team playing elsewhere usually at either Doe Hey or Brook Street. Around 1976, however, the club was so popular that it needed to start a 4th Team in order to meet demand for football and it was felt necessary to lay a second pitch at Mytham Road.

The club colours have been as varied as the grounds upon which our footballing ancestors played. In the mid 1960’s the colours were red and white stripes ( collars with buttons, shirt flaps, etc. ) and throughout the 1970’s the club colours were all blue.

Previously, the club played in school colours of green or green and black. Indeed the minutes of meeting show that certain members were delegated to approach the larger schoolboys to see if the club could have their shirts when they left school. Another interesting note from the minute books occurred just after the war when the club colours were registered as khaki and players turned out in their old army shorts.

Throughout the 1970’s the club enjoyed its most successful period with its 2nd and 3rd Teams in particular winning a variety of Championship honours. By this time too, the club had settled into its Little Lever home. It came as no surprise therefore when at the end of the 1970’s, with the imminent closure of Farnworth Grammar School, the club began to consider a change of name which would reflect its changed circumstances and the by now almost cosmopolitan nature of the players. An Extraordinary General Meeting held on 6th February 1982 saw the end of an era when the club members decided to change the name of the club with immediate effect from 1st June 1982 to Little Lever Sports Club.

The selection of the name “Sports Club” was indicative of the broadening base of the Organisation. Over the years the football side has significantly expanded to provide for Sunday players, Junior Football and a Veterans Team. More significantly the club has always been prepared to embrace new sports and to increase the opportunities to participate in sport particularly for women and young children. In terms of outlook the club is preparing to face the new Century and now needs the facilities to meet its aspirations.

Since those early days at Mytham Road, it was obvious that the old timber pavilion would soon be inadequate to meet the needs and aspirations of the members. Several attempts have been made to develop new facilities including new changing rooms and a clubhouse. On each occasion the attempt foundered but as Little Lever Sports Club reaches pensionable age perhaps now is the right time.

This last season has seen what we hope is the start of the development of the clubs facilities, the club house has been refurbished with new toilets and washing facility, a new kitchen has been installed so we can now provide hot and cold drinks, extensive work on the pitches sees them in great shape, we have also updated the goal posts buying top class removable aluminium and hope to have the whole ground securely fenced off for the start of the 2003/2004 season.
 
The club is also striving forward looking to secure "Charter Standard" for this season.