50 Fun Facts About London Football Clubs

In which year was Fulham, generally considered London's oldest professional football club, founded?

They have played at Craven Cottage since 1896; the oldest club of any kind in Greater London is Cray Wanderers, founded 1860.

Arsenal were founded in 1886 by munitions workers under what original name?

They became Royal Arsenal, then Woolwich Arsenal in 1893, and simply Arsenal after moving north of the river in 1913.

Which London club was the first to turn professional, in 1891?

It was also the first southern club to join the Football League, in 1893.

Arsenal are the only London club to go a whole league season unbeaten. In which season?

'The Invincibles' stretched the run to a record 49 top-flight games; only Preston in 1888–89 had done it before.

How many FA Cups have Arsenal won, a record?

Arsène Wenger alone accounted for seven of them.

Which manager won Arsenal their first silverware and set up their trophy-laden 1930s?

Arsenal became the first London club to win the First Division in 1930–31.

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium was built on what kind of site in Ashburton Grove?

Islington Council had refused permission to expand Highbury, and the club even considered buying Wembley.

Highbury's famous East and West Stands were built in which architectural style in the 1930s?

The stadium was Arsenal's home from 1913 to 2006 and is now flats.

Chelsea were founded in 1905 by which businessman, who had bought Stamford Bridge the year before?

He created the club to occupy the athletics ground; Chelsea have played there ever since.

Chelsea's first major trophy, the League championship, came in which season?

Manager Ted Drake dropped the Chelsea Pensioner crest and rebuilt the side with lower-league signings.

In which two years did Chelsea, the only London club to do so, win the UEFA Champions League?

They beat Bayern Munich on penalties in 2012 and won again in 2021; Arsenal lost the 2006 final to Barcelona.

In 2025 Chelsea became the first club to have won which set of trophies?

The Conference League completed a set that already held the Champions League, Cup Winners' Cup and Europa League.

What is Tottenham Hotspur's Latin motto, Audere est Facere, in English?

The crest is a cockerel standing on a football; the club has worn white shirts and navy shorts since 1898–99.

Tottenham were the first British club to win a European trophy. Which one, and when?

It capped three straight seasons of silverware under Bill Nicholson: the Double, the FA Cup, then Europe.

Tottenham were the first club in the 20th century to achieve what, in 1960–61?

Bill Nicholson had taken over as manager in October 1958.

What was the record attendance at White Hart Lane, set for a 1938 FA Cup tie against Sunderland?

The all-seater ground held 36,284 by the end; it hosted 2,533 competitive Spurs games before demolition in 2017.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium features the world's first what?

It seats 62,850, the largest club ground in London, and hosts NFL International Series games.

West Ham United were founded in 1895 under what name?

The shipyard team reformed as West Ham United in 1900 and moved to the Boleyn Ground in 1904.

Which three West Ham players were in England's 1966 World Cup-winning team?

Captain Moore lifted the trophy and Hurst and Peters scored all four goals in the final.

West Ham's home since 2016, the London Stadium, was originally built for what?

It hosted the athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies before being rebuilt for football.

The Boleyn Ground is more often referred to by what name?

The last first-class match there was a 3–2 win over Manchester United on 10 May 2016.

Craven Cottage, Fulham's home, was originally what?

The first cottage was built in 1780 on land that had once been Anne Boleyn's hunting grounds.

Which Fulham legend, nicknamed 'The Maestro', debuted on Boxing Day 1951 and has a stand named after him?

He signed as a schoolboy in 1950 and kept Fulham in the top flight through the 1960s.

Crystal Palace changed their nickname from 'The Glaziers' to what under a flamboyant 1970s manager?

He also ditched the claret and blue for today's red and blue stripes.

Crystal Palace won their first ever major trophy in 2025 by beating whom in the FA Cup final?

Eberechi Eze scored the only goal under Oliver Glasner, and Palace then won the 2025–26 Conference League.

Selhurst Park, opened in 1924, was designed by which famous stadium architect?

It also hosted 1948 Olympic games and was shared with Charlton and later Wimbledon.

Which two clubs ground-shared at Selhurst Park at different times?

Charlton were there from 1985 to 1991 and Wimbledon from 1991 until their move to Milton Keynes in 2003.

Brentford, nicknamed 'The Bees', played at which ground from 1904 until 2020?

The club was founded in 1889 and moved to the Brentford Community Stadium in 2020.

QPR won their only major trophy, the 1967 League Cup, by beating which club 3–2 from two goals down?

They were the first Third Division club to win it, and took the Third Division title the same season.

Loftus Road became the first British professional ground to install what, in 1981?

The Omniturf lasted until 1988; the ground was later shared with Wasps and Fulham.

Millwall last played in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in which year?

They kept the name anyway, playing at the Old Den in New Cross from then until 1993 and the current Den since.

What is Charlton Athletic's home ground, where they have played since 1919?

Financial troubles and safety concerns forced them to lodge at Selhurst Park and Upton Park between 1985 and 1992.

What is Charlton Athletic's nickname?

The club wears red shirts and white shorts and shares South London rivalries with Palace and Millwall.

Leyton Orient began life in 1881 as what?

They played as Orient from 1888, became Clapton Orient in 1898 and Leyton Orient after the Second World War.

AFC Wimbledon was founded in 2002 by supporters after the original club was allowed to move where?

The relocated club became Milton Keynes Dons in 2004; the fans' club started in the ninth tier and climbed back to the League.

Wimbledon's 'Crazy Gang' shocked which team to win the 1988 FA Cup?

Lawrie Sanchez scored the only goal and Dave Beasant made the first penalty save in an FA Cup final.

Who scored the winning goal for Wimbledon in the 1988 FA Cup final?

Wimbledon had only joined the Football League eleven years earlier.

Barnet's Hive Stadium is named in reference to what?

They moved there in 2013 after 106 years at Underhill.

The North London derby rivalry only truly began in which year, when Arsenal moved north from Woolwich?

The two had first met in 1887, but Arsenal's arrival on Tottenham's doorstep lit the fuse.

Which three West London clubs does Fulham contest derbies with?

Chelsea's Stamford Bridge and Fulham's Craven Cottage are both actually in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

In which season were eight London clubs in the English top flight at once, 40% of the division?

It remains the high-water mark for the capital's presence at the top level.

The Football Association was founded on 26 October 1863 at which London venue?

All twelve founding clubs were from London; Ebenezer Cobb Morley wrote the first rules at his house in Barnes.

How many seats does the rebuilt Wembley Stadium have?

That makes it the UK's largest and second in Europe behind the Camp Nou; the old stadium closed in 2000 and the new one opened in 2007.

West Ham were losing finalists in the first FA Cup final held at Wembley. In which year?

It was the same year they were promoted to the top flight.

Chelsea, the only London club to win the Club World Cup, lost the 2012 final to which side?

They put that right in 2021 and again in 2025.

What was Chelsea's crest before Ted Drake removed it in the 1950s?

The nickname 'The Pensioners' went with it; the lion crest came later.

West Ham's 'Academy of Football' youth system grew under Ted Fenton and which coach in the 1950s and 60s?

It produced the 1966 World Cup trio and became central to the club's identity.

The Den in New Cross Gate is Millwall's how-manyeth home ground since their formation in 1885?

It replaced the Old Den, a quarter of a mile away, on 30 September 1993.

Which West London club is based in Shepherd's Bush and White City?

They were founded as Christchurch Rangers in 1882 and merged with St Judes Institute four years later.

In which season did Arsenal become the first London club in a Champions League final, losing 2–1 to Barcelona?

Chelsea went one better six years later.