Shaw Lane Aquaforce to become Barnsley Town next season

EVO-STIK NPL South side Shaw Lane Aquaforce will be known as Barnsley Town from next season after the club were told a sponsor wasn’t allowed to be included in a team’s name.

Shaw Lane are aiming for their fourth straight promotion after forming as a senior club in 2012 although the defeat to Coalville on Tuesday – their first in 18 games – left them seven points adrift of leaders Stafford Rangers with two games in hand.

The club are owned by Craig Wood who also runs his own Barnsley-based business called Aquaforce Plumbing Solutions.

Aquaforce was incorporated into the club’s title and they gained plenty of publicity for their unusual name which they have been forced to change.

Wood says they were told in November that a change was required – although they should have been informed before the start of the season – as clubs above Step 5 are not allowed to have a sponsor or financial backer’s title in their name.

“It was an oversight by either the league or the FA, or both,” he told the Barnsley Chronicle. “It is quite unusual for a team with a name like ours to play so high up so I don’t think anyone realised.

“They should have told us when we got promoted but we weren’t made aware of it until November. I have accepted that oversight and we’ll just get on with it.”

Officials at the club voted for a new name on Monday night and Barnsley Town won 12-1, with home kit colours also switching to blue and red.

“The name change is disappointing but I think it could be a good thing for us in the long run,” Wood added.

“I have mixed emotions because Shaw Lane Aquaforce has been a name that has caught a lot of people’s attention during our meteoric rise up the leagues, so it will be a shame to lose it.

“But that is what we will have to do. We’re looking at the positive side.  The name change is a chance to rebrand and incorporate the whole town of Barnsley, not just Shaw Lane.”