Introducing the new member clubs: Flixton
Fri 24th July 2026 | Flixton | By Jay Cooper
With the 2026/27 NWCFL campaign fast approaching, now is the perfect time to introduce the new member clubs to their respective divisions.
Or perhaps better – to let the new member clubs introduce themselves.
Earlier this week, I spoke to Katherine Mortimer – secretary at Flixton, who will return to non-league as a phoenix club this season, and will take their place in the NWCFL First Division North in 2026/27.
Despite this coming season being their first back on the non-league scene for nearly 15 years, the name Flixton FC dates back well over half a century. Having originally formed in 1960 and debuted in the South Manchester and Wythenshawe League, the generally accepted history of the club is that their current name was adopted in 1964 upon their move to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League.
The Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League would be Flixton’s home for the next decade, during which time they played their home games at Urmston Meadows. They won Division Three in 1965, beating South Manchester in a Championship play-off tie after finishing level on points with their rivals in the league season.
They earned promotion from Division Two in 1970 after finishing runners-up but were immediately relegated. They repeated their promotion success in 1972, and they finished fifth in Division One in their final season before a lateral move to the Manchester League.
The Lions would spend five years in the Manchester League pyramid before joining the top table ahead of the 1978/79 season, when they won the Division One league title.
Throughout the following eight seasons, Flixton would only finish outside the top seven in the Premier Division table once, in 1979/80, when they avoided the drop by the skin of their teeth, finishing third bottom. That to one side, their stint in the Manchester Prem was successful, finishing second on three occasions.
In 1986, the club joined the NWCFL for the first time, in Division Three. They finished runners-up in their debut campaign, and repeated the feat the next season after Division Three was absorbed into Division Two, to earn promotion to Division One.
They would remain at that level until 1994, when relegation came calling, but fortunes for Flixton would soon change for the better. Sir Alex Ferguson, very much in his managerial prime for Manchester United at the time, was present to open the club’s new stadium, Valley Road, in 1995.
This change of venue coincided with back-to-back title wins and promotions for the Lions, first from Division Two to Division One, and then from Division One to the Northern Premier League pyramid.
In the same season in which they gained promotion to the NPL, they also made the FA Vase semi-final, being eliminated by eventual winners Brigg Town. This campaign brought the club’s 10-year stay in the NWCFL to a close with a bang.
After four years of NPL football, during which time Flixton failed to break into the top half of the table, they returned to the NWCFL after relegation in 2000. They endured another drop to Division Two of the NWCFL in 2003 following a mass exodus of club sponsors, players and managers, but bounced back three years later, led by then-captain Alex Mortimer.
Flixton remained a fixture of Division One from that point onwards, including when it was rebranded to the Premier Division, but their second stint in the NWCFL was curtailed with much more of a whimper than their first.
In 2012, they resigned from the NWCFL altogether and the club was dissolved, due to dwindling support and revenue. Valley Road would continue to be used as a venue for other non-league and Sunday league sides throughout the next 14 years.
After the ground and facilities were put up for sale in 2024, American financier Christoper Garcia took a keen interest, and bought up not just the ground, but also the Flixton Football Club IP, licencing and history.
The club were officially reformed in February 2025, and they were reportedly the subject of a cash injection of up to £7m from their new owner in late July last year. Former captain Alex Mortimer was installed as manager, with Rhodri Giggs - brother of Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs - being brought in as his assistant.
After spending well over a year preparing for a return to playing competitive football, Flixton have been inserted into the NWCFL ahead of 2026/27 season, for the third (but also the first, in a way) time. They will play in the First Division North.
----------
Katherine Mortimer
1. How would you describe Flixton FC to someone who had never heard of the club?
a. It is a historic club. We’ve got displays in the newly refurbished clubhouse commemorating that history, and even though we’ve not been around for the last 15 years nearly, we still have that history. But now, we have this phoenix club story.
We’re a really positive, community-based football club. We’ve been lucky enough to have heavy investment from the new owner, Chris Garcia, who was responsible for the club coming back. One of the things that was important to him, and that we have fulfilled 100%, is that every single person who works on the club are local – when the facilities were refurbished, we reached out to local joiners, plumbers, ground staff, etc.
We’ve brought back this community football club for the community at large, and repaid every penny earned back into the community.
2. What does the club mean to the area and community that you can represent? Especially given your status as a phoenix club.
a. It means an awful lot to our community. It helps the community financially, it helps local small businesses, and we’re even creating jobs on the club land – the club bar is also a general sports bar, open seven days a week, and we hope that will bring something to the locals.
As an anecdote, there was a couple who married at Valley Road in the 1970’s, and they’ve now booked our facility for their 50th wedding anniversary!
One thing that is so amazing about non-league football: you can’t go, as a family for four or five, to a Premier League game and get change from £400, or £500. The gate at Flixton is £7 for adults, £3 for children – we want to make football affordable to our community members so that they always have this hub to come to and belong to.
3. Tell me about the manager.
a. Alex is a really humble manager. He wants to win, like all managers do, but he has no delusions of grandeur.
This is a really tough league to compete in and get out of, and we’re going to go all in and give it our absolute best, but we’ve no concrete expectations on how things will look by the end of the season.
4. How well have you been getting along with your pre-season prep? New signings, friendlies, etc?
a. Our friendlies that we’ve played have all been deliberately competitive – against Trafford, who are local rivals to us; against Radcliffe, from the National League North, with their full-strength team; and we managed to win against Burnley’s U21’s.
Speaking to managers about those games, it’s clear that they are learning so much from games won and games lost, and that is what pre-season is about.
It’s important for us as a club to stay humble, work together, challenge ourselves and learn as a new group of players, and a new club as well.
5. What are your ambitions for the upcoming 2026/27 season in the NWCFL?
a. Realistically, we want to be competitive, and to play football that is exciting to watch. That’s what Alex wants from his team – they are his two core values: competitive, and fun to watch for the fans.
For the league itself, you just don’t know what’s going to happen. You can’t predict it if you try, but we’re really looking forward to it.
----------
We wish everyone at Flixton all the best for the 2026/27 season!
Introducing the new member clubs: Flixton
Fri 24th July 2026 | Flixton
By Jay Cooper
With the 2026/27 NWCFL campaign fast approaching, now is the perfect time to introduce the new member clubs to their respective divisions.
Or perhaps better – to let the new member clubs introduce themselves.
Earlier this week, I spoke to Katherine Mortimer – secretary at Flixton, who will return to non-league as a phoenix club this season, and will take their place in the NWCFL First Division North in 2026/27.
Despite this coming season being their first back on the non-league scene for nearly 15 years, the name Flixton FC dates back well over half a century. Having originally formed in 1960 and debuted in the South Manchester and Wythenshawe League, the generally accepted history of the club is that their current name was adopted in 1964 upon their move to the Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League.
The Lancashire & Cheshire Amateur League would be Flixton’s home for the next decade, during which time they played their home games at Urmston Meadows. They won Division Three in 1965, beating South Manchester in a Championship play-off tie after finishing level on points with their rivals in the league season.
They earned promotion from Division Two in 1970 after finishing runners-up but were immediately relegated. They repeated their promotion success in 1972, and they finished fifth in Division One in their final season before a lateral move to the Manchester League.
The Lions would spend five years in the Manchester League pyramid before joining the top table ahead of the 1978/79 season, when they won the Division One league title.
Throughout the following eight seasons, Flixton would only finish outside the top seven in the Premier Division table once, in 1979/80, when they avoided the drop by the skin of their teeth, finishing third bottom. That to one side, their stint in the Manchester Prem was successful, finishing second on three occasions.
In 1986, the club joined the NWCFL for the first time, in Division Three. They finished runners-up in their debut campaign, and repeated the feat the next season after Division Three was absorbed into Division Two, to earn promotion to Division One.
They would remain at that level until 1994, when relegation came calling, but fortunes for Flixton would soon change for the better. Sir Alex Ferguson, very much in his managerial prime for Manchester United at the time, was present to open the club’s new stadium, Valley Road, in 1995.
This change of venue coincided with back-to-back title wins and promotions for the Lions, first from Division Two to Division One, and then from Division One to the Northern Premier League pyramid.
In the same season in which they gained promotion to the NPL, they also made the FA Vase semi-final, being eliminated by eventual winners Brigg Town. This campaign brought the club’s 10-year stay in the NWCFL to a close with a bang.
After four years of NPL football, during which time Flixton failed to break into the top half of the table, they returned to the NWCFL after relegation in 2000. They endured another drop to Division Two of the NWCFL in 2003 following a mass exodus of club sponsors, players and managers, but bounced back three years later, led by then-captain Alex Mortimer.
Flixton remained a fixture of Division One from that point onwards, including when it was rebranded to the Premier Division, but their second stint in the NWCFL was curtailed with much more of a whimper than their first.
In 2012, they resigned from the NWCFL altogether and the club was dissolved, due to dwindling support and revenue. Valley Road would continue to be used as a venue for other non-league and Sunday league sides throughout the next 14 years.
After the ground and facilities were put up for sale in 2024, American financier Christoper Garcia took a keen interest, and bought up not just the ground, but also the Flixton Football Club IP, licencing and history.
The club were officially reformed in February 2025, and they were reportedly the subject of a cash injection of up to £7m from their new owner in late July last year. Former captain Alex Mortimer was installed as manager, with Rhodri Giggs - brother of Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs - being brought in as his assistant.
After spending well over a year preparing for a return to playing competitive football, Flixton have been inserted into the NWCFL ahead of 2026/27 season, for the third (but also the first, in a way) time. They will play in the First Division North.
----------
Katherine Mortimer
1. How would you describe Flixton FC to someone who had never heard of the club?
a. It is a historic club. We’ve got displays in the newly refurbished clubhouse commemorating that history, and even though we’ve not been around for the last 15 years nearly, we still have that history. But now, we have this phoenix club story.
We’re a really positive, community-based football club. We’ve been lucky enough to have heavy investment from the new owner, Chris Garcia, who was responsible for the club coming back. One of the things that was important to him, and that we have fulfilled 100%, is that every single person who works on the club are local – when the facilities were refurbished, we reached out to local joiners, plumbers, ground staff, etc.
We’ve brought back this community football club for the community at large, and repaid every penny earned back into the community.
2. What does the club mean to the area and community that you can represent? Especially given your status as a phoenix club.
a. It means an awful lot to our community. It helps the community financially, it helps local small businesses, and we’re even creating jobs on the club land – the club bar is also a general sports bar, open seven days a week, and we hope that will bring something to the locals.
As an anecdote, there was a couple who married at Valley Road in the 1970’s, and they’ve now booked our facility for their 50th wedding anniversary!
One thing that is so amazing about non-league football: you can’t go, as a family for four or five, to a Premier League game and get change from £400, or £500. The gate at Flixton is £7 for adults, £3 for children – we want to make football affordable to our community members so that they always have this hub to come to and belong to.
3. Tell me about the manager.
a. Alex is a really humble manager. He wants to win, like all managers do, but he has no delusions of grandeur.
This is a really tough league to compete in and get out of, and we’re going to go all in and give it our absolute best, but we’ve no concrete expectations on how things will look by the end of the season.
4. How well have you been getting along with your pre-season prep? New signings, friendlies, etc?
a. Our friendlies that we’ve played have all been deliberately competitive – against Trafford, who are local rivals to us; against Radcliffe, from the National League North, with their full-strength team; and we managed to win against Burnley’s U21’s.
Speaking to managers about those games, it’s clear that they are learning so much from games won and games lost, and that is what pre-season is about.
It’s important for us as a club to stay humble, work together, challenge ourselves and learn as a new group of players, and a new club as well.
5. What are your ambitions for the upcoming 2026/27 season in the NWCFL?
a. Realistically, we want to be competitive, and to play football that is exciting to watch. That’s what Alex wants from his team – they are his two core values: competitive, and fun to watch for the fans.
For the league itself, you just don’t know what’s going to happen. You can’t predict it if you try, but we’re really looking forward to it.
----------
We wish everyone at Flixton all the best for the 2026/27 season!
