In Focus | Newport County AFC
“If we want to achieve our goals then we need to grasp this moment and join together”
Gavin Foxall, chairman of Newport County AFC
ONE OF just three clubs in England’s top four tiers to have a majority fan-ownership, Newport County AFC are a founding member of Fair Game UK. Their story is one of hope, loss and patience but their ultimate togetherness and never-say-die attitude is what makes them a stalwart of Fair Game.
Newport County’s story starts in 1912: 109 years ago. ‘The Ironsides’ represented Newport’s steel industry and rose through the leagues and into a Second Division campaign that was abruptly halted by the outbreak of the Second World War. County’s pre-war momentum was largely lost as the club found itself in the Fourth Division by 1962, and they would stay there for the next 18 years.
At the beginning of the 1980s it appeared that the South Wales club where back on the up. A dramatic Division Four title win was accompanied by victory in the Welsh Cup and a subsequent foray into Europe in the Cup Winners Cup, where the side - featuring a young John Aldridge - made its way to the third round.
However, the highs of the European adventure where not to last, and having returned soon after to the fourth tier, the club ended the 1988 season rock bottom of the division with just 25 points. Then, as if losing County’s Football League status was not bad enough, serious financial issues meant that club failed to even finish the subsequent Conference campaign.
Controversial owner Jerry Sherman ran up debts of £330,000 and the club was expelled as a result. A city lost its club, and a fanbase was suddenly without its pillar and outlet. But what happened next is what makes Newport stand out.
Refusing to let the club die, 400 supporters reformed the club in June of 1989, with former boss John Relish re-appointed as ‘Newport AFC’ readied itself for its first season in the Hellenic League. As if playing four divisions below their England’s fourth tier wasn’t already bad enough, the side also had to play their matches in Gloucestershire: some 130km away from their usual ground. Thus, ‘The Ironsides’ became ‘The Exiles’.
Of course, promotions were important, but it was tenacity and seismic belief that brought Newport AFC, eventually Newport County AFC again in 1999, back to the Football League in 2013. It took 25 years to do so, but Justin Edinburgh guided the side to promotion via the play-offs with a 2-0 win over Wrexham in the final. Since then, Newport County’s Supporters’ Trust assumed ownership in 2015, and the club have gone on to have four top half finishes and two play-off finals to their name – despite both being losses. Newport have been on an upward trajectory since manager Michael Flynn was appointed in 2017.
Newport County AFC’s fight for survival is inspirational and should once again remind the footballing community of the power of fans to keep their club even if it may mean starting from the bottom. But their story should also show the need for an independent regulator, of which Fair Game is fighting for. The club should never have had financial troubles to rebuild itself from in the first place.
Fan ownership is more regularly highlighted as a road to stability. In embracing fan ownership in 2015, the Trust praised the power of supporters and Newport’s potential going forward: “We’ve raised £236,000 with the vast majority coming from fans.
“The fact that Newport isn’t the richest place in the world makes it even more fantastic, it shows the appetite for supporting their local club. Now we want to be as inclusive as is possible. Everyone needs to feel welcome here.”
And that is exactly what Newport have done. Financial problems, poor form, temporary relocation and dropping down the football pyramid was not enough to down the County faithful. It is this tenacity that has inspired the club to get involved with Fair Game; an organisation that champions the same beliefs that returned Newport to the Football League.
Commenting on their place in Fair Game, Chairman Gavin Foxall highlighted the need for togetherness shared by Newport’s experience and Fair Game: “If we want to achieve our goals then we need to grasp this moment and join together.”
