Wallsend Red Devils, one of the oldest soccer clubs in Newcastle, have withdrawn from Northern NSW Football's men's second division and Premier Youth League competitions in 2024.
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The Newcastle Herald understands that Wallsend players were informed on Tuesday of the decision, sparking moves to other Northern League One clubs for pre-season training.
NNSWF then told clubs of the news via email and booked an online call for next Monday to discuss its plans for 2024 without Wallsend.
The withdrawal comes as NNSWF works to implement a new five-tiered promotion-relegation pyramid system for men's competitions from next season.
Wallsend were one of nine clubs last season in Northern League One.
Founded in 1887 as the Wallsend Rovers, the club are believed to be the oldest continuously run club in Newcastle. The Minmi Rangers were the first club formed in the region, in 1884.
The Red Devils finished sixth in Northern League One first-grade last season but their reserve grade side came last.
The club has produced 20 Australian representatives, including goal-scoring legend Reg Date, and regularly won top-division local and state trophies through the 1930s, '40s, '50s and '60s.
Wallsend players George Arthur and Bruce Morrow competed for Australia at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and the club in 1933 had five players in the same Australian team.
However, Wallsend have experienced some tough times on and off the pitch since, including the loss of home ground Crystal Palace in 1985, and they have been close to folding multiple times.
They were saved from relegation to the fifth tier of Newcastle football in 2011 when another team could not take their place in Zone League One. Using The Gardens greyhound racing facility at Birmingham Gardens as their home ground, they fought back to win second-division grand finals in 2015 and '16.
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