This article is part of the ‘League Preview’ series, in which every day we take a detailed look at one of Aldershot Town’s 23 prospective opponents for the upcoming National League season.
Today’s focus is technically the youngest side in the division, two time FA Trophy winners, FC Halifax Town. Much like Aldershot Town, the club exists as a phoenix club after Halifax Town A.F.C went into administration in 2008. It took the club just five years to reach step-one, where they have stayed with little exception since.
Finishing 6th in last year’s National League, their fourth play-off berth in six years, ‘the Shaymen’ will be looking to finally achieve promotion to the Football League, a status that their predecessors held for the majority of the 20th century.
Tasked with achieving this is new managerial appointment, and Tommy Widdrington’s long-term successor at King’s Lynn, Adam Lakeland.
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Where is Halifax?
The town of Halifax is situated in the borough of Calderdale, deep in the heart of Yorkshire. With a population of roughly 88,000, it is the fifth largest settlement in the county of West Yorkshire. Approximately 235 miles from the EBB Stadium, this 4h 47m journey will mark Aldershot’s sixth-furthest away trip of the upcoming league season.
FC Halifax Town is one of four professional football clubs in West Yorkshire, alongside League One duo Bradford City and Huddersfield Town, as well as Premier League Leeds United. In terms of National League rivals, York City comprise the other half of the only Yorkshire derby in this year’s division, while Greater Manchester-based Rochdale AFC represent the club’s closest away journey (23 miles).
With one of the smaller catchment areas among the country’s professional clubs, outside of the town itself, Halifax currently serves as the closest place to see fifth-tier football or higher in Ripponden (~4,700 pop.) and Sowerby Bridge (4,600).
The Shaymen’s nickname derives from their home ground, the Shay. While official figures are unclear, this ~10,400 capacity stadium has been the uninterrupted home of football in Halifax since 1921, and is the 3rd largest in this season’s National League. Staggeringly, the ground’s record attendance stands at a now-unbeatable 36,885, achieved in 1953 as a visiting Tottenham Hotspur came out 3-0 winners in the fifth-round of the FA Cup. The Shay is also the home of Rugby League team, Halifax Panthers, with the two operating a groundshare since 1998.
Halifax finished the 2024/25 season with an average league attendance of 1,744, the 8th lowest among teams in this season’s competition. Due to their sizable ground, the Shaymen fill just 16.8% of their theoretical capacity on average, the lowest total in the division in this regard.
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Recent history and club highlights
Starting their journey in the eighth-tier of English football, it took the newly formed FC Halifax Town just five seasons to reach the summit of non-league, where they have remained for all but one of the last 13 seasons since.
2024/25 – National League (6th) QF
2023/24 – National League (7th) QF
2022/23 – National League (11th)
2021/22 – National League (4th) QF
2020/21 – National League (10th)
2019/20 – National League (6th) QF
2018/19 – National League (16th)
2017/18 – National League (16th)
2016/17 – NL South (3rd, Promoted via play-offs)
2015/16 – National League (21st, Relegated)
A first relegation was quickly remedied in 2017, while the past six seasons have seen the club occupy a spot in the top-half of the National League table, including four play-off appearances. Frustratingly for the Shaymen, they have failed on each occasion to surpass the quarter-final stage, most recently losing 4-0 away to eventual Wembley winners, Oldham Athletic.
While their young history already possesses plenty of fond highlights, their most cherished memories may be held within their two FA Trophy victories in 2016 and 2023 respectively. A 1-0 win against Grimsby Town secured a glorious maiden Wembley outing, and repeated the feat seven years later, with Jamie Cooke’s 44th minute strike enough to see off Gateshead in front of over 27,000 spectators.
While the above exclusively refers to the achievements of the phoenix club, much like Aldershot, Halifax Town AFC were Football League mainstays for the large part of the 20th century, finishing as high as 3rd in the third-tier in 1970-71.
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Pre-season, incoming transfers and other news
At time of writing, FC Halifax Town have made 8 first team signings.
| Player | Pos. | Age | Arriving from… | Highest level played |
| Cody Johnson | CM | 20 | Stockport County | League Two (Stockport) |
| Thierry Latty-Fairweather | LB | 22 | York City | League One (Burton) |
| Shaun Hobson | CB | 27 | Oldham Athletic | League Two (Southend) |
| Josh Hmami | CM | 25 | King’s Lynn | League Two (Accrington) |
| Dylan Crowe | RB | 24 | King’s Lynn | National League (Torquay) |
| Will Harris | CF | 24 | Spennymoor Town | League One (Sunderland) |
| David Kawa | CF | 21 | Aveley | NL South (Aveley) |
| Will Hugill | CM | 21 | Burnley U21 | National League (Fylde) |
Young striker David Kawa scored ten goals in last season’s National League South, while Dylan Crowe is a former England U18 international who will be eager to display his supreme potential in West Yorkshire.
Halifax Town’s current pre-season schedule, which like the Shots sees them currently unbeaten in four outings, is as follows:
Bradford Park Avenue 1-1 FC Halifax Town (05/07)
Clitheroe 0-5 FC Halifax Town (15/07)
Macclesfield 0-1 FC Halifax Town (19/07)
Radcliffe 1-2 FC Halifax Town (22/07)
Ashton United vs FC Halifax Town (26/07)
Curzon Ashton vs FC Halifax Town (02/08)
After preparations conclude with a trip to sixth-tier Curzon Ashton, the Shaymen will begin their National League campaign in Essex, with a trip to Braintree Town on Saturday, 9th August.
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When will Aldershot and FC Halifax Town play each other?
Following the release of the National League fixture list, Tommy Widdrington’s men are due to travel to West Yorkshire on Saturday, 27th September, while the Shaymen will make their trip to the EBB Stadium on Saturday, 7th February.
While the lineage of two phoenix can be confusing, the two sides first met in their current iterations in the Football Conference in 2013, with both sides returning to the fifth-tier that season. In an afternoon to forget for the Shots, the hosts came out 4-0 winners in a cold November meeting.
Since then, the clubs have contested a further 21 times, with honours largely even.
Games played: 22
Aldershot wins: 8
Halifax wins: 9
Draws: 5
Aggregate score: 26-30
Record Shots victory: 3-0 (2018)
Record Eastleigh victory: 4-0 (2013)
Ofcourse, this doesn’t tell the whole story, as including the history of the clubs’ predecessors, the sides have met a whopping 78 times since a first ever clash in 1963. This rich history makes them Aldershot’s second-most frequent historical opponents among teams in this year’s National League.
