Newport City

Newport City was formed in 1963 as Spencer Works and joined the Newport & District League, winning the Premier ‘B’ championship in 1967-68. The club then moved up to the Gwent Premier League and won it in 1970-71 and then again in 1971-72, before being elected to the Welsh Football League. In the first season the club won promotion as runners up to Pontllanfraith in Division 2, while won Division 1 two years later, winning 22 and drawing 8 out of 34 league games.

On the Welsh Cup front, the club gained a reputation as a giant killer, defeating Abergavenny Thursdays (2-1), South Glamorgan Institute (7-0) before losing to Bridgend Town (3-0) in 1979-80. The club then beat Milford United (4-2), before losing to Haverfordwest (2-1) in 1981-82. The following season the club beat Caerleon (2-1), before losing to Swansea City (3-0) who were in the First Division at the time. Two years later with Swansea now in Division Three, the sides would meet again after Spencer Works beat Abergavenny Thursdays (6-3 aet) and Maesteg Park (7-4) in a replay. The club drew 1-1, but Swansea City won the replay 5-0.

The club changed its name to Llanwern in 1988 to reflect the name change of the steelworks on whose ground they played. The club then gained promotion to the top division in 1992-93, finishing third behind AFC Porth and Caerau. After 5 seasons in Division 1, the club suffered relegation but were back in 2000-01 finishing runners up to Garw, for two seasons only though. The club also won the Welsh League Cup in 2002, beating Gwynfi United in the final in Neath.

Problems over the sale of the Corus works and its sports club and grounds, led to the decision in 2003 to re-locate the club to the Newport Stadium. The Welsh League re-organisation in 2010-11 led to the club dropping to Division 3. Manager Gareth Morgan then led a revival, leading to promotion back to Division 2 as runners up in 2013-14, behind Barry Town United.

In 2016 the club re-branded itself to Newport City and Sam Houldsworth was bought in as manager after a difficult start to the season, when the team were 15 points adrift of safety after 11 games. Unfortunately, despite an influx of new players, relegation was inevitable, but they missed safety by just 4 points.

2017-18 season saw Newport City back in Division 3, but the club was now clear of debt and the hard work off the pitch had seen new players come in to help stabilise the club. A tough season saw the team finish just below mid-table and going into the 2018-19 season the team once again found themselves playing catch up after a very difficult start. A mid-table finish was the stepping stone needed though for the club to look at bringing in more teams and the 2019-20 season saw the introduction of the Women’s Team, Girls Team, Youth Team and Reserve Team.

The next steps for the club had been put in place and the season saw Newport City finish in 7^th position after the pandemic halted the season. The club now looks to grow under the leadership of Sam Houldsworth and the great support off the pitch from the likes of long-standing David Jones and Alan Watkins. The Junior Section will continue to grow as will the First Team who will play in the Ardal Southern League, South East Division.