List of football club mergers

This is a list of football clubs created by the merging of two or more clubs.

Dutch clubs

• FC Twente was created by the merger of Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys in 1965.
• FC Utrecht created by the merger of three clubs from the city of Utrecht - DOS, Elinkwijk and Velox.

English clubs

Clubs currently in the Premier League, the Football League or the Football Conference:

• Bury created by the merger of Bury Unitarians and Bury Wesleyans in 1885.
• Stoke City created by the merger of Stoke Ramblers and Stoke Victoria in 1878.
• Luton Town created by the merger of Luton Town Wanderers and Excelsior in 1885.
• Ipswich Town created by the merger of Ipswich A.F.C. and Ipswich Rugby Club in 1888.
• Newcastle United created by the merger of Newcastle West End and Newcastle East End in 1892.
• Watford created by the merger of West Hertfordshire and Watford St Mary's in 1898.
• Maidenhead United created as Maidenhead Town by the merger of Maidenhead and Maidenhead Norfolkian in 1919 before changing its name to Maidenhead United in 1920.
• Torquay United created by the merger of Torquay Town and Babbacombe in 1921. Torquay Town was itself created by the merger of the original Torquay United and Ellacombe in 1910.
• Rotherham United created by the merger of Rotherham County and Rotherham Town in 1925.
• Ebbsfleet United created as Gravesend & Northfleet by the merger of Gravesend United and Northfleet United in 1946 before changing its name to Ebbsfleet United in 2007.
• Dagenham & Redbridge created by the merger of Dagenham and Redbridge Forest in 1992. Redbridge Forest itself was created by the merging of three separate clubs. Ilford and Leytonstone merged in 1979 to become Leytonstone & Ilford which then merged with Walthamstow Avenue in 1988 to become Redbridge Forest.
• Rushden & Diamonds created by the merger of Rushden Town and Irthlingborough Diamonds in 1992.
• Hinckley United created by the merger of Hinckley Town and Hinckley Athletic in 1992.
• Havant & Waterlooville created by the merger of Havant Town and Waterlooville in 1998. Havant Town was itself created as Havant & Leigh Park by the merger of the original Havant Town and Leigh Park in 1969, before being renamed Havant Town in 1982.
• Hayes & Yeading United created by the merger of Hayes and Yeading in 2007.
• Solihull Moors created by the merger of Solihull Borough and Moor Green in 2007.
• Queens Park Rangers created by the merger of Christchurch Rangers and St Judes in 1886.

French clubs

• Paris Saint-Germain Football Club originally known as Stade Saint Germain merged with Paris FC in 1970 only to split just two seasons later.

German clubs

• Hamburger SV created by a succession of mergers, most notably SC Germania Hamburg, Hamburger FC and FC Falke Eppendorf in 1919.
• Karlsruher SC created by a succession of mergers, most notably KFC Phoenix and VfB Mühlburg in 1952.
• 1. FC Köln created by the merger of Kölner BC and Spielvereinigung 1907 Köln-Sülz in 1948.

Greek clubs

• Atromitos F.C. merged with Halkidona in 2005.
• Ethnikos Olympiakos Volos F.C. created by the merger of Ethnikos Volos and Olympiakos Volos in 1961.
• Panserraikos F.C. created by the merger of Iraklis and Apollon(two local clubs) in 1964.

Italian clubs

• ACF Fiorentina created by the merger of CS Firenze and PG Libertas in 1926.
• AS Roma created by the merger of Roman FC, SS Alba-Audace and Fortitudo-Pro Roma SGS in 1927. Fellow Rome football club S.S. Lazio refused to be merged.
• Sampdoria created by the merger of Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria in 1946, after a previous attempt in 1927.

Japanese clubs

• JEF United Ichihara Chiba created by the merger of Furukawa Electric and JR East F.C. in 1991.
• Yokohama Flügels merged with Yokohama Marinos in 1998 to create Yokohama F. Marinos.
• Kataller Toyama created by the merger of ALO's Hokuriku and YKK AP SC in 2007.
• Kagoshima United FC created by the 2014 merger of Volca Kagoshima and Osumi NIFS United, originally based in Kanoya.

Kazakhstani clubs

• FC Lokomotiv Astana created by the merger of FC Almaty and FC Megasport in 2009.

Portuguese clubs

• Sport Lisboa merged with Grupo Sport Benfica in 1908 to form Sport Lisboa e Benfica.
• União Foot-Ball Lisboa merged with Carcavelinhos Football Clube in 1942 to form Atlético Clube de Portugal.

Scottish clubs

• Aberdeen F.C. created by the merger of Aberdeen F.C., Victoria United and Orion F.C in 1903.
• Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. created by the merger of Caledonian F.C. and Inverness Thistle F.C. in 1994.
• Heston Rovers F.C. created by the merger of Heston Rovers F.C and Dumfries F.C. in 2008.

Serbian clubs

• FK Banat Zrenjanin created by the merger of FK Proleter Zrenjanin and FK Budućnost Banatski Dvor in 2006.
• FK Voždovac was merged with top league club FK Železnik in 2005 and kept the name FK Voždovac.
• FK Zvezdara merged into FK Srem Beograd in 2002.
• FK Sloboda Point Sevojno was created in summer 2010 by the merge of FK Sevojno into FK Sloboda Užice.

Welsh clubs

• UWIC Inter Cardiff FC created by the merger of Inter Cardiff FC with UWIC FC in 2000.
• The New Saints F.C. created by the merger of Total Network Solutions (Who were renamed from Llansantffraid F.C. for Sponsorship reasons), and Oswestry Town F.C. in 2003.

Proposed mergers

Dutch clubs

• Roda JC and Fortuna Sittard were going to form Sporting Limburg; Fell through after a failure to gain financial support for the new club.^[1]

English clubs

• Bury F.C., Oldham Athletic A.F.C. and Rochdale A.F.C. in 1999 as Manchester North End.
• Fulham F.C. and Woolwich Arsenal in 1912; controversial owner of both clubs Henry Norris planned on merging the two clubs to create a "London Superclub". The Football Association blocked the move, but didn't stop Norris serving as Chairman to both clubs.^[2]
• Huddersfield Town F.C. and Leeds United A.F.C. in 1919; scrapped due to Huddersfield Town supporters purchasing shares in club to ensure independence^[3]]
• Manchester City F.C. and Manchester United F.C. in 1964; proposed by chairman of Manchester City F.C. Frank Johnson
• Port Vale F.C. and Stoke City F.C. in 1926 and 2003;^[4] Stoke rejected merger proposals in 1926, before their owners made a failed attempt to buy out a Port Vale in administration 77 years later.
• Queens Park Rangers F.C. and Brentford F.C. in 1967.^[5]
• Oxford United F.C. and Reading F.C. in 1983 by Robert Maxwell; scrapped after both teams' supporters objected.^[6] Team would have been named "Thames Valley Royals".
• Queens Park Rangers F.C. and Fulham F.C. in 1987 as Fulham Park Rangers.^[5]
• Sheffield Wednesday F.C. and Sheffield United F.C.; a debate on whether or not the two big clubs should merge has often been made when one of the clubs have come into financial difficulties.^[7]
• Queens Park Rangers F.C. and Wimbledon F.C. in 2001;^[5] nothing came of the discussion and Wimbledon later relocated to become the Milton Keynes Dons F.C.
• Chester City F.C. and Tranmere Rovers F.C. in 2002;^[8] nothing came of the talk and Chester City folded a few years later.
• Redditch United F.C. and Bromsgrove Rovers F.C. in 2008 and 2009; talks took place about a possible merger,^[9] but came to nothing.
• Team Bath F.C. and Bath City F.C. in 2009; the merger did not go ahead and Team Bath folded.^[10]
• Burnley and Colne Dynamoes in 1987; Colne owner and Burnley Fan 'Chalky' White proposed the merger if Burnley were relegated from Div 4. They survived due to the Orient game and Colne folded in 1990 after they were refused entry to the conference.

Irish clubs

• St Patrick's Athletic and St Francis during the 2001-02 season, would have seen the club named either St Patrick's Athletic including St Francis or Dublin Saints.

Italian clubs

• Genoa 1893 and Sampdoria in 2001.^[11]

Scottish clubs

• Dundee F.C. and Dundee United F.C..^[5]
• Heart of Midlothian F.C. and Hibernian F.C. as Edinburgh United.^[5]

Welsh clubs

• Gap Connah's Quay F.C. and Flint Town United F.C. in 2009. Confirmed to merge for the 2009/2010 season.^[12]

References

1. "Dutch football club merger scrapped - archief nrc.nl". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
2. John Spurling "Rebels for the Cause" Chapter 2
4. Shaw, Phil (1 February 2003). "Stoke owners in bid for Port Vale". The Independent. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
5. Murray, Scott (2001-05-03). "Merger memories". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
6. "Reading FC history". BBC. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
7. "Sheffield talk unity". The Independent. 1999-08-07. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
8. "BBC Sport - Sports Talk - Would a football merger work?". BBC. 2002-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
9. Administrator, birminghammail (22 November 2008). "Redditch United and Bromsgrove Rovers merger would make sense, says Brown". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
10. "'Quite right Pete, it is time to end the silence'". 15 April 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
11. "Archivio Corriere della Sera". Retrieved 22 October 2016.
12. "BBC Sport - Football - Nomads and Flint Town plan merger". Retrieved 22 October 2016.