Bury FC: Unified Shakers will return to Gigg Lane for the start of 2023-24 season
- Published
Bury last played a competitive league fixture at Gigg Lane during their League Two promotion winning 2018-19 season
A unified Bury Football Club will return to Gigg Lane next term following a vote to merge with Bury AFC in May.
Members of the original Bury FC and the subsequent fan-run AFC joined together after a previous unsuccessful vote.
The club said that the FA had confirmed the name "Bury Football Club" can be used in competition for the first time since their collapse in August 2019.
"We want to thank all the people and organisations that have made this possible," a club statement said.
The Shakers were expelled from the English Football League in 2019 following financial struggles, with some fans going on to form Bury AFC.
The club plays in the Premier Division of the North West Counties League, the ninth tier of the English football pyramid, and will be known as "Bury" from next season in line with the league's convention.
Bury fans completed a deal to buy back their old Gigg Lane ground in February 2022 while Bury AFC staged their home games a few miles away at Stainton Park, Radcliffe.
An initial vote to merge, held in October 2022, narrowly failed to pass having fallen short of the required threshold but a follow-up vote went through, paving the way for a return to Gigg Lane in time for the 2023-24 season.
The club added that it will use the abbreviated "Bury FC" where appropriate including its reserve and women's teams Bury FC Reserves and Bury FC Women.