At 3pm on Saturday 13th August Merthyr Town will play Odd Down in Western League Premier Division at their Penydarren Park stadium and bring the Supporters' Trust reformation of Merthyr Town FC to its conclusion.
It's nearly seven years since concerned supporters of the South Wales club decided to form a Trust in order to seek an influence in the way their Football Club was run whilst raising funds to support it's development.
Martyrs to the Cause has remained committed to preserving semi-professional football in the South Wales Valleys area and needed to act decisively in the spring of 2009 when the owner of Merthyr Tydfil FC refused to invest any further money to his ailing club.
The Trust acted to take the Club into administration to protect it from its creditors and proceeded to work with the appointed Administrator to run the club on license for the 2009/10 season. A season that culminated in an emotional day at Swindon Supermarine when the Martyrs gained the point required to avoid relegation from the Southern League Premier Division in front of 250 of their travelling fans.
It was obvious that saving the Club was beyond the means of the Trust and in May 2010Merthyr Tydfil FC was liquidated.
Martyrs to the Cause immediately set about reforming the Club as Merthyr Town FC and with the valued support of Supporters Direct they were able to meet the strict requirements of the Football Association to remain in their pyramid structure.
However the lease of their famous old stadium at Penydarren Park remained as an asset for the official Liquidator and therefore the Martyrs needed to find an alternative venue for the start of the 2010/11 season.
Two volunteers spent a day dashing around South Wales looking at options and were rewarded when the wonderful people at Taffs Well FC stepped up to host our flegling club in its first season.
Merthyr Town FC now registered as a Community Sports Mutual, the only one in Wales, set about upgrading the Rhiw Dda'r ground to match the Western League criteria. Following a site visit Merthyr Town FC were placed in Division One, a drop of three leagues from the Southern League Premier Division.
Merthyr Town FC had a great season under the management of Gary Shephard and his assistant Danny Carter and the title and promotion was won. The Martyrs were on their way back.
The great work continues to this day with the Trust-run Club committed to serving its communities and bring a sense of pride back to watching the Martyrs.
On Saturday we return home to our ground and complete a remarkable chapter in the story of our Club.
We own our football club!
