ON THE OPPONENT

Sadly the 2014/2015 season did not turn out as we had wished. Injuries and other severe problems off the pitch resulted in more pressing important matters that Manager Brent Peters had to deal with, resulting in the team being relegated from the Premier Division. A decision was taken to relaunch Bacup Borough Football Club from the start of the 2015/2016 season.

The historic crest was brought back, and there were exciting developments on and off the pitch. Among those was the creation of two junior teams – an U15 team and an U18 team – who competed under the banner of Bacup Borough FC and had excellent seasons, both teams winning trophies. Season 2015/2016 was a season of rebuilding, and the first team finished the season very strongly, reaching the Division One play-off final, only to lose two nil in extra time of what had been a hard-fought and evenly balanced game.

2016/17 was the start of a rebuilding programme with a further introduction within our Youth Development with an u21 team. This was followed in the 2017/18 season by introducing an under-9s team. The Youth structure started to pay off with the senior squad introducing several boys into this side.

2018/19 Manager Brent Peters started with probably his youngest-ever squad, with the average age being 21 years old. The boys contributed to a very good season finishing 8th in the League, Semi-Finalist in the First Division Trophy, and winning the Team of the Month for April with five games, two home draws, and then three back-to-back away wins. The last two seasons have been highly disruptive to football. The club now has a fit and promising young squad keen to carry on from where they left off last season, challenging for promotion.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that our Manager, Brent Peters, is acknowledged by the BBC as the world’s longestserving club football manager. He has been at the helm of Bacup Borough for almost 24 years, clocking up well over 1.000 games.

Last season (2021/22) saw the first team narrowly miss out on a play-off place. Attendances increased, and there is a real buzz about the place as we continue to make progress on and off the field.