is a football club based in Silsden, West Yorkshire, England, and is currently a member of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division.
Silsden were at this time among a number of local clubs wanting a higher grade of football in which to play and so became founder members of the West Riding County Amateur League.
They were pipped for the title but at least the Charity Cup was won again, Sutton United defeated 3–2 Silsden returned to the Keighley League for the 1937–38 season.
The gloomy economic climate at the time had seen many clubs go to the wall, and there is no doubt that Silsden were also feeling the pinch.
A new dressing block at the Keighley Road ground was built, constructed from an old air raid shelter, with bathing accommodation added.
The 1951–52 campaign also saw the Keighley Cup return to Silsden, Sutton United defeated by a solitary Arthur Tillotson header in a tight final.
Silsden then endured another lean period, the side replaced their own reserves in the increasingly popular Craven League in 1959, although 1962 saw the introduction of a Sunday team.
One notable end-of-season feature around this time was a Six-a-Side Tournament promoted by the club at Keighley Road.
Things would change dramatically within a few years, and Silsden were about to embark on not only another highly successful era, but one which would prove to be the most controversial of any local team in history!
The reserves also won their league cup competition, but the main talking point from their camp was a 7–1 thrashing of nearest challengers Liversedge in January, when Derek Hobson scored all seven!
Silsden made a poor start to the defense of their County Amateur League title and had to settle for second place behind Luddendenfoot at the end of the 1972–73 season.
Another successful campaign was made even sweeter when the West Yorkshire League at last allowed them access to their premier division.
With former Welsh International Trevor Hockey assisting Ian Patrickson with coaching duties, the side carried on where they left off.
To cap this, Silsden Reserves also won their league and Bingley Juniors were defeated in the Keighley & District FA Cup final.
Twelve months later, the name of Silsden was back on the Keighley Cup, defeating Crosshills 3–1 in the final.
Silsden achieved promotion to the premier division at the end of the 1985–86 campaign, but they struggled at the foot of the table during the 1987–88 season, eventually finishing second from bottom.
Rooted to the bottom of the table after having already pulled the plug on their reserve side, the club cited a lack of youngsters coming through as the main cause of their demise.
The ‘new’ Silsden had lasted only a decade, during which time they had risen to the same level at which their predecessors had achieved considerable success.
When Silsden AFC re-joined the Craven & District League at the start of the 1996–97 season there were high hopes that past glories could be equalled.
Andy Geary as manager took the side to new heights, ably backed by assistant Mick Hook and the strong committee which formed, behind the team.
Commencement of development of new ground at Keighley Road, Silsden started in July 2010 and was finished in August 2010.
We were privileged to play host to Fleetwood Town (2015) which drew in a crowd of over 300 and Bradford City (2011) in our first pre-season friendly before 1,125 spectators!
After a very poor first half to the season, James Gill and Danny Forrest took over and despite being fairly successful we were relegated.
[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.
In early 2017 the club built state of the art dug-outs to complement the completion of the exterior enclosure fencing.