Barry Town FC  

There aren’t many clubs that have endured the kind of turbulent rollercoaster which Barry Town found themselves on during the last twenty years or so.   

From the heights of a fully professional title winning club competing in Europe to a homeless part-time outfit scratching around in the Welsh Leagues Second Division; the plummeting fortunes of Barry Town included a spectacular crash from Champions League to non-entity within a matter of months. 

Barry’s history dates way back to 1912 though they first entered senior football in 1931 by joining the English Southern League.   

The club achieved little in the way of success but in 1982 the decision to replace their reserve side in the Welsh League with the first team paid immediate dividends with Town winning the Premier Division at the first attempt.   

Reorganisation saw Barry Town placed in the new National Division with Town winning the championship five times in six years but, in 1992, Barry, along with other leading Welsh clubs, were exiled back to the Southern League after refusing to join the new League of Wales (now Welsh Premier).   

After two seasons of exile Barry Town finally returned to Wales in 1993 and sparked a decade of incredible success.   

Placed in the Welsh League First Division they easily won the title along with the League Cup, FAW Trophy and Welsh Cup.   

Promotion to the League of Wales saw Barry Town finish seventh in 1994/95 before the club took the radical decision to turn full-time.   

This gamble paid off (on the pitch at least) with Barry Town winning their first LoW title in 1995/96.  This success would be followed by five more championships in the subsequent six years with the Welsh Cup also being won in four of those seasons including three straight successes’ between 2000 and 2003.  

Barry Town had made their mark in Europe by reaching the First Round Proper of the UEFA Cup in 1996/97 and in 2000/01 became the first LoW club to win a Champions League tie when they beat Azerbaijan champions FC Shamkir in both legs.  

Unfortunately, despite their success the club could not attract support on the terraces and in 2003 went into administration with debts of around £1million.  Relegation inevitable followed with the club forced to quit their Jenner Park home.   

A subsequent relegation followed with the club dropping into the Welsh League’s Second Division in 2007. 

Hopefully, with the club now back at Jenner Park, Barry Town can begin the long climb back to the Premier League.