Our Club

Blyth Spartans Juniors was formally known as Blyth Ridley Juniors.

The team was formed in 1994 by 4 fathers of sons who played for St Wilfreds School football team at the age of 8yrs old. Ossie Lawrence, Lindsey Anderson, Michael McSparron and Steve Wilson were the founder parents who formed the Management Team. (Ossie Lawrence continued in the Club Secretary's role from 1994/95 season until 2006/7 season).

In the early days the kids played friendly's against other Catholic Schools from Ashington, Morpeth, and Cramlington. You had to attend St Wilfred's School in Blyth to play for the team.

The team trained and played their games at Ridley High School, now Bede Academy. At the time their was no Mini Soccer so the kids played on full adult pitches, as you can imagine the scores were very high in every game.

Once the players moved from their First School to Middle School, Blyth Ridley Juniors was created. The first non Catholic Player was Craig Muldoon, he attended Wensleydale Middle School, but had trained with the team the previous season, and he was invited to join the team to play in the Coast Colts League at U10s.

The first season was difficult with many players dropping out so the door was opened for players from all schools to join the team. The following year a new U10s was formed and the Blyth Ridley Junior's structure had started. In 1998 Blyth Spartans approached the Management committee requesting Blyth Ridley Juniors join them and play under the name of Blyth Spartans Juniors.

In 2004 Blyth Spartans Juniors changed leagues from the Coast Colts League to the NABC League, looking to improve the quality of teams to play against; every team from U11s to U16 had to start in the lower divisions, within 4 years every team was playing in either the first or second divisions of their respected age groups.

A period of league and cup success for our teams became hampered by a lack of a home ground. Team numbers declined until in 2011, when we only had five teams, a new committtee became involved with a vision to grow the club. They recognised a lot of hard work was necessary to stabilise and then manage this growth.

We obtained a short term lease on the playing fields at the disused Wensleydale Middle school where the site was earmarked for redevelopment. The club then worked with the developers, Northumberland County Council and Blyth Valley Arts and Leisure to secure a long term lease in 2015.

The subsequent investment, including a significant sum from the Football Foundation, saw the creation of three grass pitches to cover U9-U18s and the building of changing rooms in what was to become Wensleydale Park, the new home of Blyth Spartans Juniors.

Having a home for the club was a major landmark and allowed us to start growing the club from the bottom up and having teams at every age group.

2015 saw the creation of Little Spartans for the fun training of 4-6 year olds which would develop into teams at U7 and the start of their footballing journey with the club. By September 2016 the first U7/U8 teams were formed and the expansion of the club had started.

September 2016 also saw the club's first entry into the FA Youth Cup, representing Blyth Spartans, which saw home games played at Croft Park in front of crowds in excess of 300.

The next stage of inclusion for the club was the introduction of Wildcatz in 2019 for girls coaching which led to the introduction of our first girls teams.

With the club continuing to thrive and grow, it now had 30+ teams representing the club. In the Autumn of 2020, the committee started a project to look at the feasibility of building an all-weather 3G pitch at their Wensleydale facility. Funding was secured and a planning application was submitted and approved.

During the summer of 2021, the season was concluded and the diggers moved in. Over a 10 week period a state of the art 3G facility was constructed, meaning that the club would not lose as many games to adverse weather conditions, and would have our own year round training facilities.

The 3G facility has also enabled the club to grow its development, Wildcatz and Little Spartans coaching sessions. In addition to this, the club now hosts holiday football camps, providing an opportunity for local children to stay active during the holidays, and an affordable alternative for parents to ensure it is accessible to all.

From humble beginnings, the club now plays an important role in the local community with over 500 young people attending training sessions or representing one of the club's teams every week, and with the 3G facility, it is possible to provide access to regular exercise for young people all round.

The club works very closely with the local council and other Non Profit organisations to deliver programs in the community ensuring that we remain true to our ethos that football is for everyone.