Football Club St Helens is a football club based in St. Helens, England. They are currently members of the and play at the Kay Welding Stadium, St. Helens.
History The club was founded in 2014 following a split from the St Helens Town A.F.C. reserve setup, entering the English football pyramid in the West Cheshire League Division Three under the leadership of founding chairman and long-standing club member Steve Leather. The club played its inaugural competitive fixture on 16 August 2014 against Upton AA Reserves, with Joe McKeegan scoring the first competitive goal in club history. Reflecting its collaborative community origins, the club adopted the Latin motto "Simul nos firmiores" ("Together, we are stronger") onto its club crest. After an impressive 6th-place finish in their first campaign, the club transitioned to the Cheshire Football League system.
During the disrupted 2020–21 season, the first team sat 12 points clear at the top of the Cheshire Football League Premier Division before the campaign was expunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The club bounced back the following year to secure the 2021–22 Premier Division title and earn promotion to the North West Counties Football League (NWCFL). In May 2023, Mike Smith was appointed as manager. Smith oversaw substantial progress on the pitch, leading the club to the Division One North championship and the NWCFL Champions Cup in his debut season. In August 2026, he celebrated his 150th competitive game in charge of the club.
To establish a clear pathway for local development alongside this first-team rise, the club had introduced its senior men's reserve team in 2016. Following subsequent promotions, a notable historical quirk emerged as the senior men's reserve squad climbed into the Cheshire Football League Premier Division to compete directly against the first team of St Helens Town A.F.C.—the very club from which the founders had originally split in 2014. The sides contested their first league derby on 12 September 2026, with FC St Helens Reserves securing a 4–2 away victory at Ruskin Drive.
Development and Women's Football In April 2021, club chairman Steve Leather and director Judith Hughes—a former Women's FA Cup winner and one of the first women to earn her FA coaching badges in 1987—formally launched the club's women's sector, FC St Helens Women. Under the management of former Northern Ireland international Rosie Havelin, the side achieved rapid ascension through the regional leagues. The women's team has since achieved national distinction by reaching the Women's FA Cup Second Round Proper, solidifying their competitive progression. Following substantial growth in player depth, a dedicated Women's Reserve team was formally launched in 2026 to compete in the regional pyramid. The club also operates an active Under-23 development squad to bridge the gap between youth academy and senior levels.
Community Initiatives The club operates a community-focused Community Interest Company (CIC) arm. In September 2023, the club partnered with local charity organisation Buzz Hub (St Helens CDP) to launch an officially affiliated disability and inclusion football team. The Buzz Hub side represents the club nationally in disability tournaments, such as the George Best Community Cup in Belfast. The inclusion program achieved national prominence in July 2026 when Buzz Hub forward Adam Samuel Savage was selected for the England Mencap national football team, subsequently winning Player of the Tournament as England lifted the Great Britain Cup.
Current squad As of September 2026.
Ground The club plays its home matches at Windleshaw Sports Ground (currently known as The Kay Welding Stadium for sponsorship reasons), situated on Windleshaw Road in the Dentons Green area of St Helens. The sports ground itself carries a rich local heritage, having first been built in 1834. The club has been based at the facility since its inception in 2014.
The site holds significant local sporting heritage, having historically served as the long-term headquarters for St Helens Cricket Club and the original home ground for rugby league giants St Helens R.F.C. (Saints) before their relocation to Knowsley Road for the 1890–91 season. During the 19th century, competing teams famously used the nearby Lingholme Hotel as their changing facilities before matches.
Windleshaw hosted several high-profile historical fixtures, including a match against the touring New Zealand Māori rugby team on 14 March 1889. Notably, the ground also hosted the very first "organised" derby encounter between St Helens R.F.C. and Wigan on 1 March 1890. For this historic evening fixture, the pitch made early technological headlines by being illuminated using twelve specialized Well's Patent Electric Lamps.
Records
Best FA Cup performance: Preliminary round 2025–26 Best FA Vase performance: Second Round, 2022–23 Record win: 9–0 vs Frickley Athletic, FA Vase, 12 September 2026 (A 9–0 win against Middlewich Town on 19 December 2020 was later expunged due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Record league home win: 9-1 vs Golborne Sports, Cheshire Football League League One, 7 October 2017 Record league away win: 8–0 vs Mersey Royal, West Cheshire League Division Three, 8 November 2014 Record home defeat: 0-5 vs Warrington Town Reserves, Cheshire Football League League Two, 31 October 2015 Record away defeats: 1–7 vs AFC Macclesfield, Cheshire Football League League Two, 5 September 2015 1–7 vs Pilkington, Cheshire Football League Premier Division, 2 March 2019 Record attendance: 1,100 vs Bury, NWCFL Premier Division, 15 March 2025 Most goals in a single match: 4 goals (shared record) Brad Green vs Golborne Sports, 7–1 win (13 April 2019) Joe Barker vs Steeton, 5–0 win (30 September 2023) Josh Briggs vs Frickley Athletic, 9–0 win (12 September 2026)
Honours League North West Counties Football League Division One North Champions: 2023–24 Cheshire Association Football League Premier Division Champions: 2021–22
Cups Lancashire FA Amateur Shield Winners: 2019–20 NWCFL First Division Champions Cup Winners: 2023–24
Seasons + F.C. St Helens Season History Season League Division Pld W D L GF GA Pts Pos Top Scorer 2014–15 West Cheshire League Division Three 26 11 7 8 52 39 40 6th/14 Not recorded 2015–16 Cheshire Football League Division Two 22 14 3 5 55 44 45 4th/12 Callum Laird 22 (17) 2016–17 Division One 30 14 9 7 59 51 51 5th/16 Paul Sweeney 12 (11) 2017–18 28 16 5 7 73 43 53 3rd/15 Liam Houghton 11 (11) 2018–19 Premier Division 30 9 4 17 51 71 31 13th/16 Callum Laird 21 (17) 2019–20 Season abandoned due to COVID-19 2020–21 Season abandoned due to COVID-19 2021–22 34 26 4 4 103 41 82 1st/18 Jonathan Lowndes 24 (23) 2022–23 North West Counties League Division One North 34 16 14 4 65 39 62 3rd/18 Joe Barker 30 (23) 2023–24 34 24 5 5 81 36 77 1st/18 Joe Barker 29 (28) 2024–25 Premier Division 46 21 8 17 86 70 71 8th/24 Joe Barker 26 (26) 2025–26 46 22 12 12 84 55 78 8th/24 Joe Barker 13 (13)
[a] Goals in all competitions (league and cups) are included, with league goals shown in parentheses.
Notable players The following players have represented F.C. St Helens and hold senior international caps or extensive professional football league experience:
David Ball – Forward / Midfielder Jefferson Montero – Forward
In popular culture F.C. St Helens is featured as a playable club in Non-League Manager (originally titled Non-League Football Manager), a dedicated football management simulation game tracking the English non-league pyramid.
References