The original Emley club had been members of the Yorkshire League and Northern Counties East League, before winning promotion to the Northern Premier League in 1989. In 2000, new ground grading regulations introduced by the Northern Premier League forced Emley to relocate to Belle Vue in Wakefield, although the reserves continued to play at the Welfare Ground. In 2002 the club was renamed Wakefield & Emley, and when the reserve team was disbanded in 2005, supporters of the original club decided to establish a new club based in Emley under the name A.F.C. Emley. The following year Wakefield & Emley was renamed Wakefield, and remained in the Northern Premier League until disbanding in 2014.