Wikipedia - Colne F.C.
Colne Football Club is a football club based in Colne, Lancashire, England. Affiliated with the Lancashire County Football Association, they are currently members of the North West Counties League Premier Division and play at Holt House.
History
The club was established in January 1996, six years after Colne Dynamoes folded after being refused promotion to the Football Conference. They joined Division Two of the North West Counties League, with their first league match being a 1–0 defeat by Middlewich Athletic. They went on to finish bottom of the division in their first season. The club finished in the bottom half of the table every season until 2003–04, when they won the division, earning promotion to Division One; the season also saw them win the Division Two Cup with a 1–0 win against Great Harwood Town in the final, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the FA Vase, eventually losing 4–3 on aggregate to AFC Sudbury.
Division One was renamed the Premier Division in 2008. In 2015–16 Colne were Premier Division champions, earning promotion to Division One North of the Northern Premier League. They finished fifth in the division in 2016–17, qualifying the promotion playoffs. However, they lost 4–0 to Farsley Celtic in the semi-finals. As a result of league reorganisation, the club were placed in Division One West for the 2018–19 season. They went on to finish fourth in the division and qualified for the play-offs, losing 2–1 to Leek Town in the semi-finals. In 2022–23 the club finished second-from-bottom of Division One West and were relegated back to the Premier Division of the North West Counties League.
Colne a fost fondat în 1879 și a devenit membru al Ligii de Fotbal în 1892, dar a fost votat în afara ligii în 1900. Clubul a fost membru fondator al Ligii Centrale în 1905 și al Ligii Nordice în 1921. Colne a câștigat Cupa Lancashir de câteva ori și a ajuns în finala Cupei FA Amator în 1930.
În anii 1950 și 1960, Colne a jucat în Cupa Europeană a Campionilor, fiind prima echipă din Lancashire care a făcut acest lucru. Clubul a pierdut în prima rundă în fața lui Manchester United în 1956–57 și în fața lui Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt în 1962–63.
Culorile tradiționale ale clubului sunt albastru și alb. Stadionul de acasă al lui Colne este Stadionul Holt House, care are o capacitate de 2.000 de persoane.
Colne are o rivalitate de lungă durată cu Accrington Stanley, vecinii lor din orașul vecin. Cele două cluburi se întâlnesc în mod regulat în competițiile locale.