Garforth Town FC

Garforth Town Football Club were originally formed in 1964 as the Miners Arms, a local pub team taking their name from the hostelry where they were based. Formative years were spent in the Elmet Sunday League and then the Leeds Sunday Combination League in 1972. Having no ground of their own and none available in Garforth, matches had to be played on a council pitch in nearby Swillington. Following several years of League & Cup success, the club decided to step up into Saturday Football and joined the West Yorkshire League, at the same time acquiring their own ground at Brierlands Lane, by transforming a former council rubbish tip. In 1977 Garforth made an application to join the Yorkshire League, however they were advised that pub teams were ineligible to compete so they changed the team’s name to Garforth Miners and were duly elected. At the start of the 1981/82 season they became founder members of the Northern Counties East League, which was an amalgamation of the old Yorkshire and Midland League. In 1985 came the name change to the present one of Garforth Town.