Mousehole AFC

Mousehole Association Football Club is a football club based in Paul, Cornwall. We are currently members of the Southern League Division One South and play at Trungle Parc. It is named for the nearby village of Mousehole.

History

Mousehole joined the Cornwall Combination in 1960–61 and were promoted to the South West Peninsula League Division One West on its formation in 2007, after finishing as Combination runners-up the previous season.^[1] They won Division One West in 2015–16. At the end of 2018–19 the league was restructured, and Mousehole successfully applied for promotion to the Premier Division West, at Step 6 of the National League System.

In 2017, the club had a sponsorship arrangement with the Endorsed Group, a recruitment and software company run by a local businessman. Together with the club they set up the Endorsed Academy, aiming to improve coaching standards and provide opportunities for young footballers in Cornwall.^[2] Mousehole hosted a pre-season tournament in July 2018, the Endorsed Cup, featuring youth teams from Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers.^[3]

In 2018, an approach was made by Mousehole concerning a possible merger between themselves and neighbours Penzance A.F.C., amid concerns that Trungle Parc may not prove viable as Mousehole progress through the leagues.^[4] A further approach was made by Penzance in 2019, but in May, Mousehole released a statement confirming they had withdrawn from the discussions.^[5] In 2021, they were promoted to the Premier Division of the Western League based on their results in the abandoned 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons.^[6] They were promoted to the Southern Football Leagueas champions in the 2022–23 season, only the second Cornish side to reach step four of the non-league system.^[7]

Honours

• Cornwall Combination
  • Runners-up 1985–86, 2006–07
• South West Peninsula League
  • Division One West Champions 2015–16
• Western Football League
  • Premier Division Champions 2022–23

We are so proud as a club to have reached the highest level in the club’s history – and this in our centenary year, too – and to become only the second Cornwall team ever to reach that level (after Truro City). Our Manager Jake Ash was captain of that record-breaking Truro side, so he knows a thing or two about what it takes. In the 2021/22 season  Mousehole were promoted to the Western League Premier Division at Step 5 – itself the highest level ever for the club – and had an incredible campaign, finishing third and just four points outside a promotion spot. So last season (2022/23) the objective was to improve on that, by gaining a play-off place as runners-up, or preferably outright League winners guaranteeing promotion – and that’s exactly what happened. So, in a nutshell, what was achieved was very much part of the plan.