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Southport Sports History
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📚 "The Town's Game: The Origins of Rugby and Association Football in Southport (1872-1889)"
https://amzn.eu/d/7PQgw24
Southport’s owners recently spoke about the importance of everyone contributing to the club’s future. This article explains how the club’s share structure has changed over time, what those changes mean for supporters today and why the fundraising methods of previous eras no longer fit the model.
Helping the Club Together: A History of Southport’s Share Structure and the Path Ahead
Southport’s owners have recently spoken about the importance of everyone contributing to the club’s future. This article explains how the club’s share structure has changed over time, what those changes mean for supporters today and why the fundraising methods of previous eras no longer fit the modern landscape. --- The recent open letter from the club’s owners, David Cunningham and Kieran Malone, has encouraged many supporters to think more deeply about how they can help strengthen Southport’s future.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Big Help Figures Under Scrutiny in Ongoing Fraud Probe

The Serious Fraud Office is now investigating Knowsley Foodbank after concerns were raised earlier this year about how the charity’s money had been used. That investigation sits alongside an existing statutory inquiry by the Charity…
Big Help Figures Under Scrutiny in Ongoing Fraud Probe
The Serious Fraud Office is now investigating Knowsley Foodbank after concerns were raised earlier this year about how the charity’s money had been used. That investigation sits alongside an existing statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission. Against that backdrop, The Liverpool Post published a detailed report at the end of November, setting out a series of transactions made between late 2024 and early 2025 and reproducing internal emails, bank statements and correspondence that have brought the governance of the foodbank into sharp focus.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 8:36 AM
When the Southport board cast a vote of no confidence in chairman Tom Robinson on 27th November 1975, it marked the public breaking point of difficulties that had been building across several seasons.
The Robinson Power Struggle: Southport’s Boardroom Crisis of 1975
When the Southport board cast a vote of no confidence in chairman Tom Robinson on 27th November 1975, it marked the public breaking point of difficulties that had been building across several seasons. The club was losing money, attendances had collapsed, and the board had shrunk to its smallest size since the war. The crisis was not the product of one decision or one personality.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 8:07 AM
The past couple of months has seen a substantial amount of new work added to Southport Central, covering topical issues, major historical themes and detailed research into the people who shaped the club. Here's an overview
November 2025 Update
The past couple of months has seen a substantial amount of new work added to Southport Central, covering topical issues, major historical themes and detailed research into the people who shaped the club. Here's an overview. Topical pieces The Liverpool Senior Cup Stalemate set out the background to the (still) unresolved position in this season’s competition. I decided to pen a purely hypothetical piece to look at the…
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Forty five years ago today, on Thursday, November 20th 1980, the Directors of Southport Football Club made the most important and difficult decision in the Club’s history to put the Company into liquidation.
www.southportcentral.co.uk/the-day-sout...
The Day Southport FC Chose Liquidation
Forty five years ago today, on 20 November 1980, Southport Football Club reached perhaps the lowest point in its long history. The season had begun in turmoil. Chairman Walter Giller and secretary …
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Southport’s election to the Football League in March 1921 is usually remembered as a single turning point, the moment when the town finally took its place on the national football map. In reality it was the end of a much longer story, shaped by two decades of ambition, frustration and steady politic
Southport’s Twenty-Year Climb to the Football League
Edwin Clayton Southport’s election to the Football League in March 1921 is usually remembered as a single turning point, the moment when the town finally took its place on the national football map. In reality it was the end of a much longer story, shaped by two decades of ambition, frustration and steady political groundwork. By the time the Third Division North was formed, Southport had already tried almost everything to gain admittance.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Southport’s Dual-Sport Heroes: Thomas Burnett

Few people could ever claim to have had the same impact that Thomas Blundell Burnett had on sport in Southport. That his role in the history of the sport in this town has been almost forgotten for so long is a shame. He was the pioneer of association…
Southport’s Dual-Sport Heroes: Thomas Burnett
Few people could ever claim to have had the same impact that Thomas Blundell Burnett had on sport in Southport. That his role in the history of the sport in this town has been almost forgotten for so long is a shame. He was the pioneer of association football in Southport, of that there is absolutely no doubt. He is also largely responsible for the reformation of Southport Cricket Club in 1883.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 7:47 AM
As we look towards the annual acts of Remembrance, we take time to honour the brave men who served and sacrificed their lives during times of conflict, including those connected to Southport FC.
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Remembering Southport FC’s Fallen Heroes This Remembrance Day
As we look towards the annual acts of Remembrance, we take time to honour the brave men who served and sacrificed their lives during times of conflict, including those connected to Southport FC. Th…
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 7, 2025 at 9:18 AM
International Sandgrounders

When Ne-Jai Tucker pulled on the Bermuda shirt to face Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier in September, he became only the fourth player ever to represent his country in a senior international fixture while registered with Southport. Full Senior Internationals (while at…
International Sandgrounders
When Ne-Jai Tucker pulled on the Bermuda shirt to face Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier in September, he became only the fourth player ever to represent his country in a senior international fixture while registered with Southport. Full Senior Internationals (while at Southport) George Latham (#265) – Wales (1909–10)Southport’s first full international. Latham, a wing half, added to his Welsh caps during his spell at the club in the Edwardian era.
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November 6, 2025 at 8:39 AM
🗳️ The National League’s calling for three promotion places into the EFL.
A fairer pyramid. A clearer pathway. One step closer to parity.

Sign the petition here 👉 www.change.org/VoteFor3UP

#VoteFor3UP #3UP #NationalLeague
Sign the Petition
3UP | Urge the EFL to grant third promotion place to National League clubs
www.change.org
November 5, 2025 at 7:14 PM
The Problem with Mixed Messaging

Southport Football Club has a proud and complex history. Its name runs through almost a century and a half of the town’s sporting life, from the earliest experiments with rugby and association football to the modern day. Yet in 2025 the picture of that history…
The Problem with Mixed Messaging
Southport Football Club has a proud and complex history. Its name runs through almost a century and a half of the town’s sporting life, from the earliest experiments with rugby and association football to the modern day. Yet in 2025 the picture of that history remains oddly inconsistent. Across the club’s public face, the story changes depending on where you look.
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November 4, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Southport won’t play City of Liverpool in the Senior Cup.
City of Liverpool say they’ve done nothing wrong.
The County FA says nothing at all.
So what do the rules actually say?
The Senior Cup Stalemate
On 23 October 2025, Southport FC released a statement confirming that they would not fulfil their scheduled Liverpool County FA Senior Cup tie against City of Liverpool FC. The announcement set out the club’s reasons in unusually strong terms and has since prompted debate over integrity, governance and the relevance of county competitions in the modern game. The statement centred on a financial dispute arising from a series of loan agreements between the two clubs during the 2024–25 season, involving Finlay Heath and Renato De Oliveira Gomes.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 11:43 AM
🦘 Today’s Match Programme | England v Australia

Today’s official match programme at the Hill Dickinson Stadium features a story that uncovers Southport’s unique place in Rugby League history.

#Ashes2025 #RugbyLeague #EnglandRL #AustraliaRL #Southport
November 1, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Not Football League. Not non-league. Just Southport.
One continuous record, from 1888 to today.
Shirt numbers change. Heritage numbers don’t.
Heritage Numbers: One Unbroken Line
One Port. One History. One Club. Since 1888.
Heritage Numbers: One Unbroken Line
The idea of heritage numbers has grown steadily in sport over the past two decades. First used in cricket, where players have long worn their Test cap number as a badge of honour, the practice has been adopted across codes. In rugby league, clubs such as Wigan, Leeds, and St Helens maintain published registers of every player to have represented them in a competitive first-team fixture, often commemorating centenaries or landmark matches by presenting players or their families with their number.
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October 31, 2025 at 11:50 AM
George Dobson – Southport Central’s First League Captain

When Southport Central entered the Lancashire League in September 1889, only a year after their formation, they did so as an ambitious professional club determined to make their mark. The man chosen to lead them in their first season of…
George Dobson – Southport Central’s First League Captain
When Southport Central entered the Lancashire League in September 1889, only a year after their formation, they did so as an ambitious professional club determined to make their mark. The man chosen to lead them in their first season of competitive league football was George Dobson, a former Everton captain whose reputation brought instant authority to the seaside town’s new side.
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October 29, 2025 at 7:35 AM
As the Ashes rugby league second test heads to Everton's new home, the occasion carries echoes of a much earlier link between England and Australia. In 1908 the first Kangaroos trained at Southport's new ground on Ash Lane, calling the town their home for the duration of their first tour.
From Ash Lane to Bramley-Moore: The Ashes return to the Lancashire coast
As the second Rugby League Ashes test between England and Australia approaches on 1st November, attention turns to the Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, Everton’s new home. It marks the first major international sporting event at the ground since the club left Goodison Park at the end of last season. More than a century earlier, another link between England and Australia had already been written into local sporting history.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 6:01 AM
🧵 1/ Rugby league’s IMG grading system rewards sustainability and good governance, not just results.

Could football adopt something similar under the new Independent Regulator? 👇
October 18, 2025 at 6:49 AM
Reposted by Southport Central
If Football Adopted IMG-Style Grading: How Would Your Club Fare?

The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the…
If Football Adopted IMG-Style Grading: How Would Your Club Fare?
The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the system argue it will protect the sport’s future; critics say it undermines the idea that results should always decide who goes up and who goes down.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 17, 2025 at 9:01 AM
If Football Adopted IMG-Style Grading: How Would Your Club Fare?

The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the…
If Football Adopted IMG-Style Grading: How Would Your Club Fare?
The IMG gradings introduced in rugby league have certainly divided opinion. Their aim is to reward sustainable, well-run clubs rather than those relying on short-term spending, but the shift has been controversial. Supporters of the system argue it will protect the sport’s future; critics say it undermines the idea that results should always decide who goes up and who goes down.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 17, 2025 at 9:01 AM
The Shifting Shape of the FA Cup

Why Southport’s latest cup run cannot be measured by old labels Southport’s crowd of 2,194 for the Fourth Qualifying Round tie with FC Halifax Town in October 2025 was an excellent turnout and the club’s best at this stage of the FA Cup for a century. It was not,…
The Shifting Shape of the FA Cup
Why Southport’s latest cup run cannot be measured by old labels Southport’s crowd of 2,194 for the Fourth Qualifying Round tie with FC Halifax Town in October 2025 was an excellent turnout and the club’s best at this stage of the FA Cup for a century. It was not, however, the highest ever attendance for a Fourth Qualifying Round match. In 1923, when Southport were a Football League club, around 5,000 watched their game against New Brighton at the same stage.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Charlie Weir - part of the first wave of Scottish footballers to cross the border and try their luck in Lancashire - swapping Cathkin Park for Scarisbrick New Road.
Charlie Weir – From Third Lanark to Southport Central
When the Dundee Evening Post published a history of Third Lanark in 1901, it remembered John and Charles Weir as the “famous half-backs” of the Cathkin Park side in the 1880s. John’s later career with Everton and Scotland has kept his name alive, but Charlie’s story deserves telling too. His was a career that bridged Glasgow’s Volunteer tradition and the first wave of Scottish footballers to cross the border and try their luck in Lancashire.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 6:21 AM
The Price Of Saying No

When Southport were voted out of the Football League in 1978, it ended fifty-seven years of membership that had begun with their election to the newly formed Third Division North in 1921. The blow was heavy enough, but within a year the landscape of English football was…
The Price Of Saying No
When Southport were voted out of the Football League in 1978, it ended fifty-seven years of membership that had begun with their election to the newly formed Third Division North in 1921. The blow was heavy enough, but within a year the landscape of English football was about to change again. For the first time, the leading clubs from the Southern League and Northern Premier League were to be drawn into a new national competition.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Reposted by Southport Central
We’ll be at Craven Cottage June 11-13
September 28, 2025 at 7:45 AM
James Brown Meunier – Southport Central’s French Connection

When James Brown Meunier signed for Southport Central in the summer of 1906, he brought with him a background that made him stand out. Born in Birmingham in April 1885 to a French father and English mother, he had already been on the…
James Brown Meunier – Southport Central’s French Connection
When James Brown Meunier signed for Southport Central in the summer of 1906, he brought with him a background that made him stand out. Born in Birmingham in April 1885 to a French father and English mother, he had already been on the books at Manchester City without breaking through to first-team football. Central provided him with that long-awaited opportunity, and in doing so, gave the club one of its most cosmopolitan players of the pre-First World War era.
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September 28, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Happy 99th Birthday to Trevor Hitchen

Today we celebrate the 99th birthday of Trevor Hitchen, the oldest living former Southport player and manager, the oldest living former football manager, and the seventh oldest former professional footballer in the country. Trevor holds a unique place in…
Happy 99th Birthday to Trevor Hitchen
Today we celebrate the 99th birthday of Trevor Hitchen, the oldest living former Southport player and manager, the oldest living former football manager, and the seventh oldest former professional footballer in the country. Trevor holds a unique place in Southport’s history. Appointed as “Players’ Manager” in 1958, he took responsibility for every aspect of the playing side at Haig Avenue, from players and coaches to even the groundsman.
www.southportcentral.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 4:51 AM