Players, officials and supporters of the original Emley FC are invited to a reunion at The Wentworth, adjacent to the Welfare Ground, on Friday, June 12 from 7.00 onwards.

And there is sure to be plenty of reminiscing about the remarkable rise of the village club, who went from the Huddersfield District League to the Northern Premier (in 1989) and called in at Wembley (in the 1987-88 FA Vase final) and West Ham United (in the third round of the FA Cup in 1997-98) on the way.

There was a hugely controversial twist in 2000 when Emley, founded in 1903, relocated to Wakefield, eventually taking on the name of the city before going defunct last year.

The move to Wakefield led to the creation in 2005 of the current AFC Emley, who play at the Welfare Ground in the Northern Counties East League, of which the first club were founder members in 1982.

Before that they played in the old Yorkshire League, having come to national attention in the sixties when, as a District League side, they entered the old FA Amateur Cup.

“Those were great days,” said Roger Wood, who featured in the Amateur Cup runs and is among the reunion organisers.

“We ended up playing Barking the first season we entered (1968-69), then Dagenham the year after.

“They were both big non-league clubs, but we gave both of them a real game.

“Dagenham, who are now in the are now in the Football League, had a number of amateur internationals, and many of their side played for the reserve teams of the big London clubs like Spurs and West Ham.

“We gave them a real scare at our place and took them to a replay.

“In those days, lots of the players were either from Emley or the surrounding villages.

“There was a real spirit about the club which survived right through until the Wakefield move.

“Getting to Wembley, winning promotion to the Northern Premier and reaching the third round of the FA Cup, they were fantastic achievements.”