Cardiff City Football Club, a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales, was founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C. by members of Riverside Cricket Club. [1] The club's first year was made up of friendlies before they were admitted to the Cardiff & District League in 1900 and later the South Wales Amateur League in 1907. The following year, the club were granted permission to adopt the name Cardiff City, having been denied the previous year as they were deemed not to be playing at a high enough level, [1] and moved into the English football league system for the first time by joining Division Two of the Southern Football League. [2] They won promotion to Division One in the 1912–13 season and remained there until 1920, playing just three seasons during this time due to the outbreak of the First World War when league football was abandoned. In 1920, they were elected to The Football League, joining the Second Division for one season, winning promotion in their first season after finishing second. [3] The club also competed regularly in the Welsh Cup, winning the trophy 22 times during their history, second only to Wrexham's 23, [4] before they were denied entrance into the competition from 1995 onward by the Football Association of Wales, along with all other clubs playing in the English league pyramid. [5] [6]
The following decade is regarded as the most successful in the club's history as they finished second during the 1923–24 season, losing out on winning the league title on the goal average system used at the time to Huddersfield Town. During this period, they reached two FA Cup finals, losing 1–0 to Sheffield United in 1925 before returning to the final two years later, beating Arsenal 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in 1927. [7] [8] They also won the FA Charity Shield after beating amateur side Corinthians 2–1. [9] Cardiff remain the only non-English side to have ever won the FA Cup or FA Charity Shield. [7]
Cardiff were relegated for the first time in their history in 1929 and entered a period of decline, dropping into the third tier two years later. The club did manage to return to the top tier in 1952, but their relegation in 1962 led to a decline in the club's fortunes that saw them outside the top division for 51 years, the longest absence in the club's history, not returning until 2013. [10] Relegation from Division Two in the 1984–85 season saw the club enter a downward period that culminated with their joint lowest ever finish in the Football League, 22nd in the fourth tier in the 1995–96 season. [3] [11]
In 2000, the club was purchased by Lebanese businessman Sam Hammam, who invested money into the side and saw them rise from the fourth tier to the second tier in just three seasons. [12] [13] Although Hammam left the club in 2006, they continued their progress, reaching the Football League Championship play-offs for three consecutive seasons between 2009 and 2012, suffering defeat on all three occasions. The following season, under the ownership of new owner Vincent Tan, they finished first in the Championship, winning promotion back into the top tier for the first time since 1962. [14] However, they suffered relegation in their only season and returned to the Championship. [3]
As of the end of the 2021–22 season, the club had spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football, 48 in the second, 20 in the third and 10 in the fourth. [3] This list details their achievements in first-team competitions, and records their top goalscorer, for each completed season since their first appearance in the English football pyramid as members of the Southern Football League in 1910–11. Due to the unavailability of complete statistics, seasons prior to 1910 in the amateur Welsh leagues are not included.
Key to league record:
| Key to divisions:
| Key to rounds:
|
Key to colours and symbols:
1st or W | Winners |
2nd or RU | Runners-up |
↑ | Promoted |
↓ | Relegated |
* | Promoted via play-offs |
♦ | Top league scorer in Cardiff's division |
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system.
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competition in the world. It is organised by and named after The Football Association. Since 2015, it has been known as Emirates FA Cup after its headline sponsor Emirates. A concurrent Women's FA Cup has been held since 1970.
The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, commonly known as The New Saints or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. They are a joint Welsh and English team, incorporating the border towns of Llansantffraid in Wales and Oswestry in England, and are the most successful club in the Welsh league structure, with 16 league titles to their name. Since the 2001–02 season, they have finished as champions or runners-up in every season, apart from 2008–09, where they finished third in the league.
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team will compete in EFL League One in the 2024–25 season after suffering relegation from EFL Championship in the previous season. The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1930. They have played home matches at the New York Stadium since 2012, having briefly moved to the Don Valley Stadium from their original home at Millmoor in 2008.
Swansea City Association Football Club is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Swansea have played their home matches at the Swansea.com Stadium since 2005, having previously played at the Vetch Field since the club was founded.
Association football is one of the most popular sports in Wales, along with rugby union. Wales has produced club teams of varying fortunes since the early birth of football during the Victorian period, and in 1876 a Wales national football team played their first international match. Football has always had a close rivalry with the country's de facto national sport rugby union, and it is much discussed as to which is Wales' more popular game. The Football Association of Wales (FAW), was established in 1876 to oversee the Wales national team and govern the sport in Wales, later creating and running the Welsh football league system.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as Riverside A.F.C., the club changed its name to Cardiff City in 1908 and entered the Southern Football League in 1910 before joining the English Football League in 1920. The team has spent 17 seasons in the top tier of English football, the longest period being between 1921 and 1929. Their most recent season in the top flight was the 2018–19 Premier League season.
Leonard Stephen Davies was a Welsh professional footballer. Born in Cardiff, he trained as a marine engineer before becoming a footballer, making his senior debut for his hometown club Cardiff City in 1919 in the Southern Football League. Cardiff joined the Football League the following year but Davies remained a reserve until establishing himself in the first team in late 1922. He scored Cardiff's first hat-trick in the Football League in January 1922 and was the club's top scorer in all competitions during the campaign.
Philip Hardy is an English-born former Ireland under-21 footballer who played as a left-back. With Welsh club Wrexham from 1990 to 2001, he played more than 450 games under manager Brian Flynn. He was named on the PFA Team of the Year for the 1991–92 Fourth Division campaign. He picked up both a winners medal and a runners-up medal in the Welsh Cup, and during his time at the club Wrexham reached four FAW Premier Cup finals, winning on three occasions, and were also promoted out of the Third Division in 1992–93. He later played ten games for Port Vale, before leaving the professional game in 2002.
The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the 2007–08 Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by The Football Association. It was the 127th FA Cup Final and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium following its redevelopment. Portsmouth won the match by a single goal, scored by Nwankwo Kanu in the 37th minute.
Cardiff City Football Club Women is a women's football club based in Cardiff, Wales. Affiliated with Cardiff City, the club competes in the Adran Premier, the top tier of Welsh women's football.
STM Sports Association Football Club was a Welsh football club. They were based in St Mellons, Cardiff and played at Cardiff University Sports fields.
Cardiff City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. They are one of a few Welsh sides to play in the English football league system, rather than the Welsh system. The other teams are Swansea City, Newport County, Wrexham, and Merthyr Town.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)