BBC Northwest

[Jonty]

Why do they insist on calling us Barrow AFC - it’s just Barrow - every club in the football league is AFC (Association Football Club) they don’t say Liverpool AFC, it’s just Liverpool. I saw a post on here a few years ago and somebody was quite rightly pointing out Radio Cumbria’s obsession with calling that team from up north Workington Reds. It’s Workington or the Reds, you wouldn’t say and Barrow Bluebirds have won this afternoon. Very sad when media outlets can’t get the basics right.

I noticed this for the first time at Altrincham years ago.

On the side of their main stand was, 'Altrincham FC'.
On our stand was, 'Barrow AFC'.
I always wondered what the difference was or, why the difference was.

There is no difference. Some clubs, including ourselves have been known as and carried the “AFC” forward with their name and its stayed. Others include AFC Bournemouth, Sunderland AFC, Wrexham AFC,

The confusion starts with Hull FC and Hull City FC!

[blue nige]

Might be wrong but when we were liquidated didn't we have to officially change our name to this ?

The name never changed - simply the ownership structure

Cheers !

[Suffolk Blue]

Part of the confusion might be that there was a period preceding our re-structure of clubs going bust and then reforming the business and having to give it a name that was different to the original.

So to maintain the community name they simply switched the AFC from the end to the beginning.

It became a fad for a time confusing a few including media outlets into believing that any club would do this. Legally of course this was tosh and you could achieve the same effect in other ways (ie: use 1901 Ltd). But somehow the AFC Barrow thing hung around after the re-structuring.

I have a friend that still refers to us as AFC Barrow. I would slap him each time he says it but he’s 85 and that might be a tad harsh.

[Suffolk Blue]

Just checked. When Halifax Town AFC ceased to trade in 2008, they were reformed as FC Halifax Town. So this tendency has persisted over time.

Notice that they dropped the “A”. One reason might be to mirror continental style where many clubs are officially registered with “FC” before the name. I would guess that this is a Germanic thing where the nouns tend to come first but I could be wrong.

[Sea Dog Sam]

The smallest club in the football league, this is the narrative the club pushes.

Does it? I haven’t seen anything recently that would suggest this.

I think most football fans would consider Harrogate and Sutton as being smaller than Barrow AFC. I certainly do. Simply because both have very little history or tradition. And I actually know one person who didn't realise that Harrogate HAD a football team!

I think the term 'small' is more associated with the town of Barrow rather than our football club. I remember one celebrity from the 70s referring to Barrow as being at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the world. A phrase which caught on over the years.

[32mile_cul-de-sac]

Why do they insist on calling us Barrow AFC - it’s just Barrow - every club in the football league is AFC (Association Football Club) they don’t say Liverpool AFC, it’s just Liverpool. I saw a post on here a few years ago and somebody was quite rightly pointing out Radio Cumbria’s obsession with calling that team from up north Workington Reds. It’s Workington or the Reds, you wouldn’t say and Barrow Bluebirds have won this afternoon. Very sad when media outlets can’t get the basics right.

I noticed this for the first time at Altrincham years ago.

On the side of their main stand was, 'Altrincham FC'.
On our stand was, 'Barrow AFC'.
I always wondered what the difference was or, why the difference was.

AFC in soccer means Association Football Club. The ‘Association’ comes from the fact that soccer was traditionally called Association Football in the United Kingdom soon after it was formed. It’s for this reason that some clubs in England – such as Sunderland AFC and Leeds United AFC, retain the Association as part of their name. In terms of the running or the structure of the club, AFC doesn’t technically mean anything different from FC.

[Sea Dog Sam]

I'm glad we're referred to as Barrow AFC. Much better than Barrow. And can somebody tell the fella who constantly shouts from the popular side: "Come on Barra" to stop. I use it myself, sometimes, during conversations. But to hear "Barra" being shouted out in a football stadium is cringe worthy!

[MisterPleasant]

Does it? I haven’t seen anything recently that would suggest this.

I think most football fans would consider Harrogate and Sutton as being smaller than Barrow AFC. I certainly do. Simply because both have very little history or tradition. And I actually know one person who didn't realise that Harrogate HAD a football team!

I think the term 'small' is more associated with the town of Barrow rather than our football club. I remember one celebrity from the 70s referring to Barrow as being at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the world. A phrase which caught on over the years.

That would be Michael Aloysius Damian Beauregard Muriel Harding as he jokingly referred to himself (or Mike Harding). Coming from Crumpsall he had not a great deal to brag about but he would smile at being called a 'celebrity', for sure.

[Suffolk Blue]

I noticed this for the first time at Altrincham years ago.

On the side of their main stand was, 'Altrincham FC'.
On our stand was, 'Barrow AFC'.
I always wondered what the difference was or, why the difference was.

AFC in soccer means Association Football Club. The ‘Association’ comes from the fact that soccer was traditionally called Association Football in the United Kingdom soon after it was formed. It’s for this reason that some clubs in England – such as Sunderland AFC and Leeds United AFC, retain the Association as part of their name. In terms of the running or the structure of the club, AFC doesn’t technically mean anything different from FC.

Just to add to this, the term “Association Football” pre-dates the profession body known as the “Football Association” (FA). The term was originally coined in the mid 19th century to distinguish it from other form of football including what we would now call rugby.

To do so a set of rules were drawn up mainly by the chaps at Elton and Harrow to make sure it wasn’t confused with those rotters at Rugby. The Football Association was then formed in 1863 and the Football Association cup introduced in 1872 (featuring Old Etonians).

So the gentleman’s game originally was Association football and not rugby. Strange how things have changed.

[Ken]

I always thought that we were/are the AFC to differentiate from the RLFC…if my memory of the back pages of the Evening Mail is correct. Always struck me that there weren’t many other towns with two teams of different codes of football shared the same (town) name without a Rovers or a Hornets or suchlike to help identification.
That was in the days before the Braves or the Raiders.
And a Wikipedia search suggests that Barrow Football Club was founded in 1875. Switched to Rugby League in 1897.

[Jim]

I think most football fans would consider Harrogate and Sutton as being smaller than Barrow AFC. I certainly do. Simply because both have very little history or tradition. And I actually know one person who didn't realise that Harrogate HAD a football team!

I think the term 'small' is more associated with the town of Barrow rather than our football club. I remember one celebrity from the 70s referring to Barrow as being at the end of the longest cul-de-sac in the world. A phrase which caught on over the years.

That would be Michael Aloysius Damian Beauregard Muriel Harding as he jokingly referred to himself (or Mike Harding). Coming from Crumpsall he had not a great deal to brag about but he would smile at being called a 'celebrity', for sure.

I think I recall Ron McGarry referring to us as the longest cul de sac when he signed from Newcastle in 1966 or 67.

[Stephen Leonard]

I always thought that we were/are the AFC to differentiate from the RLFC…if my memory of the back pages of the Evening Mail is correct. Always struck me that there weren’t many other towns with two teams of different codes of football shared the same (town) name without a Rovers or a Hornets or suchlike to help identification.
That was in the days before the Braves or the Raiders.
And a Wikipedia search suggests that Barrow Football Club was founded in 1875. Switched to Rugby League in 1897.

It says that they switched from Rugby Union to Rugby League in 1897 - they never played 'football'

[MisterPleasant]

That would be Michael Aloysius Damian Beauregard Muriel Harding as he jokingly referred to himself (or Mike Harding). Coming from Crumpsall he had not a great deal to brag about but he would smile at being called a 'celebrity', for sure.

I think I recall Ron McGarry referring to us as the longest cul de sac when he signed from Newcastle in 1966 or 67.

Ahh, now he was a celebrity.

[Desmond2-2]

These EFL clubs are smaller than us, Harrogate, Sutton, Crawley, forest Green, Salford, Accrington and Burton.

[AugustusCorpa]

Fleetwood are a smaller club then Barrow.