Football's coming home as Wakefield AFC announce move to Be Well Stadium

After having a nomadic existence so far the NCE League club will move from their current base at Featherstone Rovers’ ground to Wakefield Trinity’s Be Well Stadium.

They will have a full-time presence in the redeveloped community stadium and will train there as well as playing their men’s and women’s first team games.

The intention is that the initial three-year arrangement will be the start of a long-term relationship, cementing the Be Well Support Stadium at the heart of both professional and community sport in the city of Wakefield.

"It is a moment all involved with Wakefield AFC should be proud of,” said Wakefield AFC chairman Guilherme Decca.

"It’s the start of a new phase where we focus on what the club can be and where we will certainly welcome new fans and deepen our roots within the community.

"Given where we started, it is a move that was unimaginable when we took over the club 14 months ago. It couldn’t have happened without the collective effort of our players, staff, and the fantastic support from our fans.”

Decca explained that it was always the current owners intention to be involved at Belle Vue.

He added: “In the Summer of 2021, Andre and I had the opportunity to visit Belle Vue for the first time. That day, it was clear to us that Wakefield AFC should, at some point, be playing in the centre of the city, especially in a stadium with so much history and tradition.

"Unfortunately, our previous ownership situation did not allow that to happen at the time. Since that visit, much has changed at WAFC and a lot of progress has happened on and off the pitch.

"Over time, we also got to know Trinity better and developed a great relationship with Michael (Carter) and John (Minards) while re-establishing many links with the local community.

“As a club, we could not be more excited about the move and the great new facilities being built at Belle Vue, including a new grass-hybrid pitch, gym, state-of-the-art new stand, amenities, parking, and food options.

"More importantly, it gives WAFC a base to further develop our community initiatives, like free youth football, and brings us one step closer to our goal of building an exciting and self-sustainable football club.

"There are also a few great ideas we will be working on with Trinity, which over time will benefit both fan bases and the Wakefield community as a whole.

"For now, we are very focused on finishing the 22/23 season strong with a nice play-off run, but at the same time can’t wait to host old and new fans at Belle Vue during our pre-season in the summer of 2023.”

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Wakefield Trinity chairman said: “We are really excited to welcome Decca and the whole Wakefield AFC team to Belle Vue.

"We have had an ongoing dialogue with the football team for some time and it is great that the current redevelopments, and in particular our state of the art playing surface, now enable community clubs, and WAFC in particular, to join us.

"There are lots of exciting areas where we can partnership with Wakefield AFC going forward and all of us at Wakefield Trinity look forward to working with them.”