GODOLPHIN Atlantic shocked the Cornish football world when they suddenly announced last week that they were disbanding.

The G, as they were effectively known, were such a popular club on the circuit that their demise was widely felt and commented on.

In a joint statement by two of the founders, club chair Tania Semmens and secretary Margaret Ashwood, they said: “On behalf of Godolphin Atlantic Football Club we as a committee have decided to disband the club with immediate effect.

“We would like to thank players, managers past and present and supporters for all their help over the years.”

The club cited financial issues and a lack of volunteers as the main reasons for their decision.

And so a glorious 43 years was over. While that is such a sad development, it is only right to record the club’s magnificent rise from the Duchy League to Step 6 football in the South West Peninsula League premier division west.

The club was established as Godolphin Atlantic in 1980 at the Godolphin Arms pub in Newquay, which explains why they were often referred to as ‘the pub team’.

But right from the early days, the club were ambitious. They joined division three of the Duchy League and in the 1981-82 season they won the league cup and gained promotion to division two.

They were promoted to division one at the end of the 1992-93 season and then to the premier division in 1996.

And in 1999-2000 the club won the Knockout Cup for a second time. The 2004-05 season saw them win the league’s Knockout Cup and the Junior Cup, and after finishing as premier division runners-up, they were promoted to the East Cornwall League, finishing third in their first season, and won the league cup for good measure.

The league split into two at the end of that season, with the club placed in the premier division.

They won the league cup again in 2007-08, and after finishing as runners-up in 2007-08, they were promoted to join division one west of the South West Peninsula League.

They were runners-up in 2010-11 and won the division in 2012-13, earning promotion to the premier division, where they joined their local rivals Newquay. In 2014-15 they won the league cup.

Following league reorganisation at the end of the 2018-19 season, the club were placed in the premier division west, at which point they were renamed Godolphin Atlantic (Newquay).