Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of English football. They have been in this league since their relegation from the old Football League First Division in 1997. It is incorporated as Oldham Athletic (2004) Association Football Club Limited, but is more commonly known as Oldham Athletic or by its nickname The Latics.

The history of Oldham Athletic A.F.C. begins with its founding as Pine Villa F.C. in 1895, which played in local Manchester and Lancashire leagues. When rivals Oldham County F.C. folded in 1899, Pine Villa F.C. moved into their stadium, the Oldham Athletic Ground (now known as Boundary Park) and changed their name to Oldham Athletic. They were Football League runners-up in the 1914–15 season, the last before the outbreak of the First World War, but were relegated from the Football League First Division in 1923. They reached the 1990 Football League Cup Final and won the Football League Second Division title in 1991, ending 68 years outside the top tier of English football. They secured their top division status a year later to become founder members of the new Premier League, but were relegated after two seasons despite reaching that year's FA Cup Semi-finals.

Since the late-1990s Oldham Athletic have grappled with poor performance, a high turnover of managers and an ageing stadium. The club's limited company was formed after a period of insolvency in 2003–04. In February 2004, the club's immediate future was secured when a group of United States-based expatriate British businessmen, led by Simon Blitz, bought the club, forming Oldham Athletic (2004) Association Football Club Limited.